School factors related to bullying: a qualitative study of early adolescent students

• Published in: Social psychology of education Vol. 15; no. 2; pp. 125 - 145
• Main Authors: Bibou-Nakou, I., Tsiantis, J., Assimopoulos, H., Chatzilambou, P., Giannakopoulou, D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.06.2012; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Academic Achievement; Adolescents; Aggression; Behavior Problems; Bullying; Child Abuse; Child Advocacy; Classroom Environment; Classroom Techniques; Competition; Coping; Early Adolescents; Education; Educational Environment; Family Environment; Focus Groups; Group Dynamics; Hidden Curriculum; Interpersonal Relationship; Interviews; Peer Groups; Peer Relationship; Personality and Social Psychology; Qualitative research; School Culture; Schools; Secondary School Students; Secondary Schools; Social Status; Socialization; Sociology of Education; Student Attitudes; Teacher Student Relationship; Teaching Methods; Teenagers; Bullying; Young adolescent students; School factors; Qualitative study
• ISSN: 1381-2890; 1573-1928
• DOI: 10.1007/s11218-012-9179-1

This article addresses the issue of bullying and analyzes a set of accounts that were collected from fourteen focus group interviews with 90 secondary school children. The aim of the research was to map out the ways in which young adolescents talk about their social relations at school in relation to home and the ways they construct bullying as a school-related issue. The findings suggest that young adolescents differ in their ability to participate in the construction of social order depending on the school/home context. Further, bullying is mainly framed as an issue of the school climate on the part of the participants. The student–teacher relationship (as a hidden curriculum), academic competition and pressure of academic achievement contribute significantly to the bullying discourse in the students’ talk.