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School bullying is a huge and distressing problem. In 2015,\u00a043% of Australian year 8 students<\/a>\u00a0experienced bullying each month. A 2022\u00a0Mission Australia survey<\/a>\u00a0of Australians between 15 and 19 found 47% were \u201cextremely\u201d or \u201csomewhat\u201d concerned about bullying.<\/p>\n The picture is similar overseas. In 2020, the World Health Organization reported\u00a0one in three students<\/a>\u00a0around the world aged 11-15 years suffered bullying in the preceding month.<\/p>\n Despite all the research about\u00a0bullying<\/a>, it is rare to hear directly from young people about what bullying looks like in their everyday lives. A lot of school bullying research also relies on large-scale but shallow\u00a0survey techniques<\/a>.<\/p>\n In a\u00a0new research project<\/a>, I spoke to 11 young people in South Australia. Over multiple interviews and focus groups, I listened to their school bullying experiences. My approach gave young people time to think about and reflect on their experiences and provide\u00a0deep insights<\/a>.<\/p>\n I asked two small groups of young people to talk with each other about what bullying and violence looked like in their school, how they define bullying and violence, and what could be done about it.<\/p>\n One group of young people came from a private high school and the other was from an alternative education program for disengaged young people. Some of the most striking things both groups discussed were the places and times where bullying happens.<\/p>\n This was not necessarily where adults or teachers expect it to happen.<\/p>\n Two students told stories about the secluded places in and around schools where bullying happens, as well as students\u2019 creativity about finding them. As Drew* told me: Some participants talked about spaces in schools that encourage bullying or violence. These were public places, but did not necessarily have a teacher around. Two interviewees talked about \u201cthe spine\u201d, a long corridor through their school. As Mason said: Classrooms and schoolyards where teachers are present are expected to be safe spaces. But the young people in our research said bullying can be hidden by the expectation that young people should deal with these problems themselves, or that this behaviour is normal. As Owen explained: Young people in this research talked about how bullying is hidden by physical buildings and social expectations in schools. To tackle this problem, research and policy need to move beyond interventions just focused on individuals (that is, victims, perpetrators and bystanders).<\/p>\n We also need to listen closely to young people\u2019s experiences of physical and social space. This could help us understand not only when and where bullying happens, but also why bullying is sometimes invisible to adults.<\/p>\nMy research<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Bullying happens in places where adults aren\u2019t looking<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\nthere\u2019s a lot of places where you can go and you can\u2019t be seen [\u2026] we literally kind of went around looking for all the places which were just really secluded in the school [\u2026] we found way more than we were expecting to. And then we just realised like, wow, it\u2019s a lot of places where people could just do not good stuff here.<\/em>
\nSimilarly, Alex said bullying did not often happen in the schoolyard because \u201cthe teachers are around\u201d.
\nBut it can [happen] on social media, at say where people go to catch their buses after school and stuff, that\u2019s really common [\u2026] after you leave the school gates. And everyone\u2019s catching buses home and stuff in places where people drink alcohol obviously, the bay and in town that\u2019s like really common.<\/em><\/p>\nBut it can happen out in the open<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\nthere is a long hallway down the entire school [\u2026] And because the hallway that went through the school was only about, I\u2019d say, four people wide [\u2026] they [bullies] would just line up and just try and bump people out of the way.<\/em>
\nOwen noted that students were aware of the dangers of this area.
\nyou see a group of kids come through the spine [\u2026] and you\u2019d be like, \u2018oh what\u2019s happening?\u2019, and they\u2019d be like, \u2018oh someone is gonna go start a fight over here, let\u2019s go\u2019, and then it\u2019s just like, \u2018oh ok\u2019.<\/em>
\nThese comments show how the shape and size of spaces in schools can encourage bullying and violence. This suggests the planning and architecture of a school can make a big difference in bullying.<\/p>\nAnd it can even happen around teachers<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\nif you\u2019re a victim, it can and can\u2019t be stopped. Like you can, you can stop it but like, it\u2019s seen as [being] a pussy, if you\u2019re going to go to the teacher all the time and be like, \u2018This kid\u2019s bullying me\u2019. But like, you know, if a cunt is just being annoying, then just go. Go to the teacher and just be like, \u2018Nah fuck that guy, like he\u2019s being a dick\u2019, like 24-7.<\/em>
\nAlthough there did seem to be limits to students\u2019 violence or bullying around adults. This is particularly the case in classrooms or alternative school spaces with lots of teachers and extra support around. As Drew described:
\nthe point is, there are literally teachers around nearly everyone [\u2026] So, if you were going to bully someone in there, you\u2019re literally a fucking idiot.<\/em><\/p>\nWe need a better understanding of bullying<\/strong><\/h4>\n