School Bullying among Students in Malaysia

School bullying is an act that having physically, verbally, emotionally or electronically connections to the victim which connected to education. It takes place either inside or outside of the schools. School bullying can be categorized in types and the common acts that used to target on the victims. Bullying can always happen through physically, emotionally, verbally and electronically. This always repeated in a period of time. Eventually, school bullying happens in every single corner in the school. The most happening areas are toilets, hallways, corridors, canteen, abandoned classrooms, school buses or bus stops. Besides, during PE class and recess time is the all time favorites for school bullies to take action on their target.

School bullies always comes with a group of students who are under controlled by a so called leader in the group. Their motive is to conquer and rule the school among the students. They will search for their target and eventually start their mission on those weak victims. The group of students takes advantage or isolates particular student and gain the loyalty from the bystanders who wants to avoid being the next victim. These school bullies will first tease and taunt their target before physically attack the target. The targets of bullies in school are students who are weak and low-self esteem, or treated as a freak by their peers. Students who are extraordinary if compared to their peers will treat differently by their peers either in the positive ways or vice versa.

In Malaysia, KUALA LUMPUR, 3 July 2007 – “Recent cases of school bullying have become a cause for concern in Malaysia. One of the more appalling incidents of bullying that stunned the nation was the brutal assault of a 16-year-old student by his school seniors in 2005 which led to his death. This case and others like it have raised public concern about violence in Malaysian schools.”- (sumber : unicef Malaysia communications,2007). This incident has rises concerns among the society. This is crucial and not acceptable which declared by the minister of education. The minister of education in Malaysia has made a public statement to the bullies that bullying case is not acceptable and unforgiveable.

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The most important thing to know about bullying is not only the form of physical violence, but the most common destructive form in Malaysia schools is psychologically destructions. People tend to concern on physical bullying but ignored the psychological bullying. This is a huge mistake that overlook on one side but not the other side of bullying, and this is very dangerous that might lead to crucial suffering on those victims.

Not only the normal students face school bullying, had princess Aiko from japan faced the problem as well.This incident causes the child absent from school and having phobia towards school. Her problems, said the Imperial Household Agency, arose from her “rough behaviour” at the hands of boys in her age group at the ultra-exclusive Gakushuin school she attends in central Tokyo. (The times, 6 march 2010)

Concept of school bullying

Definition

School bullying is a systematic abuse of power (Rigby, 2002) in school which now can define as aggressiveness violent behavior on victims who failed to defend for themselves. (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Volume 9, No. 3, 2004, pp. 98-103).In malaysia, based on a study, 74.9% of students are psychological-physically victims and followed by 53.2% students involved in both types of bullying, 14.5% of non-bullies and finally 8.6% of non-victims.

Recently, bully has becoming a major problem and it needs to be overcome through intervening program (Greenbaum, Turner, Stephens, 1989; Wilson, 1992). The whole nation were concern and aware of this matter. Study on how common of students were bullied in schools reveals that almost 80% of primary school students have been bullied, and the majority happen in the classroom. (sumber: unicef Malaysia communications, 2007)

Types of school bullying

There several types of bullying in schools. Bullying can take many forms as in direct bullying, indirect bullying and cyber bullying. Direct bullying can be physically assault on the victims or verbally attack. School bullies often teasing and taunts their victims, verbal attacks, shoving and etc. While indirect bullying is more to verbal and social behavior. Bullies will verbal and emotionally attack their victims. Such as, spreading inaccurate rumors about a person spoilt their reputation, practical jokes, shunning and etc. At last, cyber bullying is the use of advanced internet technology, including social websites, text messaging and emails to destruct their victims.

Verbal bullying is the most common type of bullying experienced by both boys and girls. Boys are more likely to be physically bullied by their peers (Olweus, 1993; Nansel et al., 2001); girls are more likely to report being targets of rumorspreading and sexual comments (Nansel et al., 2001). Girls are also more likely than boys to bully each other using social exclusion (Olweus, 2002). (source: unicef Malaysia communications, 2007)

The bullies and the victims

Besides the traditional roles of bully, victim, and non involved,a number of studies have examined the situation of bully-victims or provocative or aggressive victims. Children showing characteristics of both bully and victim. Not surprisingly, a number of studies suggest that these children are more at risk than either pure bullies or pure victims(Duncan, 1999; Wolkeet al., 2000). The bullies normally tend to have average or high self esteem. They possessed with impulsive and hot tempered characteristics. They lack of empathy and they do have difficulties in obeying the rules, the most important things is they have this positive attitudes towards violence (Olweus, 1993).

