Self-reported handling of bullying among junior high school teachers in Finland

TLDR: This paper examined teachers' views on the extent and ways in which they would intervene in bullying situations and found that teachers with over 20 years of experience were more likely to report that they would work with the bully than teachers with less than ten years service.

Abstract: Teachers play an important role in bullying prevention. This study examines teachers' views on the extent and ways in which they would intervene in bullying situations. The sample comprised 136 teachers from junior high schools in Finland (107 females and 29 males). Years of service ranged from newly qualified to over 20 years of experience. Seventy teachers reported they had previously received training for school bullying situations. Participants completed the Handling Bullying Questionnaire which measures teachers' responses to five key aspects of intervention: working with bullies, working with victims, disciplining the bully, enlisting other adults and the extent of ignoring the incident. Results indicated that, overall, teachers were most inclined to discipline the bullies, followed by enlisting other adults, working with bullies, working with victims, and finally ignoring the incident. Anti-bullying training was found to be a significant factor in explaining teachers' handling of bullying. Teachers with over 20 years of experience were more likely to report that they would work with the bully than teachers with less than ten years service. Implications of the findings were discussed with regards to the provision of anti-bullying training.