Researchers
Debra Pepler
"...we need to view our bullying problem through a different lens for a more effective way of addressing the issue - and bullying is an important issue - one that has serious implications far beyond the doors of our schools."
Background Information
Debra Pepler is a Distinguished Research Professor of Psychology at York University (Toronto, Canada) and a Senior Associate Scientist at the Hospital for Sick Children. With Dr. Wendy Craig, she currently co-leads PREVNet (Promoting Relationships and Eliminating Violence Network; www.prevnet.ca). She is a world-respected authority on bullying research and provides advice on safe schools and contributes to advisory committees related to parenting, antisocial behaviour, and school violence.
Debra, with fellow researcher Wendy Craig you have observed children on playgrounds using video cameras and remote microphones. What have your observations revealed?
From our observations of hundreds of bullying episodes1 we have come to understand that bullying is a problem that resides in the ways that children are relating to others or being related to. In other words, it is a relationship problem. Let me explain what I mean.
When children are involved in bullying as the aggressors, they are experiencing regular lessons in how effective it can be to use their power aggressively to control and distress others.
With repeated bullying, children who are victimised become trapped in a disrespectful relationship in which they become increasingly powerless and unable to defend themselves.
Children who are bystanders are also learning about the use of power and aggression in relationships. Most often, they align with the child who has power and is bullying. Occasionally these children have the courage to step in to support the victimised child and stop the bullying.
Because bullying is a relationship problem, it requires relationship solutions.
You've talked about the importance of a binocular view.
Yes, our research over the past 20 years has taught us that to understand and effectively address bullying we need a binocular view.
With only one lens, the focus is limited to the individual needs of children involved in all roles within bullying: those being aggressive, those being victimised, and those who are bystanders. This singular view, however, falls short in providing a thorough understanding of the problem. By adding a second lens, as with binoculars, we expand the focus to include children's relationships and then we can see the problem in depth.
This second perspective takes into account the social dynamics in children's peer groups - and the roles that adults play in shaping children's experiences. Together, these two lenses offer a more comprehensive perspective on bullying problems. This deeper understanding of the complexity of the issues will lead us to recognize the multiple approaches required to address bullying problems.
Through your research, you have come to understand bullying as a relationship problem that requires relationship solutions. How does this work?
With this positive perspective, we avoid labeling children as 'victims' or 'bullies', but take a broader perspective on children's strengths and challenges, not only in terms of their own needs, but also in terms of their important relationships within the family, peer group, school, and broader community.
Children need consistent messages and responses to bullying across all of these contexts. We need to interrupt and reconstruct the negative relationship dynamics to move children out of their entrenched roles in a bullying situation.
How can we promote positive relationships?
Adults are responsible for supporting and promoting positive relationships. In addressing bullying problems, the responsible adults need to consider and engage all those involved in bullying incidents - the children who bully, those who are victimised, as well as bystanders. By extension, we can expand that group to include all the children who hear about the incident, for example, those in the class and on the Internet.
Children who bully need support in:
- Understanding the impact of their behaviours
- Understanding the importance of relating positively to others
- Finding ways of achieving power and status through positive leadership
- Protection from bullying
- Support in developing social confidence and positive friendships
- Support in recognising that their behaviour is part of the problem
- Information on what they can do to stop bullying and to support vulnerable peers
Regardless of how these supports are put in place, one overarching principle is clear: children depend on adults to help them understand bullying problems and to promote the development of essential social skills, social perceptions, and social responsibility.
You've helped to develop a Canadian network to share research and practical ideas.
In 2006, Wendy Craig and I were funded by our Canadian federal government to create PREVNet, a national network of Canadian researchers, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and governments committed to stop bullying and to promote healthy relationships and healthy development.
PREVNet encourages a multi-faceted approach that includes education about bullying, tools to evaluate the problem, guidelines for intervention, and policies that ensure children's safety and well-being. In collaboration with its partners, PREVNet continues to develop online toolkits in each of these areas.
1. The research mentioned in this profile was undertaken in accordance with strict university ethical guidelines and with the permission of parents and children themselves.
More information:
PREVNet
http://prevnet.ca/Home/tabid/36/Default.aspx
Binoculars on bullying: a new solution to protect and connect children (2007)
Debra Pepler (York University and the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto) and Wendy Craig (Queen's University, Kingston)
www.voicesforchildren.ca/documents/Voices_Report-Bullying.pdf
Understanding bullying: From research to policy.
Craig, W. M., & Pepler, D. J. (2007). Canadian Psychology, 48, 86-93.
Responding to bullying: What works?
Craig, W. M., & Pepler, D. J.., & Blais, J. (2007). International Journal of School Psychology, 28, 15-24.
Bullying in Schools: How Successful Can Interventions Be? (2007)
Edited by Peter K. Smith (Goldsmiths College, University of London), Debra Pepler (York University, Toronto), Ken Rigby (University of South Australia)
www.cambridge.org/uk/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=0521528038
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