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
- On-the-Spot Bullying Prevention
- On-the-Spot Mediation: how to use your skills in everyday life
- Social Emotional Learning via The Heart Story (RCCP)
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 |
|---|---|---|
| What to do if your child is being bullied | Pdf document with instructions to parents whose children are being bullied. | 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 |
| Bullying in our schools: protecting GLBT youth | Powerpoint presentation which discusses bullying in schools particularly involving gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgendered youth in schools. | 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 |
| 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 among children and youth with disabilities and special needs | Pdf document discussing bullying of children with disabilities and special needs. | 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 |
| 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 |
| Bullying in cyberspace | Word document examining bullying in cyberspace. | Catalog Listing Direct Link to Resource View in Browser |
| Tips for selecting materials from the resource list | Pdf document providing tips for choosing materials on bullying. | Catalog Listing Direct Link to Resource View in Browser |
| 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 |
| Manifesto Against Bullying - Plan of Measures 2006-2008 | A cooperative statement of action against bullying issued by the Norwegian government, the Association of Local and Regional Authorities (KS), the National Parents’ Committee for Primary and Lower Secondary Education and the Union of Education, Norway. | Catalog Listing Direct Link to Resource View in Browser |
| Community-based bullying prevention: tips for community members | Pdf document, geared toward community members, discussing bullying prevention. | 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 |
| What we know about bullying | Pdf document with information on bullying. | Catalog Listing Direct Link to Resource View in Browser |
| Children who bully | Pdf document on children who bully. | Catalog Listing Direct Link to Resource View in Browser |
| What should I do if I'm bullied | Pdf document with advice to children who are bullied. | Catalog Listing Direct Link to Resource View in Browser |
| Documenting bullying at your school: tips for school administrators | Pdf document which introduces the idea of assessing and tracking bullying behavior at school for administrators. | Catalog Listing Direct Link to Resource View in Browser |
| Research-based books and articles on bullying and peer victimization | Pdf document presents list of books and articles on bullying and peer victimization. | Catalog Listing Direct Link to Resource View in Browser |
