Teacher empathy and its impact on bullying in schools

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Teacher empathy and its impact on bullying in schools

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Abstract

Bullying has been a difficult term to define, particularly before state legislatures began to define bullying in precise language for the purpose of law-making. Oftentimes, it was left up to teachers, or individual students, to express their own qualitative and subjective definition of the phenomenon. Teachers usually have taken a "we know it when we see it" approach to bullying. The University of Manchester's report, Harassment, Discrimination and Bullying Policy, defines bullying as "harassment, intimidation to varying degrees, taunting and ridicule." The authors also distinguish between two different types of bullying: 1. physical and 2. verbal.

Some cases of bullying may involve more subtle social and psychological variables and cultural factors such as social-group exclusion, hate-groups, overt racism, overt classicism, peer pressure, or the need to retaliate against a person, or groups of people. Some forms of bullying come about through gang/group initiation rituals. This is often found in fraternity groups, where it has been labeled "hazing." This draws into questions of whether an act of aggression is bullying if it has been a part of a tradition or a group initiation ritual. Bullying can also be an overt act meant to belittle. harass, intimidate, or inflict harm upon certain gender groups. This is commonly what constitutes sexual harassment, whereby one feels belittled or taken advantage of because of their sexuality.

Introduction and summary
Bullying as it pertains to school-aged children: An overview
1. Bullying defined
Prevalence of bullying: A statistical overview
1. The attitude of the youth in the US
2. The U.S. school system
3. Analysis of the study conducted by the U.S. Secret Service
4. Interpretation of the study by 'The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development'
5. Bullying, teachers and empathy
6. Components of empathy
7. Stages of empathy
Definitions of empathy from well known social scientists
Empathy as it pertains to classroom teachers
Bullying-reduction programs
Siann, Callaghan, Lockhart, and Rawson's view
Statistical analysis on middle-school aged children
Aggressive behavior and bullying in schools
Empathy as a quality in teachers
Empathic attitude in teachers'
Case of a Vietnamese student
The trait of empathy
McAllister' study
Empathy as the most important virtue
Verbal aggression and social exclusion
Lack of 'feeling cues'
Studies on empathy and its effects on bullying in the classroom
Types of bullying tended to be more nebulous
Conclusions
References

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[...] The focus of this review will highlight specifically the role that empathy plays in teacher response to bullying, as well as intervention likelihood, school-based support and bullying prevention. Tettegah et.al (2007) conducted a statistical analysis on middle-school aged children, the incidence of bullying, as well as teachers' empathy and cognitions. The study examined empathic qualities of 178 teachers through the use of animated narrative vignette simulations (ANVs) in regard to potential scenarios involving students in victim and bullying scenarios. The feeling/behavior of empathy was analyzed in the teachers and it was found that, shockingly enough, very few teachers actually showed empathy toward the victim in the simulations. [...]

[...] (1997), 'Observations of bullying and victimization on the schoolyard', Canadian Journal of School Psychology 41-60. Craig, W. M., Pepler, D., and Atlas, R. (2000), 'Observations of bullying in the playground and in the classroom', School Psychology International 21, 22-36. Crick, N. R. (1995), 'Relational aggression: the role of intent attributions, feelings of distress, and provocation type', Development and Psychopathology 313-22. Davis, M. H. (1983). Measuring individual differences in empathy: Evidence for a multidimensional approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 113-126. [...]

[...] that encourage and financially support effective bullying prevention and intervention programs in schools, as well as teacher empathy courses. From this, a comprehensive evaluation of these programs is also needed. Certainly, students feel that it is the teacher's role to help them comply with society's demands, not only in the educational sense, but also in the sense of the greater role of how we behave in the social structure of our peers. However, this requires a full commitment from teachers to enforce rules and policies regarding bullying, as well as inhibiting students' violence and holding students responsible for bullying behavior. [...]

[...] It has also been found that reactions in teachers will vary according to whether the victim matches their assumptions about what a victim looks like, or how a victim acts, and whether or not they admit to feeling empathy for the victim. The following section of this document will present a comprehensive literature review regarding bullying, as well as teacher empathy and its impact on bullying in school-aged children. Literature Review The following sections of this document will give a comprehensive literature review regarding bullying and teacher responses to bullying. [...]

[...] Statements were made in reference to children's physical characteristics such as height or weight, or whether or not they had any unique qualities that may have set them apart, or made the “vulnerable to bullying.” (Gibbons, Lichtenberg, & van Beusekom, 1994) More Studies on Empathy and its Effects on Bullying in the Classroom Gibbons, Lichtenberg, & van Beusekom (1994) found that whether or not the teacher feels empathy for the victim is bullied is a strong indicator for educator intervention. [...]

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