As school principals, you never want to hear that your students are being bullied. Unfortunately, bullying is an everyday occurrence for some students. Between 2012 and 2022, 19% of students between the ages of 12 and 18 said they experienced bullying at school.
Not only can bullying result in physical harm to students, but it can also lead to depression, anxiety, sleep difficulties, and hindered academic progress—all of which could cause lifelong trauma when combined.
To fight school bullying, school principals must lead the charge. As you plan your response to school bullying, here are a few important steps to consider for building a comprehensive plan that’s effective.
What Fuels Bullying Behavior?
The root cause of bullying comes from a multitude of factors. Psychological, social, and environmental factors can each be at play during these events.
When a bully is acting out for psychological reasons, they may have low self-esteem, a need for control, or unresolved trauma in their own life.
Bullies can also be influenced by social pressures from their peers, exposure to violence, or cultural norms that condone aggression.
Environmental factors such as a lack of supervision, inconsistent discipline, or a competitive school culture can also influence this negative behavior.
Building a Bully-Free Framework
Bullying requires a strong foundation with clear policies in place for identifying, reporting, and addressing incidents of bullying.
Clarity is Key
To ensure all school leaders can identify bullying, it is important to define it first. Outline definitions in anti-bullying policies that cover how physical, verbal, social, and cyberbullying present themselves.
Reporting Without Fear
Reporting mechanisms are a vital part of any anti-bullying policy. Students who want to report bullying may be afraid to do so because of the risk of retaliation from the bully. Thus, principals can create anonymous reporting methods such as drop boxes or online portals.
From Report to Resolution
Incidents of bullying must also be investigated. These policies will benefit from having a clear timeline with steps on how to investigate effectively. Note that this process should also include documentation to identify patterns in the behavior of the students in the situation for when they change negatively or positively.
After investigating, intervention steps must be taken. Describe which types of disciplinary measures should be taken in accordance with the severity of the behavior. Include restorative practices, counseling, or behavior management programs to address the root causes.
Students as Allies
While it is important to ensure teachers and other staff members are trained to spot bullying, students are another powerful group to utilize in your school. Students are experiencing the dynamics of their peer groups and witnessing, or even experiencing, the negative behaviors that may be occurring among their classmates.
However, students cannot report bullying if they don’t know they’ve seen it.
To ensure students know how to identify bullying, provide mandatory training sessions where students can learn how bullying manifests, including physical aggression as well as subtle forms like exclusion or verbal aggression.
In these trainings, principals can encourage empathy by sharing the impacts of bullying on victims. Students can also learn to act on their empathy by becoming allies. This can look like inviting isolated peers to join group activities, sitting with them at lunch, or partnering with them during class projects. Peer-led initiatives like “buddy programs” or group games are another great way to create organic opportunities for inclusion.
Creating Safe and Kind Schools
Bullying remains a pervasive issue in schools, but principals have the power to lead transformative change. By addressing the root causes, implementing comprehensive policies, and empowering students to take an active role, schools can create a culture of kindness and accountability.
