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Chapter 1

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

Introduction

Firestone (2000) was quoted saying, “Never be bullied into silence. Never allow

yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life, but define

yourself.” One of the factors why students tend to be bullied by their classmates is their

inability to express themselves and lack of self-confidence. Students with fear in dealing

with other people tend to be criticized by others. Bullying among schoolchildren is

certainly a very old phenomenon, though it was not until the early 1970s that it was made

the object of systematic research.

A student is being bullied or victimized when exposed, repeatedly over time, to

intentional injury or discomfort inflicted by one or more students. It implies an

imbalance of power or strength in which others victimize one child (Peterson and Skiba,

2004). Bullying can be differentiated from the usual conflicts between students. The

former is a combination of aggression and power while the latter has no deliberate

intention to hurt physically and emotionally.

Of the above-stated bullying among Grade 7 students at Tarlac National High

School, the researcher got interested in trying to find the reasons for bullying and the

characteristics of the students who were being bullied. The types of bullying experienced

by the students and the reaction of the parents’ and teachers’ whenever the students were

bullied. It also showed the proposed interventions and strategies to minimize bullying

inside the school premises.

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Statement of the Problem

This study aimed to determine the incidence of bullying among Grade 7 students at

Tarlac National High School for the S.Y. 2013-2014. This was to come up with

suggestions to minimize bullying inside the school premises.

Specifically, this study sought answers to the following questions.

1. How prevalent is bullying among grade 7 students at the Tarlac National High

School?

2. What types of bullying are experienced by the students as to:

2.1 Indirect?

2.2 Direct?

3. How are the bullies and bullied characterized as to:

3.1 Physical

3.2 Mental

3.3 Emotional

3.4 Social

4. How are the bullied affected by?

4.1 Physical Bullying?

4.2 Verbal Bullying?

4.3 Emotional Bullying?

5. What are the parents’ and teachers’ reaction when the students are bullied?

6. What school policies can be proposed to minimize bullying inside the school

premises?

7. What is the implication of the study to educational management?

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Significance of the Study

The result of this study was important for it would help the teacher gain better

understanding about bullying. Each student has learning abilities but in that ability they

differ in terms of attitude. It tends to measure the prevalence of bullying and the

characteristics of the bullies and bullied. It would help them realized the importance of

suggestions from the teachers’ and the reaction of the parents’ to minimize the bullying

inside the school premises.

School administrators, through the findings of this study, can gain insights about

the prevalence of bullying. The insights can be an avenue to minimize bullying inside the

school.

Furthermore, this study may be of great value to the parents as it may help

develop in them a sense of awareness of the importance of the role they play in the

characteristics of the bullies and bullied.

Moreover, this study can help the teachers’ proposed interventions and strategies

about the prevalence of the bullying situation and to minimize bullying inside the school

premises.

Sound partnership between the parent and teacher means better opportunity to

minimize bullying situation. Through the findings of this study, students who were the

sole reason why this study was conducted would most likely benefit from it.

Lastly, this study can serve as a catalyst for the other studies related to bullying

among Grade 7 students of school for it could give relevant data to future researchers.
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Scope and Delimitation of the Study

The focus of this study was about bullying among Grade 7 students at the Tarlac

National High School. The subjects of this study were the Grade 7 students at the Tarlac

National High School Main.

It was conducted to found out the prevalence of the bullying situation.

Furthermore, this study was conducted to find out the characteristics of the bullies and

bullied as well as the different types of bullying through direct and indirect. It also

depicts the prevalence of the bullying situation and how they were affected through

physical, verbal and emotional bullying.

Furthermore, this study shows suggestion from the teachers’ to minimize bullying

inside the school premises and the reaction of the parents’ whenever the students were

bullied.

The subjects of this study were the Grade 7 students of the Tarlac National High

School Main. It would study the students with experiences of bullying through physical,

verbal and emotional through the records coming from the guidance office. The study

involved one hundred (100) students from the said school.

Definition of Terms

To facilitate deeper understanding about the study the following terminologies

were defined:

Bullying. It is the use of force or coercion to abuse or intimidate others. The

behavior can be habitual and involve an imbalance of social or physical power. It can

include verbal harassment or threat, physical assault or coercion and may be directed
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repeatedly towards particular victims, perhaps on grounds of race, religion, gender,

sexuality, or ability. If bullying is done by a group, it is called mobbing. The victim of

bullying is sometimes referred to as a "target". The students tend to bully their

classmates who are weak and easy to be criticized. The atmosphere of learning is very

limited to the student who is being bullied.

