Strategies for Reducing Bullying in Secondary Schools: A Study of O.R. Tambo Inland Education District of South Africa
- Authors: Poswa, Sakumzi
- Date: 2025
- Subjects: Bullying , Drugs and substance abuse , Parenting styles , Positive behavioural change and support , School based support team
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral(Thesis)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/11260/13884 , vital:79044
- Description: This quantitative study explored strategies used in South African schools to reduce learner-to-leaner bullying. With the increase of incidents of bullying by peers in schools, as often reported by the media, it seemed learners’ truancy and psychological complications also likely to prevail. This study adapted the Social Disorganization Theory to develop its focus. A positivist paradigm guided the use of survey research design to collect data through a Likert scale designed questionnaire, where respondents either strongly agreed or strongly disagreed to each question. Data were from 320 learners, 240 parents, 30 teachers including six principals were computer-analysed to provide answers to the research questions. Findings revealed that, lack of positive teacher learner relationship, lack of parental support, environmental factors that contribute to learners’ behaviour, drugs and substance abuse to mention few. Suggested strategies to reduce bullying included employment of learner support agents, social workers and psychologists that could offer daily support services each from their professional views, to reduce bullying and give counselling to victims. The study recommended the need for awareness campaigns as a strategy to combat bullying. The researcher proposed a model for positive behavioural change and support to schools as a strategy to mitigate bullying and from all its sources. This is so because learners are supposed to attend school freely, without fear of bullying and be free from any form of bullying. There could be no quality basic education when school authorities do not adequately address bullying behaviours in their schools... , Degree: D. Education (Educational Policy and Development)
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2025
- Authors: Poswa, Sakumzi
- Date: 2025
- Subjects: Bullying , Drugs and substance abuse , Parenting styles , Positive behavioural change and support , School based support team
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral(Thesis)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/11260/13884 , vital:79044
- Description: This quantitative study explored strategies used in South African schools to reduce learner-to-leaner bullying. With the increase of incidents of bullying by peers in schools, as often reported by the media, it seemed learners’ truancy and psychological complications also likely to prevail. This study adapted the Social Disorganization Theory to develop its focus. A positivist paradigm guided the use of survey research design to collect data through a Likert scale designed questionnaire, where respondents either strongly agreed or strongly disagreed to each question. Data were from 320 learners, 240 parents, 30 teachers including six principals were computer-analysed to provide answers to the research questions. Findings revealed that, lack of positive teacher learner relationship, lack of parental support, environmental factors that contribute to learners’ behaviour, drugs and substance abuse to mention few. Suggested strategies to reduce bullying included employment of learner support agents, social workers and psychologists that could offer daily support services each from their professional views, to reduce bullying and give counselling to victims. The study recommended the need for awareness campaigns as a strategy to combat bullying. The researcher proposed a model for positive behavioural change and support to schools as a strategy to mitigate bullying and from all its sources. This is so because learners are supposed to attend school freely, without fear of bullying and be free from any form of bullying. There could be no quality basic education when school authorities do not adequately address bullying behaviours in their schools... , Degree: D. Education (Educational Policy and Development)
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2025
A psycho-educational programme to facilitate the mental health of adolescent girls who are victims of verbal bullying
- Authors: Jacobs, Ruwayda
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Teenage girls -- Mental health -- South Africa , Psychoanalysis , Bullying
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:9946 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1014579
- Description: Bullying appears to be a worldwide phenomenon. It occurs within schools, homes, and in the community too. Bullying is a form of aggressive behaviour. Female bullying is not so easily noticed, as girls hardly ever use physical forms of aggression. Bullying can have a detrimental effect on the mental health of the victim. The victims of bullying experience symptoms of mental discomfort, which include low self esteem, feelings of helplessness, feelings of worthlessness and inferiority, lack of confidence, isolation, self-conscientiousness; and lastly, this can lead to suicide. Some form of intervention is necessary to provide adolescents with skills to combat bullying and help them to become mentally healthy again. The overall goal of the study was to develop, implement and evaluate a psycho-educational programme for female adolescents in a secondary school setting, in order to assist them in coping with bullying. The objectives of the research study were to: Conduct asituational analysis to identify the mental health needs of adolescent girls, as victimsof bullying. Develop a psycho-educational programme to facilitate the promotion of mental health of those adolescent girls who are victims of bullying. Implement the psycho-educational programme to facilitate coping by adolescent girls who are victims of bullying. Assess whether the adolescent girls have benefitted from attending the psycho-educational programme. The researcher used a qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual design. The research methodology consisted of four phases. In phase one of the research, a situational analysis was done; and the characteristics of mental discomfort exhibited by the victim were identified. The needs of the adolescent girl who has been bullied have already been described. Phase two involved the development of a psycho-educational programme. The information from the situational analysis was used to develop the conceptual framework. The six concepts in the survey list of Dickoff et al. (1968:422) were described as follows: the recipient is the adolescent