Who are the targets for the bullies? Bullies will always know who their targets are. They will select their prey by judging their targets. Normally victims are in small sizes, nerdy book worm looks, weak and low self esteem. The effect of bullying on the victims is traumatizing. It will cause the student having phobia towards school. They dare not and afraid of going to school. School is a nightmare for them and this resulted negative impact on their emotional. They initially lost their interest in school’s activities and works, poor performances in studies, poor attendances, and mood swing such as depression, isolated from the others, and limited contact with other people.

Effects of bullying

“Emotionally, victims of bullying often suffer feelings of great distress and fear whenever they are in school.” ( source: unicef Malaysia communications, 2007) Most of the victim will put the blame on themselves for the bullying actions, and they believing that it is their weakness or incompetence that contributes to them being picked on by the bullies. “Some victims of bullying harbor intense anger and bitterness towards bullies and the social cliques that condone and support bullying behavior.” (source: unicef Malaysia communications,2007) If this anger unable to resolves, the victims will ended up bullying others to revenge and express their anger, and these are classified as bully-victims. Others might express their angers such as anti-social behavior. They may turn up to be vandalism and theft.

Besides, it might lead to suicidal attempt. Bullying can lead to suicidal attempt as crucial bullying behavior can causes a victim to choose the suicidal path to end the suffering. Bullying can affect a child’s learning process. In order to have a quality education, a child should have explore in a safe, secure and high quality environment for them. These can help them adapt into a better learning environment and physically, emotionally and intellectually healthy. On the other hand, while under the threat of being harm and humiliation, a child can never able to fulfill their academic potential. While in social skills, they are tend to be isolated from the others, n left to be low self esteem. Lack of communications and interactions with their peers will make the conditions even worst for them. This may results that case bullying grow rapidly among the students.

Factors of influencing bullying behaviours

Attitude

Guerra and Nucci (1992) found out that delinquent students showed a lower tendency to consider moral issues as wrong and harmful than their non delinquent peers, and they considered moral issue as a matter of personal choice.( Kim, Su-Jeong (2004): A Study of Personal and Environmental Factors Influencing Bullying. Dissertation, LMU München: Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences). This has shows that the fundamental of the person’s personality and attitude influence their behaviours. A child who are having aggressiveness in attitude will act rashly and reckless. This shows that they unable to control their behaviours due to their attitude that has rooted deep in them. “Therefore, it is expected that higher positive attitude toward aggression predicts higher bully tendency” (source: Kim, Su-Jeong (2004): A Study of Personal and Environmental Factors Influencing Bullying. Dissertation, LMU München: Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences)

cultures and environment

The cultures and the school environment plays an important role in influencing bullying in schools. The schools environment and the cultures in the school bring a huge impact on influencing students involve in school bullying. If the school’s cultures in school bullying has been brought from generation to generation, school bullying in this school rather crucial and this is the main concern that school bullying occurs and unsolved yet. Students easily influenced by a group of people especially their seniors from higher form. People, who have individualist beliefs, are inclined to be personal oriented.(source: Kim, Su-Jeong (2004): A Study of Personal and Environmental Factors Influencing Bullying. Dissertation, LMU München: Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences) .

The environment around the school is important. If the environment in the school is tensed and uptight which full of bullies, students tend to be losing their intelligence and failed to think rasionally. Students tend to be either preceding the bullying behaviours or continue suffering under this bad circumstance.

