Bullying and School Drop Out Rate Relationship Analysis

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Bullying and School Drop Out Rate Relationship Analysis

Bullying is a dynamic concept that refers to repeated experiences of systematic abuse by an individual seeking to dominate others in a social setup. Perpetrators and victims of bullying are vulnerable to the challenges of social stratification (Lösel& Hurrelmann, 2009). Bullying is rife in schools where physical and verbal abuse occurs among pupils/students. Victims are socially excluded in situations where school participation among students is limited. There is a close relationship between bullying, school involvement and literacy (Swearer& Espelage, 2004). Essentially, bullying is a multifaceted construct that affects individuals, families, peer groups, school and community environments (Smink& Schargel, 2001).

Adolescence exposes teenage school-going children to behavioral and social challenges including negative life circumstances. According to Marjoribanks (2002), children can be differentiated by their degree of intellectual and character development. Those children with stronger self-esteem are more resilient towards negative life experiences. Lawrence (2008) further states that such children demonstrate higher levels of enthusiasm and aptitude for learning and developing personal relationships with peers rather than intimidated ones.

Positive life relationships and school engagement outcomes lead to high self-esteem. A child is therefore susceptible to bullying episodes in school depending on its resiliency to negative life issues. It is also understood that bullies and their victims record the worst results in school achievement and engagement (Anderson, 2010). Protective factors determine the degree to which a child is resilient to negative connotations associated with bullying. Students who are victims of bullying tend to lose interest in their studies eventually dropping out of school (Schacht, Knox & Mooney, 2008).

School culture is a factor that determines whether bullying is enhanced or discouraged. Culture is defined in terms of the relationships that are developed among students, teachers and other interested stakeholders. A favorable school environment is characterized by a warm and caring social atmosphere, positive student behavioral norms, a strong emphasis on academics and curriculum (Potter, Lunenburg & Bulach, 2008). A caring social atmosphere refers to feelings of support, acceptance and belonging between students and teachers (Morrison, 2007). There is great impact on students self-esteem when positive behavioral norms are reinforced against negative bullying tendencies.

Protective factors ensure that behavioral problems are avoided towards positive contribution to appropriate school culture and acquisition of strong literacy skills. Drop-out rates escalate in an environment where school culture is weak in terms of bonding between students and teachers which leads to diminished self-esteem. In this case, students lose concentration in academics since their mental health and behavioral functions are impaired (Sciarra, 2009). School membership should therefore ensure that students are properly nurtured towards the right culture for learning and engagement.

Bullying is primarily initiated by weak family bonds where children are not properly socialized with their parents. As such, children are tempted to adapt to a street lifestyle characterized by delinquency. These children also exhibit low levels of school engagement occasioned by emotional and behavioral impairment. Schools should thus develop programs that provide emotional support to high-risk students who are vulnerable to violent behaviors since learning institutions act as a buffer against inadequate emotional support at home (Lösel& Hurrelmann, 2009). By engaging students on positive emotional support initiatives, schools develop protective factors among students. In addition, school engagement serves to eliminate early-onset aggression, negative peers and environmental risks (Anderson, 2010).

Schools should therefore play a leading role in developing and implementing zero-tolerance policies against bullying behaviors. On the other hand, suspensions and expulsions are not the most appropriate steps towards punishing deviant student bullies. This is because excluding bullies from school renders them susceptible to high-risk low literacy levels and recurrent behavioral problems. Disciplinary measures targeting to punish bullies in school should therefore be designed to rehabilitate behavior instead of labeling and condemning (Swearer& Espelage, 2004). School relationships that promote a socially and intellectually safe learning environment minimize drop-out rates. These are some of the factors which escalate bullying behavior in learning institutions:

Risky sexual behaviors.
Substance and drug abuse.
Stress.
Suicidal tendencies and
Peer pressure associated with juvenile delinquency.

Bullying is differentiated into direct and indirect dimensions. Direct bullying is an open threat or assault on a victim. This is manifested through physical, verbal, sexual abuse (Lawrence, 2008). Physical attacks involve:

Choking
Pushing
Kicking
Hitting

On the other hand, verbal harassment involves name-calling, malicious teasing, racial slurs, homophobic put-downs and threats (Lösel& Hurrelmann, 2009). Indirect bullying refers to the non-physical forms of antagonism intended at manipulating social events. It is quite difficult to notice and includes social isolation, intentional exclusion, and ostracizing as well as slandering and obscene gestures (Sciarra, 2009). Victims of social exclusion, manipulation and physical abuse are at high risk of dropping out of school. They are either unable of achieving a sustainable literacy threshold for positive learning potentials to be realized.

Victims of bullying are generally children who have suffered from low-self esteem caused by unstable family backgrounds, poor parenting and neighborhoods characterized by conflicts. These factors combine to distort students attitudes and perceptions in life and towards other people. Since the school is the pioneering social context for developing relationships in a childs life, bullying is a major setback to the overall wellbeing of a student. It is the role of the school to assist enrolled students to overcome negative life experiences by promoting positive learning attributes through counseling, socialization and mentorship supervised by competent teachers and facilitators (Morrison, 2007).

References

Anderson, K. L. (2010).Culturally Considerate School Counseling: Helping without Bias. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Lawrence, R. A. (2008).School Crime and Juvenile Justice. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press.

Lösel, F. & Hurrelmann, K. (2009). Health Hazards in Adolescence. New York: Walter de Gruyter.

Marjoribanks, K. (2002). Family and School Capital: Towards a Context Theory of Students School Outcomes. Berlin: Springer.

Morrison, B. (2007). Restoring Safe School Communities: a Whole School Response to Bullying, Violence and Alienation. California: Federation Press.

Potter, L. Lunenburg, F. C. & Bulach, C. R. (2008).Creating a Culture for High- Performing Schools: a Comprehensive Approach to School Reform and Dropout Prevention. Michigan: R&L Education.

Schacht, C. Knox, D. & Mooney, L. A. (2008). Understanding Social Problems. Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning.

Sciarra, D. T. (2009). School Counseling: Foundations and Contemporary Issues. Pacific Grove, CA: Thomson/Brooks/Cole.

Smink, J. & Schargel, F. P. (2001).Strategies to help solve our School Dropout Problem. Larchmont, NY: Eye on Education.

Swearer, S. M. & Espelage, D. L. (2004). Bullying in American Schools: a Social- ecological Perspective on Prevention and Intervention. London and New York: Rout edge.

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