School Principals Putting Bullying Policy to Practice

Abstract

School principals must rely on state statutes and district policies to navigate reports of school bullying. Investigating reports to determine the outcomes may vary depending upon the districts definition of bullying, the investigation process, and follow through to reporting the findings of the investigation to the involved children and youth’s parents. However, investigating reports can be challenging due to the confusion of what constitutes bullying. This confusion can be especially troubling for parents who believe their child is being bullied. In order to understand principals' perspectives on bullying, two focus groups were conducted with nine urban school principals. Researchers examined principals’ perceptions of how state- and district-level policies were used within their bully investigation practices. These principals suggest that a clear, specific district wide definition of bullying and step by step procedures to investigate reports, along with the state anti-bullying statute, provide a valuable guide for follow-through and back up in determining cases of school bullying. In addition, they identified how policies and district mandates affected parents, particularly when reporting their investigation findings. Implications for bully prevention policies are discussed.