Abstract
M.Ed.
School bullying has become a serious problem worldwide, affecting as many as one in four
children. Although not much research on bullying has been conducted in South Africa,
bullying has been found to underlie psychological problems, violence and suicide. A
common myth among people is that bullying is seen as something that only happens at other
schools, but according to many researchers it happens at all schools. Until recently, research
has focused on deficit-positivistic perspectives that have viewed bullying as a cause and
effect relationship. This consequently led to a belief that the problem can be 'fixed'. This
resulted in the use of ad-hoc, short-term strategies that have served to alleviate the problem
of bullying temporarily.
The focus of this research was to gain a thorough understanding of how the unique culture at
Hillside Primary School influenced bullying behaviour, by identifying and describing the
values and norms of the various members of the community, that underlie bullying. This
study was based on a constructive, ecosystemic and critical perspective, and therefore
focused on the whole system, rather than only on the bully and/or the victim. An integration
of Davidoff and Lazarus's (1997) framework for whole-school development and Keith
Sullivan's continuum model, which shows the relationship between the school's philosophy
and the school environment, was used to understand and interpret the findings. It is
contended that if members of a community are made aware of the values, norms, beliefs and
attitudes that contribute towards bullying, then they are in a position to change them. It is
argued that such an approach will lead to deep and long lasting change because it is
preventative in nature, rather than solely relying on intervention.
The methodological design used to achieve the research aim was a qualitative critical
ethnography. The sample was purposefully and theoretically selected. This design allowed
the researcher into the here and now perspectives of the participants at Hillside Primary
School, once a week, over a period of approximately two terms. Moreover, it accommodated
the flexible and emergent nature of the research, and allowed for thick, rich interpretive
descriptions of the process. The researcher used the Grade seven class as one of the systems
of the school, as a lens to explore the culture of the school, through participant observation.
The data that emerged was continuously interpreted by means of the constant comparative
method of data analysis.The main finding of the study indicated that bullying is a complex phenomenon that is
interwoven into numerous values and norms of a predominant authoritarian culture that
unwittingly condone bullying. The findings also revealed that Hillside Primary School may
be described as a conflicted school, because its philosophy does not cohere with the
implementation of democratic procedures. This is indicative of an unsafe learning
environment. The research concludes that if schools in South Africa are serious about
combating bullying, then they need to first become authentic, purposeful communities, in
which all members of a community identify and commit to core values.