Peer bullying in elementary schools is likely the outcome of adults supervision outside the classroom. Bullying in elementary schools is an indicator of physical and verbal abuse amongst children. The harmful effects of bullying have been shown to have major long-term consequences on both the bullies and their victims. Those who tend to be bullies or violent in early school years are likely to continue to be aggressive in middle school and high school. Many students do not report these incidents to adults because they are scared of the bully or the repercussions they can get for reporting the incident.
To evaluate the general bullying factor a survey methodology was done. The principal purpose of this study was to develop a deeper understanding of bullying in elementary schools, students from third to fifth grade were asked to complete a survey about bullying. The data source for the bullying study was “Olweus Bullying Victim Questionnaire” conducted by Olweus, Dan (1993). According to this study “The general sample consisted of 1,588 participants/surveys (781 male, 807 female; age range, 8–11 years).” All student attended 5 different elementary schools in 2008-2009 and 2010-2011 school year. A demographic table showed that girls from third to fifth grade were bullied more than boys during recess.
This study defined multiple characteristics of bullying, six main factors that were evaluated to complete this survey were: the prevalence of bullying at school, cyberbullying, location of bullying, participation in bullying, reporting of bullying behavior to an adult, and the form of bullying reported that was being reported (Olweus, Dan 1993). This research concluded that out of 1,588 students, 40% recounted being bullied by another student. Approximately 291 boys out of 807, reported being victims of bullying, as for girls the rate was much higher reporting 342 girls out of 781 were victims of bullying.
A statistical analyses was performed in order to obtain a clear understanding of the sample characteristics. Boys in 4th grade reported being victims of bullying at a higher rate than in the previous grades compared to girls, the victims decreased each school year from third to fifth grade. In conclusion, this study provided support in the importance of speaking about bullying behaviors in elementary schools and evaluating bullying policies. Prevention discussions need to target aspects of the school environment to reduce school violence and to help students feel comfortable reporting bullying in and outside of school campus.
