Definitions of school bullying in Taiwan: A comparison of multiple perspectives

Abstract

Investigating teachers’ and students’ different definitions of school bullying is important for necessary prevention and effective intervention. This study compared definitions of bullying from the perspectives of bystanders, bullies, victims, and educators. A total of 1,558 secondary educators and students in Taiwan participated in this research, including 967 students (537 bystanders, 217 bullies, and 213 victims) and 591 educators. Participants wrote their answers to the open-ended question, ‘What is bullying in your opinion?’. The grounded theory method was employed to analyse the collected qualitative data. Results indicated that educators’ and students’ conceptions of bullying in Taiwan included features of intentionality, power imbalance, assaults, and negative results. Educators tended to refer to the characteristic of repetition, which was rarely mentioned by the students. The bullies were likely to regard bullying as unintended acts, while intentionality was more likely to be identified by the educators. This study categorized aggressive behaviour into three patterns: Playful teasing, bullying, and severe bullying. The bullies thought that they were merely joking, when actually their behaviour was considered bullying from the bystanders’ and the victims’ points of view. This study finally discussed characteristics and categories of school bullying and the implications for interventions.