Bullying in Greek Primary and Secondary Schools

Sapouna Maria

School Psychology International (SAGE Publications)

English

English

age differences; bullying; gender differences; prevalence; victimization

Research

Teachers, Researchers.

1 - 20 pages

The problem of school bullying among Greek primary and
secondary school children was investigated by using a translated
version of the Olweus Questionnaire with a total of 1,758 students, mainly aged 10–14, from 20 schools in the greater Thessaloniki area. Overall, 8.2 percent of all students were victims, 5.8 percent were bullies and 1.1 percent was bully/victims.
The results indicate that rates of being bullied and of bullying others in Greece are not as high as in Great Britain, Italy and Portugal, where research utilizing the same questionnaire and identification criteria has been conducted. The observed lower rate of reported incidence might be due to the fact that the term ‘bullying’ is not so familiar in Greece as in Norway or Ireland where prevalence studies have yielded roughly similar findings.
In line with earlier findings, more boys were identified as bullies, whereas no sex differences emerged for rates of victimization. Separate results for primary school pupils revealed that boys and girls were equally self-identified as bullies. Younger students though were more at risk of being bullied.
The most common type of victimization reported by both primary and secondary school students was ‘general name-calling’. In secondary school, sexual bullying was more common than threats or hitting/kicking. Sex differences were identified with respect to physical victimization, which was more common in boys, and spreading malicious rumours, which was more common in girls. Physical victimization was found to significantly increase as students made the transition from primary to secondary school.
Survey results were similar to those of other countries with regard to class and gender of the bully and location of bullying. As in most studies, the playground was where most of the bullying took place. Surprisingly though, almost 25 percent of
victims reported being bullied in the gym class.

The present paper consists of the findings of a large-scale research that was held in Thessaloniki. It was selected because of its thoroughness and its scientific adequacy. This study investigated the bullying phenomenon both in primary and secondary schools, so it gives the opportunity to compare the results between the two different levels of education, at the same time.
The paper begins with an extended report of the previous relevant studies in Greece and worldwide, where it presents the most important results. According to them it states the hypotheses of the study that are to be examined. The methods applied are fully described, as well as the procedure followed.
The results of the research are shown in a distinctive manner, combining statistic tables and reports separated at sections. They refer to the frequency of victimization and bullying, the types of bullying, the bully profile, and the location of bullying. Referring to the last parameter, a surprising finding is that almost a quarter of victims reported being bullied in the gym class, a fact that points out the need for adequate training of gym teachers on bullying issues.
The paper ends up with a discussion about the results of the research, explaining the presence of the findings. Among others, it is stated that the definition of bullying is not widely known in Greece, and this can sometimes cause misleading results. This fact strongly implies the need of systematic research and intervention strategies, as well as a governmentally established policy, in order to ensure that bullying is adequately recognized as a social phenomenon. This is a prerequisite for dealing with the problem of bullying in Greek schools.

http://spi.sagepub.com/content/29/2/199

ASPETE