Addressing Bullying in Schools: A Study of Selected Primary Schools in Trinidad and Tobago

Mala Ramdass1; Roland Birbal1; Cyril Harripaul1; Gail-Joseph Alleyne1

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Addressing Bullying in Schools: A Study of Selected Primary Schools in Trinidad and Tobago

Mala Ramdass^1*, Roland Birbal¹, Cyril Harripaul¹, Gail-Joseph Alleyne¹

¹The University of Trinidad and Tobago, Center for Education Programmes, West Indies.

*Corresponding author: Mala Ramdass, The University of Trinidad and Tobago, Center for Education Programmes, West indies. Tel: +868 642 8888; E-mail: mala.ramdass@gmail.com

Received Date: 29 December, 2016; Accepted Date: 08 January, 2017; Published Date: 16 January, 2017.

Citation: Ramdass M, Birbal R, Harripaul C, Alleyne G (2017) Addressing Bullying in Schools: A Study of Selected Primary Schools in Trinidad and Tobago. Educ Res Appl 2017: J105. DOI: 10.29011/2575-7032/100005

Abstract

The issue of school bullying is a major concern among educators in Trinidad and Tobago. This research investigated the kinds of bullying that are more prevalent in our schools and the extent to which bullying practices are related to school type, school location and sex. The study also addressed how supportive are our schools in addressing bullying.

The sample consisted of randomly selected 410 students from the standard four and five classes from two Education Districts in Trinidad and Tobago. The study examined the relationship among four kinds of bullying-physical, verbal, social and cyber and the weight of each on overall bullying.

The study adopted a quantitative research approach using a cross-sectional design. Statistical means and t-tests were employed to examine students' perceptions of bullying and to investigate differences between schools based on school type, location and sex of students. To examine the relationship between the different kinds of bullying as well as their influences on overall bullying, correlation and regression analyses were employed. Students perceived social, verbal and physical bullying as more prevalent in schools. Significant differences were found based on school type, location and sex. Furthermore, the findings suggest that a moderate to high correlation exists between the different kinds of bullying and social bullying behaviours had the strongest influence on overall student bullying. Government-assisted schools were perceived to have a more supportive climate in addressing bullying. Suggestions are made to assist schools to reduce bullying practices among students.

Keywords: Primary Schools; School Bullying; Student’s Perceptions; Supportive Climate

Demographic	N (%) Students
School Type
Government	198 (49.5%)
Gov't Assisted	212 (53%)
Total	410 (100.0%)
Location
Urban	279 (68%)
Rural	131 (32%)
Total	410 (100.0%)
Sex
Male	165 (40.2%)
Female	245 (59.7%)
Total	410 (100.0%)

Table 1: Demographic Characteristics.

Statements	Factors
	1	2	3	4
Factor 1 Physical (6)
Students pick fights	0.55
Students push others	0.48
Physical fights in my school	0.51
Students hit others	0.59
Money or other things to hurt other	0.56
threaten to hurt others	0.57
Factor 2 Verbal (7)
Students say mean things to hurt others		0.55
Students threatened to do things against their wishes		0.52
Call others bad names		0.49
Ridicule others		0.55
Teased based on physical appearance		0.56
Teased based on ethnicity		0.46
Teased based on sexual preference		0.56
Factor 3 Social (7)
Spread rumor about others			0.59
Give others mean or dirty looks			0.59
Leave others out on purpose			0.5
Threaten not to be friends if not comply with wishes			0.54
Lies on others to encourage dislike			0.54
Insulted by looking at others the wrong way			0.5
Make fun of others appearance			0.55
Factor 4 Cyber (4)
Mean calls on cell phones				0.63
Mean text messages				0.63
Mean videos or photos posted on-line				0.57
Hurtful e-mails				0.54

Table 2: Loadings of the 4-Factor solution principal component analysis result.

Statements	Factor loading
Teachers pay attention to students	0.668
Students feel safe and protected	0.584
Teachers really care about all students	0.762
Teachers want all students to do their best	0.673
Teachers listen to what students have to say	0.771
Teachers treat all students fairly	0.7
Teachers believe every student can be a success	0.653
Teachers treat students with respect	0.681
Students tell teachers when students are being bullied	0.427
School has clear procedures to address bullying	0.519
Teachers act to solve problems when students report bullying	0.658

Table 3: Supportive School Climate Items: principal component analysis results.

Student Bullying Factors	N	Mean	SD
Social	410	3.85	0.75
Physical	410	3.57	0.99
Verbal	410	3.58	0.7
Cyber	410	2.82	1.08

Table 4: Student Bullying Factors: Scale Mean, N and Standard Deviation.

Factor	School Type	N	Mean	SD	t	Significance


Physical	Gov't	198	3.94	0.68	9.5	.000*
	Gov't Assisted	212	3.27	0.75

Verbal	Gov't	198	3.85	0.63	8.2	.000*
	Gov't Assisted	212	3.33	0.67

Social	Gov't	198	3.99	0.62	4.1	.000*
	Gov't Assisted	212	3.7	0.81

Cyber	Gov't	198	3.14	0.98	6	.000*
	Gov't Assisted	212	2.52	1.08

Table 5: T-test Results: Government and Government-Assisted Schools.

Factor	Location	N	Mean	SD	t	Significance
Physical	Rural	131	3.36	0.75	-4.3	.000*
Physical	Urban	279	3.7	0.79	-4.3	.000*
Verbal	Rural	131	3.38	0.71	-4.1	.000*
Verbal	Urban	279	3.68	0.68	-4.1	.000*
Social	Rural	131	3.56	0.77	-5.2	.000*
Social	Urban	279	3.97	0.69	-5.2	.000*
Cyber	Rural	131	2.83	1.07	0.1	0.891
Cyber	Urban	279	2.81	1.08	0.1	0.891

Table 6: T-test Results: Urban and Rural Schools.

Factor	sex	N	Mean	SD	t	Significance
Physical	Male	165	3.63	0.75	0.78	0.427
Physical	Female	245	3.57	0.82	0.78	0.427
Verbal	Male	165	3.54	0.73	-0.89	0.374
Verbal	Female	245	3.61	0.68	-0.89	0.374
Social	Male	165	3.73	0.72	-2.51	.012*
Social	Female	245	3.92	0.74	-2.51	.012*
Cyber	Male	165	2.87	1.06	0.75	0.45
Cyber	Female	245	2.79	1.09	0.75	0.45

Table 7: T-test Results: Male and Female Students.

Factors	Physical	Social	Cyber	Verbal
Physical	1	.442**	.370**	.546**
Physical	1	0	0	0
Social		1	.380**	.729**
Social		1	0	0
Cyber			1	.454**
Cyber			1	0
Verbal				1

Table 8: Correlations: Student-Bullying Factors.

Factor	Beta	t-value	Significance
Social	0.36	28.8	.000*
Verbal	0.33	24	.000*
Cyber	0.31	32.6	.000*
Physical	0.25	24	.000*

Table 9: Beta and Significance.

	N	Mean	SD	T	Significance
Gov't	198	3.77	0.71	-6.8	.000*
Gov't Assisted	212	4.23	0.67	-6.8	.000*
Rural	131	4.17	0.68	3.16	.002*
Urban	279	3.93	0.74	3.16	.002*
Male	165	3.78	0.79	-5	.000*
Female	245	4.16	0.64	-5	.000*

Table 10: T-test Results based on School Type, Location and Sex.

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Addressing Bullying in Schools: A Study of Selected Primary Schools in Trinidad and Tobago