In Scandinavia, a number of models and applications in anti-bullying work have been developed. Five of the models are
mentioned in the article of Arne Forsman (2008). Common to them is that the programs require, in part, extensive and costly instructors. In addition, there might be a need for further support from external experts. The programs have proven to be effective, and bullying has decreased to approximately 50 % (Roland 2014). The official recommendation from the school authorities in Norway is to use either the Olweus program or the Zero-program (Roland 2014). The contents of the programs will not be elaborated in this context (see Forsman 2008).
With such proven efficiency, there is a reason to ask why not all schools and municipalities use the programs? One answer is that it requires extensive training of the responsible instructors, and therefore a question of priority; for economic reasons, human resources and time. Replacements in training staff and other key personnel may take place, and skilled people leave. A municipality will be very vulnerable if there is only one person to assist all schools in the municipality. In retrospect, it seems that the bullying in Norway has increased again compared to the decline in 2001-2004, ref. Student Survey (Wendelborg 2011). The anti-bullying work has apparently not been successful. The municipalities might have leaned too much on help from outside experts and economical support from the government. The professionalization of practice within the xBus project (Søndergaard 2009) will be to develop an analytical look and study the complex causal relationships that bullying can look like. Søndergaard held that various efforts in the form of ready-made programs, methods, and interventions have a limited value. Therefore, she does not propose much ‘technical fif ‘, but
instead urges the necessity of being better to analyze the complex relationships that bullying is. As we interpret Søndergaard, the main intention is to create dignity and respectful communication between children and between children and adults. (Søndergaard 2009.)
Initiative on school level
We have a hypothesis that if the school can develop a safe and including learning environment, this will stimulate the desire to learn and reduce bullying. This is all about empowerment as a means to mobilize student’s resources, which in itself has a health-promoting and learning-enhancing effect. Research has shown that friendship and children’s social skills are intertwined (Haavind 2013). The school is for everybody, and the teachers should have the capacity to deal with relational challenges.
How can the school introduce the topic of bullying and how can it be understood in the light of more recent information? How are the dynamics between youth, how can the relationships to other be developed, how can they maintain relationships and not least how relationships can be destroyed? What is an authoritative teacher? How to deal with violation and conflicts? How to set norms and standards for behavior and activity in the class? What can demoralize a class environment? How to exercise relational and social competence in teaching; assignments, discussions, statements, drawings, films, etc.?
This is all about to stay in front of the development, to evaluate the progress and adjust if necessary. This is not in contrast to the schools existing action plans for given acute situations. In this
way, the school develops low-threshold help for conflict solutions and education in relational skills.
Do the bullied have a set of choices in the way to behave and do they by making the right choice stay included in the group community and avoid bullying?
Helle Rabøl Hansen (2013, 69) asks this question. In her research, she has surveyed teacher attitudes toward bullying and what practices they prefer in the anti-bullying work. An important point is the teachers’ assumption that the students will face avoidable situations where they have to make choices, and the choices can be decisive for whether the student remains a bully victim or whether she/he is being accepted in line with the others. The strategy is to motivate and mobilize the children’s resources by the question; what could have been done differently? Hansen points out that this strategy can succeed in given situations and that there are examples that have given the pupils a better existence.
However, the discussion is whether this is a strategy that applies universally. Our hypothesis is that this strategy will be dependent on the single teacher’s attitude and praxis. It might be successful vs.
some schoolchildren, but there are a lot of children left in the school that are still being bullied.
Teacher as leader
The teacher’s role is all about dealing with a very complex reality, and because of that the teacher has a very important position in relation to the class. That involves skills in planning, clear leadership, empathy, relate to both
individuals and the group as a whole.
Teachers have to be able to communicate goals and expectations and to have the ability to improvise and intervene in given situations. In addition, there are,of course, the academic activities. Overall, this is about creating a class environment that has positive repercussions both for the social interaction and learning, and this requires a variety of skills in the field of relationship-building, system expertise and analytical skills. The xBus project, when matched with earlier research on bullying, appears to be an important contribution for the understanding of bullying. Research shows that teachers who master the class management put more emphasis on building relationships.
They also adapt teaching to the pupils’
needs. (Midthassel 2011.) The prerequisite for success is to be present for the students and to give attention to the whole class as well as the individual pupil.
Acknowledgment
A well-known theme from social psychology is interactionism described by both Mead (Morris 1962) and Winnicott (Phillips 1989), how attitudes to one’s self are affected by and formed in interaction with the surroundings. This helps to shape our identity. Løvlie Schibbye (2009) discusses the concept of acknowledgement with a number of concepts such as: ‘listening, understanding, acceptance, tolerance and confirmation’ (Schibbye 2009, 263).
Acknowledgement is thus of vital importance for self-esteem.
We interpret Søndergaards (2009) description of internal processes in the school children’s group as a struggle of
power and position. Those internal processes are anxiety for not being accepted and assumptions about how to act in order not to be excluded. The result is bullying which in its nature is an act of insult.
In their book «The Power of Appreciation – Education, Ethics and Health» [Author’s translation] Bergmark and Kostenius (2011) claim that the meeting and relation between pupils and the teacher is the fundament in the pupils’ development. They hold that:
‘Challenges for the future are how acknowledgement can permeate the learning environment, which focuses on relationships and organization of teaching that makes people learn, grow and feel good’ [Authors translation]
(Bergmark & Kostenius; 2011, 168).