Special Education : Bullying at School: What We Know and What We Can Do (Understanding Children s Worlds)
Bullying at School: What We Know and What We Can Do (Understanding Children s Worlds)

Bullying at School: What We Know and What We Can Do (Understanding Children s Worlds)



Bullying in Schools discusses bully/victim problems in school and suggests effective ways of counteracting and preventing such problems. On the basis of the author s large-scale studies in other countries, it is known that bullying is a serious problem in all societies that have been studied so far, and that more than 15% of the school population in primary and secondary/junior high schools are involved, either as bullies or victims. This book presents the facts about bullying - its causes and consequences. It is also significant in its examination of methods of effectively counteracting bullying at school. For the first time, there is available an intervention programme that has been scientifically evaluated in extensive research. The results are remarkable: a reduction of bully/victim problems by 50% or more, a considerable drop in antisocial behaviour such as vandalism, theft, drunkenness and truancy, and clear improvements with regard to the social climate of the classroom and student satisfaction with school life. The book gives lots of practical advice to school principals, teachers and parents on implementing a whole school approach to bullying, and also contains a guide to help teachers and parents recognize if a child is being victimized or bullies others.

Highly Recommended With An Action Tool - This is a wonderful book that clearly explains and describes the phenomenon of bullying and victimization....important knowledge for every parent and teacher. However, another book, Bully-Proofing Children: A Practical, Hands-On Guide to Stop Bullying would beautifully complement it as an action tool. This book gives specific solutions on how to be proactive and or intervene. Questions of what to do and how to do it are answered and included are stories to read with your child, scripts, lessons, tips and strategies to use in school and at home. The section on teaching children important social skills early on is invaluable.

Good data but needs more specific examples - I was elected to my local board of education and we recently received a credible complaint from a parent that harassment of her son was being overlooked by school administrators. Accordingly, I felt obliged to read up on the issue of bullying. This book sets forth both the problem and the recommended solutions. Prof. Olweus is Norwegian and his studies primarily involve Scandinavian schools. Accordingly, questions came to my mind such as Is Norway a more homogenious society than the United States? If so, are there any differences in both the problem and the solutions in a more ethnically heterogeneous society? I don t know the answers but, the reader should keep these issues in mind when reading this book.Prof. Olweus describes the problem and he sets forth well organized solutions to the problem which require involvement of teachers, administrators and parents, and further require communication with all students, even those who are neither bullies nor victims. The one problem I have with the book is that there are very few case histories and specific examples given. The book proposes solutions but does not provide a case history in which the specific solution was successfully applied to the problem at hand. Reliable data and sound recommendations are important but a few specific examples of how these recommendations worked would be helpful. For example, Olweus recommends that parents of a bully apply sanctions if the bullying behavior does not improve. He states, The consequence should be associated with some degree of discomfort or unpleasantness, but corporal punishment must not be used. OK, fine, but what are specific examples of discomfor or unpleasantness? Where are the case histories giving examples? Without these, the book does not provide as fulfilling reading as it otherwise might. This book is well worth reading and I recommend it with the reservations expressed above.

This book is the foundation of modern bullying prevention! - This clear, brief, and practical book is based on extensive research and outlines an intervention to prevent bullying. Dr. Olweus s work has become the standard approach to bullying prevention, reflected in such programs as the University of Colorado Blueprints for Violence Prevention project ... As a counselor and trainer specializing in bullying prevention, I find this book indispensable, and recommend it highly.



Bullying at School: What We Know and What We Can Do (Understanding Children s Worlds)