Family

Family members seem to be the most influential party. The relationship between parents and their kids and the way they parenting will influence children’s social behavior. “A conflictive, cold and rejecting raring style leads to a lack of considerateness for others “(Shaffer, 1994). The attitude of the parents rooted in the child’s mind and this may results how the child will act in the future. Fraczek and Kirwil (1992) found out the children having the parents, who stress on the achievement and competition, tended to be more aggressive than the other children.(source: Kim, Su-Jeong (2004): A Study of Personal and Environmental Factors Influencing Bullying. Dissertation, LMU München: Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences)

In a family, parents are the most important role in educate their child in a proper manners. Parent’s values and beliefs are important factors to constitute the child’s values and beliefs. Parents transfer social norms and values to the next generation through direct instruction and in vicarious way.( source: Kim, Su-Jeong (2004): A Study of Personal and Environmental Factors Influencing Bullying. Dissertation, LMU München: Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences)

Self perception

Self perceptions linked to different perceptions from different angles. There are three main perceptions involved in school bullying. The victim’s perspectives, According to prior studies (Kim, 1997: Kwag, & Lee, 1999), most of victims did not know why they were bullied. They have the idea which they are too bashful and doesn’t have any close friends. Some of victims regarded their bad school grade and bullies’ evilness as the reason of bullying (Kim, 1997; Schaefer, 1998). (source: Kim, Su-Jeong (2004): A Study of Personal and Environmental Factors Influencing Bullying. Dissertation, LMU München: Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences)

While in bullies’ perspectives, they are either way too superior to the others or they are intimidated and feeling insecure. Mostly bullies who are superior always choose their weak victims as their targets. While those bullies who are insecure always bullies to get attention and needed friends to surround them. Beside of them, parents’ house, revenge and victim’s bad school performance were selected as the reason of bullying. ( source: Kim, Su-Jeong (2004): A Study of Personal and Environmental Factors Influencing Bullying. Dissertation, LMU München: Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences)

While bystanders are those who either could be a victim or not. They thought that victim’s behaviours mostly is the reason that being bullied. As for the bullies, they bullied to gain strength and they just behaves like the others. ( source: Kim, Su-Jeong (2004): A Study of Personal and Environmental Factors Influencing Bullying. Dissertation, LMU München: Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences)

Ways to curb the problem

Teachers

Teachers play a vital role in supervised the students so that they do the right things. Therefore, by using the education assignments and projects on a weekly or monthly basis, can encourage the students in doing the right things. As a teacher, students’ safety is the main concern. School bullying can be causing troubles and problems for the teachers. Teachers have to make a stand that bullying is not tolerated and acceptable in classroom, schools and everywhere. Teachers have to ensure that if anyone in the school has a problem with bullying, they must report or have personal talk with the teacher. Teachers must let the students know that they can be trusted and ensure their safety. Teachers should take action immediately once witnesses case bullying in his or her presence. Besides offering protections and immediate actions, teachers are responsible in educate the students about the school bullying. The importance of anti-bullying in school and severe punishments will offer if bullying happen around the school compound. Teachers should set a good example and be a role model among the students. Students tend to observe and imitate teachers’ behaviours. Teachers should always let a child feel loved, appreciated and respected. Besides, teachers should promote a sharing and loving culture among the students.

Schools

Schools play a vital role effectively to reduce bullying by developing a safe and supportive school environment; School should raise the awareness among the students, teachers, parents and the public as well. School’s authority should offer better supervision during recess and lunch hour by teachers. Meanwhile, consistent and immediate consequences for aggressive behavior must take place. School should encourage the public and offer generous praise for pro-social and helpful behavior by students. Besides, school authority should drafts out a specific class rules which against bullying. If school detected case bullying around the school area, serious individual talks with bullies and with victims must take place. Other than that, serious talks with parents of bullies and victims are very important. School should always update the students’ news to their parents and prevent the problems together. Last, a meeting of the school with parent-teacher (home and school) organization on the topic of bullying should hold once a while to understand and find solutions for preventions.

Parents

Parents play a vital role in prevents and curb school bullying. A loving and caring family always can show support to the child. Parents should raise the awareness among themselves in order to protect their child from danger. Everyone has the responsibility in solving the problem. Parents are encouraged to cooperate with the school immediately to make sure their child is safe. Parents should educate the values and the right things to the child. Parent’s attitude and ways in bringing up the child determined the child either to be a useful person or a bully in the society. Parents should try to communicate with their child, understand them, listen to their feelings and find the major problem in their child. If the child is timid, lack of interactions with peers, parents should arrange their child to participate in positive social groups which able to meet his or her interests. In order to develop their child’s special skills and self confidence in the social group can be very helpful. Parents should work hand in hand with school by suggesting that the school to implement an anti-bullying program.