Bullies. Are group of children that can gang up on a victim or someone who is

physically bigger or more aggressive and can intimidate someone else. It can involve

children of any age, including younger elementary grade-schoolers and even

kindergarteners.

Direct Bullying. It is a relatively open attack on a victim that is carried out face

to face. One of the types of bullying that tends to criticize the person based from his or

her appearance. As the name implies, direct bullies use brute force to assert control.

This type of bullying is used by children in the classic playground scenario where a

bigger boy or girl used size and strength to harass a smaller classmate. Physical

aggression can include hitting, pushing, pulling hair, kicking, grabbing, and shoving.

Emotional Bullying. It talks about the deliberate intimidation within the group.

It is like shunning, isolating and ignoring the student.

Emotional Characteristics. This refers to characteristics such as enjoying being

in control, showing no empathy or compassion, having high self-esteem, lacking warmth

and involvement, being insecure, sensitive and quiet.

Guidance Advocates. This refers to the Homeroom PTA presidents and the

Grade 7 teachers of the forty one (41) sections of Grade VII at the Tarlac National High

School - Main.
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Indirect Bullying. It involves a third party but being more subtle and less direct

that will include social isolation and exclusion from the group. It is a type of bullying that

involves the peer members. A more subtle form of bullying is the indirect style which

has nothing to do with being larger or stronger that the victim. Also called social

aggression, indirect bullies seek social isolation of their victims and accomplish this by

attacking their relationships, their self esteem or their reputation.

The person utilizing this style of bullying will employ techniques such as

exclusion, gossip, criticism, mocking or withholding friendship. Indirect bullying can be

a very destructive element in the adult workplace environment.

Mental Characteristics. This refers to the characteristics of being anxious, being

in isolation, having sleeping disorders, feeling worthless, and having low self-esteem.

Physical Bullying. It is the most visible and therefore the most readily

identifiable form of bullying. It involves punching, damage of the property and kicking

of the child.

Physical Characteristics. This refers to the characteristics of having the strong

need to dominate others, having positive attitude towards violence, feeling superior, and

being aggressive.

Prevalence of Bullying. It refers to the majority of bullying situation indicated that a

single boy or a group of boys were the most common bullies of students in their classes,

followed by both boys and girls and a group of girls. The percentage of the bullied and

bullies in a particular school.

Reaction. As used in the study, it is the action taken by the parents or the
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teachers about bullying incidents in the school.

School. It is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the

direction of teachers. A home of learning it is a place where the learners interact from

one another and normally bullying takes place in this institution.

Social Characteristics. This refers to the characteristics of being shy, being a

loner, enjoying the company of others, love to hang out with friends, and having negative

attitude towards violence.

Verbal Bullying. It is seen as one of the common types of bullying. It deals with

taunting, teasing, and ethnic discrimination that result to lack of self-esteem among the

students. A kind of bullying done by speaking to or about a person in a way that is unkind

and hurtful, humiliating, and insulting to the victim.

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Chapter 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

This chapter presents a review of related literature and studies on bullying among

Grade 7 students at the Tarlac National High School, which served as a frame of

reference for this particular study. The readings served as useful guides in preparing the

final structure of the design of this study.

Related Literature

Bullying is a covert and psychological form of attitude problem. Electronic

media can give an individual a sense of power they do not experience during a face-to-

face encounter. Remaining anonymous online allows a victim to assert dominance over

individuals who may be able to physically overtake the victim in person (Brown et al

2006).

Past bullying victimization and access to electronic media are important to

consider when assessing the coping strategies victims use to deal with bullying. The

purpose of this study is to assess bullying among Grade 7 students of school (Seepersad,

2004).

The greatest proportion of students who reported being a victim had no idea who

had bullied them. Prolonged bullying victimization may negatively influence coping

abilities. Some victims may turn to the internet to overcome bullying and loneliness, but

these victims are not likely experiencing the positive impact (Li, 2005).

