Title
You Say Bully, I Say Bullied: School Culture and Definitions of Bullying in Two Elementary Schools
Document Type
Book Chapter
Publication Date
2016
Department 1
Sociology
Abstract
Purpose
This chapter examines the definitions of bullying used by students and adults in elementary schools and the effects that these definitions had within the broader school culture.
Design/methodology/approach
I combine interviews with 53 students and 10 adults and over 430 hours of participant observation with fifth grade students at two rural elementary schools.
Findings
Definitions of bullying held by those in these schools typically differed from those used by researchers. Even when individuals held definitions that were in line with those used by researchers, however, a focus on identifying bullies rather than on behaviors that fit definitions of bullying contributed to a school culture in which negative interactions were normalized and student reports of these behaviors were discouraged.
Research limitations/implications
This study is limited to two elementary schools in the rural Midwest and cannot be seen as representative of all schools. Support for my findings from other research combined with similar definitions and school cultures in both schools, however, suggest that these definitions and practices are part of a broader cultural context of bullying in the United States.
Practical implications
These findings suggest that schools might be better served by focusing less on labels like "bully" and more on particular behaviors that are to be taken seriously by students, teachers, staff members, and principals.
Originality/value
Although other researchers have studied definitions of bullying, none have combined these definitions with observational data on the broader school contexts in which those definitions are created and used.
Copyright Note
This is the author's version of the work. This publication appears in Gettysburg College's institutional repository by permission of the copyright owner for personal use, not for redistribution.
DOI
10.1108/S1537-466120160000020004
Recommended Citation
Harger, Brent. "You Say Bully, I Say Bullied: School Culture and Definitions of Bullying in Two Elementary Schools." Education and Youth Today. Ed. Yasemin Besen-Cassino and Loretta E. Bass (Sociological Studies of Children and Youth, Volume 20) Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 2016. 91 - 121.
Required Publisher's Statement
This article is © Emerald Group Publishing and permission has been granted for this version to appear here. Emerald does not grant permission for this article to be further copied/distributed or hosted elsewhere without the express permission from Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Comments
Original version available from publisher at http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/S1537-466120160000020004