School Bullying ─ New Perspectives on a Growing Problem

Bullying is one of the most prevalent and insidious forms of school violence today, impacting the learning environment of schools in profound ways. Victims of chronic bullying have poorer grades, increased rates of truancy, increased rates of dropping out, loss of self-esteem, feelings of isolation, depression, and increased risk of suicide attempts.

This Workshop volume is unique in utilizing a larger cultural context and international perspective that broadens the traditional conceptualization of bullying and that promotes creative approaches to a seemingly intractable and complex problem. In addition, senior researcher and practitioner David Dupper investigates several "under the radar" forms of bullying (e.g., religious bullying, bullying by teachers and other adults in schools), as well as the unique challenges in assessing these largely unacknowledged forms of bullying in today's U.S. public schools. Viewing bullying as a systematic abuse of power, this book examines all the ways in which power is misused in schools. Dupper also dispels important myths about bullies and focuses on the increasingly important role that peer witnesses play in exacerbating as well as combating bullying in schools.

Consistent with an ecological systems perspective, this book utilizes a whole school approach as a framework for developing and implementing comprehensive evidence-based interventions to combat bullying in schools. The result is a must-have resource for both undergraduate and graduate students in social work courses, school psychology courses, and education courses, as well as student service workers in secondary schools.

David R. Dupper, PhD, is Professor of Social Work at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.