Target anti-bullying efforts at both high-risk children and high-risk schools, combining whole-school climate approaches with child-level risk identification¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · 5 claims (4 for, 1 against) · 1 study (1 associational), q3 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 5 claims rest on one study

Description¶

The article recommends that bullying interventions be targeted at both levels identified by its multilevel analysis: high-risk children (identified by gender, deprivation, SEN and their relation to school context) and high-risk schools (high deprivation, poor climate). It states that "promoting positive school climate through universal, whole-school approaches may be beneficial" and that identifying at-risk children should consider "not just the characteristics of the child (gender, deprivation, etc.) but also their relation to the wider school context". This supports integrating whole-school and targeted anti-bullying programs for more effective use of resources.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Data on both child-level characteristics and school-level deprivation and climate are needed to identify high-risk children and schools

Constraints¶

• The study is cross-sectional, so the directionality between school climate and bullying cannot be determined from these data

Target Learners¶

• primary school children (Year 4 and Year 5)

Target Learning Goals¶

• reducing bullying behaviour
• promoting positive school climate and peer relationships

Claims¶

• Child-level demographic factors (male gender, deprivation, Black ethnicity, SEN status) predict self-reported bullying behaviour in primary school [+W]
• Child-by-school deprivation interaction: high-deprivation schools are a risk factor for bullying only for non-deprived children [+W]
• Poorer school climate is associated with greater self-reported bullying behaviour, independently of child- and school-level demographics [+W]
• School size, gender balance, ethnicity, SEN and EAL composition do not significantly predict bullying, and child-by-school-climate interactions are null [-W]
• Schools account for 9.1% of variance in children's bullying behaviour before predictors are included [+W]

Related Strategies¶

Examples¶

-

Key Sources¶

• Fink, E., Patalay, P., Sharpe, H., & Wolpert, M. (2017). Child- and School-Level Predictors of Children's Bullying Behavior: A Multilevel Analysis in 648 Primary Schools. Journal of Educational Psychology. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/edu0000204