Education Policy
ANTI-BULLYING
Managing Educational Policy as School Leaders
C. N. Craig
Executive Summary
Green Academy (GA), a primary school in Jamaica vision is to ‘provide a learner-friendly
atmosphere where all students may realise their potential .
In recent time there have been bullying occurrences at the school but there is no structured
consistent way of addressing bullying.
This study of the bullying occurrences and their impact on students' academic performance and
how the institution responds will provide a framework for a bullying policy document .
The policy will provide an unambiguous and consistent way of addressing bullying.
Effectively managing bullying will lead to a safer learning environment where students can
achieve their full academic potential.
Background
Green Academy is a government-run primary school in the tourist resort area of, Runaway Bay,
Jamaica.
The school has approximately 450 students and 22 staff members.
In keeping with the Ministry of Education’s mandate that ‘Every child can learn and every child must
learn’, the school’s vision is to ‘provide a learner-friendly atmosphere where all students may realise
their potential.
The school has provided holistic learning for students aged six to twelve years since its beginnings in
the early 1930s.
Context
Bullying is prevalent in Jamaican schools as traditionally Jamaican society in part identifies it
as a natural childhood stage of life (Hudson-Davis et al., 2015).
Hudson-Davis et al. (2015) study of threeJamaican public schools reveal 65% of students
indicated that physical bullying was a daily occurrence at their school and 67% reported that
verbal bullying occurred daily
Bullying can have a deleterious influence on students’ academic performanc e.
Every day, more than 280,000 children are physically attacked in schools, with an estimated
160,000 students skipping school due to bullying (Barrington (2021).
Context
The nonexistence of a written bullying policy at the GA does not allow students to understand their rights and
responsibilities. So school cannot hold them accountable for bullying.
Written policies are clear, and definite (Bscholarly, 2020). They will provide a consistently unambiguous
response across the school in dealing with bullying (LinkedIn, n.d.) and subsequently help to curtail bullying
occurrences in the school.
Witten polices can help keep students safe by letting them know about what is expected of them and provide
norms and standards for decision-making in everyday circumstances.
Research Problem
There is increasing occurrences of bullying at GA but the school has no written policy for addressing
bullying. An unwritten policy or is susceptible to individual judgement and level of awareness and may
encourage violation of students' rights (Bscholarly, 2020). .
Students must feel comfortable and safe at school to learn well (PowerDMS, n.d.).
Providing a safe and welcoming environment where students can achieve their potential warrants a written
policy to guide and inspire students to be accountable for their behavior (PowerDMS, n.d.).
A study of the bullying and its impact on students' academic achievement and guidelines will provide a data-
driven framework for a bullying policy document.
Methodology
A quantitative exploratory approach will examine bullying, its impact on academic performance
and how GA addressed the issue during the period September 2021 to March 2022. This
approach is objective and allows for replication, validation and generalisation (Creswell, 2014)
Data collection:
A questionnaires comprising 10 closed-end questions administered online as well as paper-
based to a stratified sample of 30% of the 22 teachers and 10% of the 450 students.
Questionnaires are low-cost and can collect large amounts of information from a large sample in
a short period (Cohen et al., 2018). The standardized numerically represented responses also
allows easy analysis.
Methodology cont’d
Sampling: Stratified random sampling reduces bias by providing an equal chance for all
members of the population to be selected. It also improves the study’s validity and
generalisability as it proportionately represents the population .
Analysis: Analysis done using SPSS, Microsoft Excel and software in Google form.
Ethics: Ethical principles will be observed to maintain the respondents' anonymity and
confidentiality (Creswell, 2014). This includes the exclusion of questions requiring personal
details.
Methodology cont’d
Secondary data for this study were gathered from relevant literature found on the internet.
The secondary data provided the foundation for the study's interpretation and results.
The fear of being bullied negatively impacts relationships with teachers and classmate and
results in avoidance of academic task (Beran and Lupart, 2009).
Protecting children from bullying is a human rights imperative for all societies (UNICEF,
2014a).
There is a compelling need to decrease students' exposure to and participation in violence (Smith
& Kilpatrick, 2017).
Creating a safe learning environment involves protecting students from the harmful effects of
Policy Document
The policy will include:
A Belief Statement/Purpose.
Definitions of Bullying: verbal, physical, cyber, emotional.
Signs of bullying
A List of Roles and Responsibilities.
Additional authorities
A Statement of Procedures
- reporting and filing bullying
- investigating the claims
- actions the school will take if the claims are proven true
Provision for review
Conclusion
Students who learn in a secure and welcoming setting are likely to succeed academically, whereas low
academic achievement might be a sign of bullying.
Formulating a bullying policy takes time and the collaborative efforts of all stakeholders.
A written policy is explicit, clear, and definitive (Bscholarly, 2020), educating pupils about expectations and
offering a consistent, unambiguous approach across the school when it comes to dealing with bullying.
The policy will help to promote a safe and welcoming learning environment by enforcing the rules consistently.
Upon review it may require amendments to suit the changing needs of the school.
References
Barrington, K. (2016, March 22). How does bullying affect a student’s academic performance? Public school review.
https://www.publicschoolreview.com/blog/how-does-bullying-affect-a-students-academic-performance
Beran, T. N., & Lupart, J. (2009). The relationship between school achievement and peer harassment in Canadian adolescents: The
importance of mediating factors. School Psychology International, 30, 75–91. doi:10.1177/0143034308101851
Bscholarly. (2020, May 27). Advantages and disadvantages of an unwritten constitution.
https://bscholarly.com/advantages-disadvantages-unwritten-constitution/
Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2018). Research methods in education. (8th ed.). Routledge.
Creswell, J. (2014). Research designs. Qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods approaches. Sage.
Hudson-Davis, A, Bourne, P., Sharpe-Pryce, C. (2015). The psychology of the bullying phenomenon in three Jamaican public primary
schools: A need for a public health trust. International Journal of Emergency Mental Health and Human Resilience 17, 406–414.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Angela-Hudson-Davis-2/publication/281997933_The_Psychology_of_the_Bullying_Phenomenon_in_Three_Jamaican_Public_Primary_Schools_A_Ne
ed_for_a_Public_Health_Trust/links/5683e65508ae051f9af036fe/The-Psychology-of-the-Bullying-Phenomenon-in-Three-Jamaican-Public-Primary-Schools-A-Need-for-a-Public-Health-Tru
st.pdf
PowerDMS. (n.d.). Importance of clear policies and procedures in schools.
https://www.powerdms.com/policy-learning-center/importance-of-clear-policies-and-procedures-in-schools#
Smith, D. E. & Kilpatrick, C. T. (2017). School bullying in the Jamaican context through an ecological lens.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2043610617723736
UNICEF. (2014a) Fact sheet: A summary of the rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
https://www.unicef.org/crc/files/Rights_overview.pdf
