Bullying Prevention
Conflict resolution and bullying prevention are natural partners. A comprehensive violence prevention plan should include both. Schools that have a solid conflict resolution program in place are ideally positioned to engage in bullying prevention as a next step. Conflict resolution teaches students how to solve problems when power is fairly equal and when both parties have some interest in resolving the conflict. Bullying, on the other hand, occurs when one party has more power, that party has no interest in resolving the problem, and he is primarily interested in hurting the other. In these circumstances, conflict resolution techniques are not likely to be effective, so other methods must be in place. (To learning more about bullying prevention, please visit our online learning module.)
A bullying prevention program should teach students how to distinguish normal peer conflict, which responds well to conflict resolution strategies, from bullying violence, which warrants a different set of strategies. Once students understand which type of conflict they are dealing with, they can decide which strategies to use. There are several factors (for example, contextual factors and personality traits) that determine when some strategies are more appropriate than others.
Rethinking the deeper impacts that bullying has on our school culture is important for existing conflict resolution programs. While many such programs have a long history of creating safe and caring youth cultures and providing students and staff with specific skills to confront injustice, the recent attention to bullying has expanded the importance of this work and has provided language and additional strategies for surfacing and handling this more serious form of conflict and violence. Likewise, bullying prevention programs can benefit from the comprehensive experience that conflict resolution programs offer.
Related Videos of Possible Interest
- Another Bully Busters Song
- Bullied: A Student, a School and a Case That Made History
- Conflict Resolution Resources on Your IPad
- Cyberbullying (UNICEF)
- Cyberbullying Toolkit for Educators
- Cyberbullying Toolkit: Webinar Archive
- Girls Bullying
- Help Increase the Peace Students Bullying Research Project
- On-the-Spot Bullying Prevention
- On-the-Spot Mediation: how to use your skills in everyday life
- Overview of the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program
- Peaceful School Bus Program - Hazelden Foundation
- Playing and Practicing Peace in Baltimore
- Puppet Show - Kids Against Bullying
- Social Emotional Learning via The Heart Story (RCCP)
- Students Take on Cyberbullying
- Teaching Students How to “Stand Up” to Bullying - Webinar Archive
Related Catalog Resources
Below you'll find a randomized listing of up to 20 related items (we may have more...) drawn from our Resource Catalog.
| Resource Title | Description | Links |
|---|---|---|
| Roles for health and safety professionals in bullying prevention and intervention | Pdf document discussing bullying with tips on what health and safety professionals can do to stop the behavior. | Catalog Listing Direct Link to Resource View in Browser |
| Bullying in out-of-school time programs: tips for youth-serving professionals and volunteers | Pdf document that examines bullying in extracurricular activities with tips for professionals and volunteers. | Catalog Listing Direct Link to Resource View in Browser |
| Physical and verbal bullying | Web-based interative scenario which explores bullying. | Catalog Listing Direct Link to Resource View in Browser |
| Providing support to children who are bullied: tips for school personnel and other adults | Pdf document with advice on bullying prevention geared toward school personnel and other adults. | Catalog Listing Direct Link to Resource View in Browser |
| Exploring the nature and prevention of bullying: bullying quiz | One page true/false quiz on bullying. | Catalog Listing Direct Link to Resource View in Browser |
| Cyber bullying | Word document examining bullying in cyberspace, with advice to parents and young people from Aman Batheja. | Catalog Listing Direct Link to Resource View in Browser |
| Olweus intervention suggestions | Powerpoint presentation providing guidelines for combating bullying in schools, from the Olweus Bullying Prevention Group. | Catalog Listing Direct Link to Resource View in Browser |
| Assessing the status of your school's comprehensive bullying prevention plan | Pdf document which presents a series of questions to help educators determine the status of bullying programs, based on Dan Olweus's, "Bullying prevention program." | Catalog Listing Direct Link to Resource View in Browser |
| Bully Prevention in Positive Behavior Support | A 52-page handbook focusing on giving elementary students the tools to reduce bullying behavior through the blending of school-wide positive behavior support, explicit instruction, and a redefinition of the bullying construct. | Catalog Listing Direct Link to Resource View in Browser |
| Bullying prevention | On-line learning module which teaches the user to "State definitions and types of bullying, list the short and long-term effects of bullying, describe places where bullying happens, state examples of effective and appropriate bullying interventions, describe the roles of parents, siblings and others in preventing bullying, recognize the...(see more) | Catalog Listing Direct Link to Resource View in Browser |
| Bullying prevention and intervention: TeamMates Mentoring Program Lincoln Public Schools | 9-page PDF case study which, "looks at one program in Nebraska, Lincoln Public Schools (LPS) TeamMates, that has decided to address bullying at several schools through mentoring, using volunteers from the community to reach out to bullies and victims alike." | Catalog Listing Direct Link to Resource View in Browser |
| Research-based articles and books on bullying/peer victimization | Pdf document listing articles and books on bullying and peer victimization. | Catalog Listing Direct Link to Resource View in Browser |
| Involvement of law enforcement officers in bullying prevention | Pdf document examining ways in which law enforcement personnel can be involved in the prevention of bullying. | Catalog Listing Direct Link to Resource View in Browser |
| SACSC Elementary unit and lesson plans | Web site developed by the Society for Safe and Caring Schools and Communities in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada whose mission "is to encourage home, school and community practices that teach, model and reinforce socially responsible and respectful behaviors, so that living and learning can take place in a safe, caring and inclusive environment....(see more) | Catalog Listing Direct Link to Resource View in Browser |
| Bullying in cyberspace | Word document examining bullying in cyberspace. | Catalog Listing Direct Link to Resource View in Browser |
| Preventing and countering school-based harassment: A resource guide for k-12 educators, rev. ed. | 76-page PDF guide which "is the result of two conferences on racial harassment and numerous training-of-trainer administrator workshops conducted during the past eight years by the Equity Center (formerly the Center for National Origin, Race, and Sex Equity—CNORSE) where the intersection of the issues of racial and sexual harassment have been...(see more) | Catalog Listing Direct Link to Resource View in Browser |
| 2010-2011 Playworks Playbook | Playworks is a non-profit organization whose mission is to improve the health and well-being of children by increasing opportunities for physical activity and safe, meaningful play. The Playbook, a 390-page pdf, provides full descriptions of games and activities appropriate for K-5 school children. They are organized in the following categories:...(see more) | Catalog Listing Direct Link to Resource View in Browser |
| Working with young people who are bullied: tips for mental health professionals | Pdf document with tips for mental health workers who treat bullied youth. | Catalog Listing Direct Link to Resource View in Browser |
| Educational resources: articles, books, films about bullying and teasing | Word document provides list of books, articles and films on bullying and teasing. | Catalog Listing Direct Link to Resource View in Browser |
| How to intervene to stop bullying: tips for on-the-spot intervention at school | Pdf document with instruction on dealing with bullying at school, how to intervene and follow-up procedures. | Catalog Listing Direct Link to Resource View in Browser |