Indirect aggression can be an effective way for an aggressor to seek revenge or

attention from a peer group. The use of indirect aggression allows girls to become part of
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a group and feel a sense of importance among friends. Indirect aggression often goes

undetected in the school environment and can even remain undetected in the classroom

with a teacher present through the passing of notes, rumors, or the exclusion of an

individual from a group. Bullying should be given emphasis among high school students

since we were living in a culture that was diverse and the students do have different

behaviors. Teachers’ must be aware about their role in preventing the bullying situation.

(Buchan et al, 2006).

Related Studies

A. Foreign

Smokowski and Kopasz (2005) reported in their study entitled “Bullying in

School: An Overview of Types, Effects, Family Characteristics, and Intervention

Strategies” that victims typically fear attending school and 7% of U.S. eighth graders

have stayed home from school at least one day a month because of bullying. Victims

avoid school to diminish bullying, resulting in the deterioration of academic success.

While some victims avoid bullying situations, some victims learn to retaliate productively

against their bullying peer or peers. Victims who are likely to retaliate against peers are

often considered to be highly aggressive and seem to provoke attacks from others. These

individuals are often known to be bullies in one interaction and victims in another.

Schafer et al (2005) on his study entitled “Bullying roles in changing contexts:

The stability of victim and bully roles from primary to secondary school” that learning

effective strategies to overcome bullying behaviors is important because the failure to

cope with bullying can lead to devastating consequences and problems that persist into
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adulthood. Victims of bullying face a power imbalance which they seek to escape.

While some victims are capable of overcoming bullying, other victims are unable to

implement effective coping strategies to end bullying.

To some extent, this study was different from the reviewed studies because the

studies of Bryan, Gross, and Caplan focused on the influence of technology towards

bullying. Mischna and Alaggia focused on the disclosing of the bullying situation while

Unnever and Cornell showed the school’s retrospective about bullying. However, this

study was unique because the respondents were the Grade 7 students of the K to 12

Curriculum. It also identified the prevalence of the bullying situation among high school

students.

B. Local

Penetrante (2009) on his study entitled “Fight the Bully Battle” bullying in

schools should be taken very seriously. It was not a normal part of growing up and it can

ruin lives. Preventing and responding to school bullying was the work of every

administrators and teachers in the prevention and reduction of bullying has been

prominent considering the culture of respect in the Philippine Educational System.

Likewise, teachers motivate their students to respect each other and accept individual

differences. Moreover, a proposed suggestion was a key to minimize bullying inside the

school premises.

The studies of Shangkuon Koo, Lauren and Braid were similar to the present

study since it focused on the types of bullying as to physical, verbal and emotional.
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Penetrante and Castillo also showed similarity to the present study through the prevention

of the bullying situation. Similarities lie also to the characteristics of the bullies and the

bullied inside the school. They were different only in terms of respondents since the

present study used the Grade 7 students.

Conceptual Framework

This study was based on known concept that deals with bullying among Grade 7

students at the Tarlac National High School. It identified the prevalence of the bullying

situation among Grade 7 students of Tarlac National High School. It also identified the

characteristics of the bullies and bullied and the different types of bullying. The

researcher gathered the given information through the records from the guidance office.

Each section was assessed based on their experiences of bullying.

The proposed suggestions from the teachers’ and the reaction of the parents’ to

minimize bullying inside the school premises were included in the study. From the

results of the study, the implications were drawn.

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B
U Bullies Proposed
L Implication
Intervention
L Prevalence of the study
and
Y
I of the to Strategies to
N Educational Minimize
G Bullied Bullying Bullying
Management
situation Inside the
School
Premises
Parents’ and Teachers’
Reaction

Figure 1. Paradigm of the Study

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Chapter 3

METHODS OF STUDY AND SOURCES OF DATA

This chapter presented the methods used by the researcher. The design of the

study, the sources of data, the instrumentation as well as the statistical treatments was

discussed in this chapter.

Research Design

This study was descriptive and qualitative in nature. It was emphasized through

the use of suggestions and reactions of parents and teachers.

Descriptive nature identifies the prevalence of bullying. It investigates the

phenomena of bullying and the characteristics of the bullies and bulled in a forms of

questionnaire and interview as a key instruments for data collection. The bullied and the

bullies were studied as they exist in the school setting.

The data gathered from the interview and questionnaires were the foundation of

coming out with the interventions and strategies to minimize the bullying inside the

school premises. It was planned designed to inform, organize and mobilize the teachers,

parents and pupils through individual and institutional bullying approaches.