Media

How media can play a part in prevent school bullying in schools? Media play a vital role in prevents school bullying. Advertisements should able to raise the awareness among the public. After all, media is the best way to convey the messages and awareness towards the public. Besides, TV, movies and videogames are the main sources in influences the kids and carry more verbal and physical violence. In order to hold the responsibility among the public, media literacy seems to be a good way to prevent violence among the child. Media should have censorship on violence issues on the tv, movies and video games. Besides, by raising the awareness among the public through the radio stations, newspapers articles and banners. Besides, internet is one of the technology media that can spread a word through the network to the whole world wide. In United States, they set up an anti-bullying website which included information on teachers’ role, schools’ role, victims and bystanders’ role. It included ways to prevent and how to stop the bullying spread in schools or around them.

Theory in sociology of education that connect in this issue.

The sociology of education is a study on the role and the relationship between the society and education, and the relationship between the main objectives and process Research and development in education. Besides, it included the relationship between the public institutions, religious and political aspects in education field. There are three main theories were introduced in this study, the functionalism, conflict and symbolic interactionism. In this topic, the case of school bullying is a social issue that associated with physical violence behavior which is consider easy under certain conditions, such as poverty, racial or aggressive angers or family influences.

Under Conflicts theory, the main founder is Karl Marx “the communist manifesto” emphasizes on the social status or social life in the society, the materialist of history and the oppression of economic from revolution or, at least, reform. In this theory there is something similar that related to bullying. The imbalance of the social status that raises conflicts in the society. So as in school, the students form themselves a hierarchy system according to their academic potential. This shows that “social status” among the school kids. The higher status or so called the high intelligent kids will control the lower status citizens. They will hurt the kids through verbally, physically and emotionally to gain their status and strength or supporters.

In Karl Marx’s theory is that the economic structure in society leads to political oppression. As in history, people make use of their economic status to gain the control among the people in the hierarchy. The economic structure of society includes the ideas of ideologies, morality, literature and arts. From the history, reflects on what is happening in the school now. School bullying somehow derives from the history. How the bullies uses their strength or status power to gain attraction and power in oppressing the weakest links.

While in the educational angle to view this theory, the role of the school seems like is the place to create the social status hierarchy among the society. Schools which adapted this approach normally is a school of elites. They emphasizes on the importance of social status and positives competitions among the students. The school is dominated by the elite group, as for the incompetence students or comes from the lower class in the hierarchy will remain as the low class citizens. The school will always prioritize the elite groups. The school bullying starts and will remain as a culture here, as the school priority is the elite groups and they emphasizes on social status. The teachers are playing a vital role here. Although the culture and environment in the school encourages bullying indirectly, teachers should set a role model to avoid negatives competitions and malicious, practical mean behaviours among the students.

The theory that applies in some certain school shows that this approach encourages competitions between one and another. In order to take down one and another, to prove that the victorious, status and strength. There are critics on this approach shows that it does not maintain the stability among the society. In education field, no matter which approach the school adapts; the role of the school should always provide the quality educations and academic purposes to a child.

Summary

School bullying occurs everywhere in this world. In United States, students who are under depression resulted of bullying were opting for suicidal attempt to end these mean behaviours. The purpose for students to go to school is to obtain know ledges, learning and be a better person who can contributes to the society.

The factors that lead to school bullying occur in school mainly because of influences. Influences from the peers pressure, influences from the society, and influences from the family, influences from the school and environment, and the cultures are directed to the incidents and effects of case bullying.

The main roles in curb the problems always arouse with the teachers, the schools, the parents, the media, and the society. Everyone has the responsibilities to overcome this problem. Everyone has the responsibility to curb this problem and to reduce the risk in hurting the child.

Research on the statistics of school bullying in Malaysia according to a statistics gathered by the Center for Addiction and Mental Health, roughly one in three students in form 1-5 reported been bullied at school, not just only at the playground, but the hallways, corridors, toilets and every corner in the school. Now, the latest bullies’ technique is by using the latest technology. They use internet, test messages, e-mails and internet posting to social networks; to intimidate their targets.