girl who has been bullied, the agent is an advanced psychiatric nurse, the context is the community and the secondary school where bullying takes place, the dynamics of the intervention constitute the mental discomfort experienced by the adolescent girl. This is what motivates her to participate in the programme. The procedure was identified as the psycho-educational programme, while the terminus or outcome of the intervention for the adolescent girl would be for her to experience mental health after being exposed to the psycho-educational programme. The relationship between the concepts was used to form the mind map of the conceptual framework. This guided the development of the psycho-educational programme. The content of the programme has already been described. In phase three the psycho-educational programme is implemented and in phase four the programme is evaluated. The psycho-educational programme taught the teenage girls skills and it provided them with knowledge to cope better with the bullying. Attending the programme made the teenagers aware that they needed to change to experience mental health and happiness. The empirical study took place in phase four. The data-gathering method in phase four included the conducting of semi-structured interviews with the adolescent girls who participated in the programme, as well as the teachers of these adolescent girls and their parents. Naïve sketches, reflective journals, observations made and field notes formed part of this database. The data was analyzed by means of Tesch‟s descriptive analysis (in Creswell, 2003:192). The participants had to comment on how they were coping after the implementation of the psycho-educational programme. In conclusion, an intervention in the form of the psycho-educational programme was shown to be beneficial to adolescent girls who were victims of bullying, to assist them in coping with the aftermath of being bullied. Recommendations were made to enhance nursing practice, as well as nursing education and nursing research. Keywords: Adolescent girls, bullying, secondary schools, advanced psychiatric nurse, psycho-educational programme, mental health.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Jacobs, Ruwayda
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Teenage girls -- Mental health -- South Africa , Psychoanalysis , Bullying
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:9946 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1014579
- Description: Bullying appears to be a worldwide phenomenon. It occurs within schools, homes, and in the community too. Bullying is a form of aggressive behaviour. Female bullying is not so easily noticed, as girls hardly ever use physical forms of aggression. Bullying can have a detrimental effect on the mental health of the victim. The victims of bullying experience symptoms of mental discomfort, which include low self esteem, feelings of helplessness, feelings of worthlessness and inferiority, lack of confidence, isolation, self-conscientiousness; and lastly, this can lead to suicide. Some form of intervention is necessary to provide adolescents with skills to combat bullying and help them to become mentally healthy again. The overall goal of the study was to develop, implement and evaluate a psycho-educational programme for female adolescents in a secondary school setting, in order to assist them in coping with bullying. The objectives of the research study were to: Conduct asituational analysis to identify the mental health needs of adolescent girls, as victimsof bullying. Develop a psycho-educational programme to facilitate the promotion of mental health of those adolescent girls who are victims of bullying. Implement the psycho-educational programme to facilitate coping by adolescent girls who are victims of bullying. Assess whether the adolescent girls have benefitted from attending the psycho-educational programme. The researcher used a qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual design. The research methodology consisted of four phases. In phase one of the research, a situational analysis was done; and the characteristics of mental discomfort exhibited by the victim were identified. The needs of the adolescent girl who has been bullied have already been described. Phase two involved the development of a psycho-educational programme. The information from the situational analysis was used to develop the conceptual framework. The six concepts in the survey list of Dickoff et al. (1968:422) were described as follows: the recipient is the adolescent girl who has been bullied, the agent is an advanced psychiatric nurse, the context is the community and the secondary school where bullying takes place, the dynamics of the intervention constitute the mental discomfort experienced by the adolescent girl. This is what motivates her to participate in the programme. The procedure was identified as the psycho-educational programme, while the terminus or outcome of the intervention for the adolescent girl would be for her to experience mental health after being exposed to the psycho-educational programme. The relationship between the concepts was used to form the mind map of the conceptual framework. This guided the development of the psycho-educational programme. The content of the programme has already been described. In phase three the psycho-educational programme is implemented and in phase four the programme is evaluated. The psycho-educational programme taught the teenage girls skills and it provided them with knowledge to cope better with the bullying. Attending the programme made the teenagers aware that they needed to change to experience mental health and happiness. The empirical study took place in phase four. The data-gathering method in phase four included the conducting of semi-structured interviews with the adolescent girls who participated in the programme, as well as the teachers of these adolescent girls and their parents. Naïve sketches, reflective journals, observations made and field notes formed part of this database. The data was analyzed by means of Tesch‟s descriptive analysis (in Creswell, 2003:192). The participants had to comment on how they were coping after the implementation of the psycho-educational programme. In conclusion, an intervention in the form of the psycho-educational programme was shown to be beneficial to adolescent girls who were victims of bullying, to assist them in coping with the aftermath of being bullied. Recommendations were made to enhance nursing practice, as well as nursing education and nursing research. Keywords: Adolescent girls, bullying, secondary schools, advanced psychiatric nurse, psycho-educational programme, mental health.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
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