[HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Bullying

[Shaun Hately]

On 27 Jul 2002 at 10:04, macloudt wrote:

> It seems to me that there is more physical bullying now than there 
> was 20-odd years ago.  When I went back to my last old high school a 
> few years after graduating the school secretary told me that it was 
> far worse than before, so she confirmed my suspicions in one case.  
> How about everyone else?  Is my old school the exception, or *does* 
> physical bullying seem to be on the rise?  Shaun, what do your 
> statistics say?

That's the $64,000 question.

It's very hard to answer, with certainty, if bullying is increasing. For a start, it might 
depend on when you are - it is possible it could be increasing in Australia, and 
decreasing in Canada, etc.

Also, it depends on how you measure it - it's generally done by surveys, which can 
introduce all sorts of problems - do kids today have the same viewpoint about what 
constitutes bullying, as kids 10 years ago. Are they more likely to report it. Or if you 
survey teachers - if 10 years ago, only 10% of teachers reported seeing bullying, 
and now it's 20% does that mean the rate has doubled - or does it mean the 
teachers are trying harder to detect it? Etc.

Having said that as a caution, the general consensus is that in most western 
countries, bullying in schools is on the increase. The most detailed studies I've seen 
have been done in the UK where 33% of school students, aged between 11 and 16, 
report being seriously bullied in the previous year (up from around 20% in the mid 
1980s). Other evidence (such as the incidence of injury in schools, etc) seems to 
support the idea of a real increase.

Yours Without Wax, Dreadnought
Shaun Hately |webpage: http://www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/thelab.html
(ISTJ)       |email: drednort at alphalink.com.au | ICQ: 6898200
"You know the very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in
common. They don't alter their views to fit the facts. They alter
the facts to fit the views. Which can be uncomfortable if you happen
to be one of the facts that need altering." The Doctor - Doctor Who:
The Face of Evil | Where am I: Frankston, Victoria, Australia