Research Instruments

The Olweus Bully and Bullied Questionnaire was the most widely used

instrument to measure bullying, but there have been few studies of its concurrent validity.

In order to assess the effectiveness of bullying prevention efforts, it was essential to have

accurate measures for identifying bullies and victims. This instrument was adapted by
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the study to gauge the prevalence of bullying incidents among Grade 7 students at the

Tarlac National High School, to identify those who were bullies and those that were

being bullied. This was also used to gauge the type of bullying whether the bullying was

done directly or indirectly.

The bullied were sensitive, socially withdrawn. They may think poorly of

themselves or they may have a quiet temperament, anxious, passive and they often let

other people be in control and do not stand up for themselves. They were more likely to

get depressed.

The bullies were physically strong, may or may not be popular with other children

around their same age and they have trouble following rules and showed little concern for

the feelings of others.

To solicit answers as to the effect of physical, verbal and emotional bullying to

the victims of bullying a questionnaire checklist was prepared by the researcher and was

also administered to the respondents.

To address the need for validity research, this study took the unusual step of

administering the Bully and Bullied Questionnaire on a confidential, but not anonymous

basis using code numbers rather than student names in order to examine the accuracy of

student self-report. Self-reports were compared to a peer nomination survey in which

students listed names of classmates who were victims of bullying or had bullied others.

In addition, data were available for a subgroup of 100 cases in which guidance

counselors, guidance advocates and interviewed students who have been identified

through self-report or by peers as victims of bullying or were bullies themselves.

On the other hand, the qualitative research was used in a form of interviews. The
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respondents were asked about the types of bullying they experienced in a form of

physical, mental, emotional and social bullying.

In order to identify the actions of students as to direct and indirect, they were

given a list of possible reactions both on the positive and negative comments for them to

identify which among the prevalence of the bullying situation was used to them. The

same strategy was used to identify the proposed suggestions of the teachers’ to minimize

bullying inside the school premises. To augment the data, data were gathered from the

students through questionnaires and through interviews with students, teachers, guidance

counselor, and guidance advocates. The 55 Grade 7 teachers consists of ten (10) English,

ten (10) Math, five (5) Aralin Panlipunan, eight (8) Science, six (6) Filipino, six (6)

Technology and Livelihood Education, four (4) Edukasyon sa Pagpapakatao, six (6)

MAPEH and ten (10) from these teachers were guidance advocates.

In order to identify the role of the parents and the teachers in the prevention of

bullying the researcher proposed school policies on bullying to address bullying inside

the school premises.

The Respondents

The respondents of this study were the one thousand four hundred fifty students

(1450) Grade 7 learners at the Tarlac National High School for the School Year 2013-

2014. It involved one hundred (100) students who were identified to be bullies and

bullied.

The researcher gave a sheet of paper to the one thousand eight hundred fifty

students and they identified themselves as bully and bullies. The researcher asked their
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respective advisers about the performance of the students in terms of the characteristics

of bully and bullies. The guidance advocates, guidance counselors and teachers stated the

bullying situation experienced by the students. From the number of population of the

Grade 7 students one hundred (100) respondents were identified as to fifty three (53)

bullied and forty seven (47) bullies.

The Sampling Design

The subjects of this study were the Grade 7 students at the Tarlac National High

School S.Y. 2013-2014. The study used purposive sampling.

The purpose of this study dictates a very minimal number of samples. Thus, the

researcher easily identified the respondents.

It involved one hundred (100) students from different sections with high cases of

bullying identified by the guidance office and Grade 7 guidance advocates.

Methods of Gathering Data

The materials and instruments used for gathering data were the questionnaire

checklist, the interview and the documentary analysis.

Questionnaires were given to students to ask the prevalence of the bullying

situation and the characteristics of the bullying process that each student experienced.

Interviews were conducted to augment the data gathered from students and

teachers. The students were interviewed to bear out the role of the parents’ and teachers

about minimizing bullying inside the school.

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C. INTERNET

www.springerlink.com/index/9207m7162r55115j.pdf

http://www.international-journal-of-bullying.net/articole/nr13/art12.pdf

http://www.characteristics.bullying .org/images/0012/001285/12851.pdf