The Ontario Ministry of Education (2012) published a memorandum that provided direction to all school boards in Ontario on the required revisions “to their existing policies and guidelines on bullying and intervention” (p. 1). This policy was replacing the bullying and intervention policy from 2009. Delaney (2002) explains that “over time policies become outdated” and part of the process of policy making is to revise and update existing policies (p. 51). In 2012 it had been three years since the implementation of the previous policy. This should have been ample time for schools to get an understanding of what part of the policy was working and what aspects needed some adjustment.
Research has indicated that “school-wide bullying prevention policy is the foundation of effective bullying prevention programming” (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2012, p. 2). This policy could be considered the foundation, but, schools must be diligent in following this policy to be successful. Some will still continue to bully even into their adult lives. This could happen for various reasons such as they have parents who are also bullies and they have learned this behaviour from them. For others, they may thrive off the attention it gives them, while some simply enjoy it and have no regard for human feelings. I do share the belief that “a safe and positive learning environment is essential for student success” (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2012, p. 2). Students cannot be successful when they are worried about how they will be bullied next, and they cannot feel safe at a school where they are constantly afraid of coming into contact with the bully. Not only students, but school administrators, teachers, and staff need to feel they are in an environment that is safe and positive.
Bullying in schools has been an existing occurrence for decades. It can take many forms such as physical, verbal, and social (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2012). I feel one of the biggest challenges in education is technology, which has evolved over the years to include social media. Smart phones and tablets that can take pictures and record videos can be used as bullying tools. When something gets posted, it can be seen by people all over the world. People can connect with someone internationally and never actually have to meet to be considered ‘friends.’ As exciting an addition such as technology can be to our lives, it can be devastating to students who are being bullied. Victims of bullying can now be exposed to a world-wide audience, not just those who witness the actual bullying in person.
The school board policy on bullying prevention and intervention did not indicate how bullying towards administration, teachers or staff would be handled, nor was there a mention of that type of bullying. It does happen, but why was it not included? Most educational policies focus on how they will benefit the students and their education, but there are not as many on how they will benefit school staff (administration and teachers). This is a concern as administration, teachers, and school staff are at risk of feeling unsafe in their jobs due to bullying. Even more so now that technology has become so evolved and accessible. Students are capable of taking pictures and videos of their teachers and can post them on websites or social media. Educators are also at risk of being bullied by the parents of their students. Parents have access to the same social media as their children. If parents of children are bullies, then their children are in an environment where they can learn to become bullies themselves.
The Province of Ontario decided it is up to each individual school board to establish a bullying prevention and intervention plan. Boards were also advised to consult with various agencies, committees, and community groups, but the boards plan must be consistent with the policies listed in the document (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2012). It was a good idea that the school boards established plans for implementing this policy, but I feel that since it is up to each individual school board there could be a lot of variances. It might have been more effective if similar plans were implemented for a group of schools based on geographic area. For example, the greater Toronto area school boards such as Peel, Halton, York, Durham, and Toronto would implement the same plan. School boards in close proximity should be implementing similar plans since their communities are side by side. The Ontario Ministry of Education (2012) also directed that school “boards must review their bullying prevention and intervention plan periodically (e.g., at least once every two years)” (p. 5). Things can change very quickly in a school environment, and policy reviews should be conducted to keep up with change. For example, since there is a ‘bring your own device’ policy, which allows students to bring their devices to school for educational purposes, there might be students who use their device for other purposes during school such as cyber-bullying which is defined by the Ontario Ministry of Education (2012) to include “bullying by electronic means” (p. 4). Students’ being able to use their devices in the classroom leaves their peers and educators at risk of having their picture taken and/or a video recorded. Once things are posted online it is almost impossible to remove, because even if the poster removes it, someone else could have already copied it and posted it somewhere else.
It is imperative that school administration thoroughly goes through the policy and implementation plan with their teachers, and that everyone understands the policy and what is required. Delaney (2002) states that the “conditions under which policies operate will vary from time to time,” and that administrators “need to be able to recognize when a policy is in need of a revision” (p. 52). It could be that instances of bullying have gone up, not down as expected, or there has been an increase in reports of one form of bullying over another. The Ontario Ministry of Education (2012) also mandated that “school boards must conduct anonymous school climate surveys of students, staff, and parents at least once every two years” (p. 7). This will enable the school board to gather information on what type of bullying students are experiencing. This would help schools to revise their bullying prevention and intervention plan to meet the needs of their students. As well, since suspensions must be considered for bullying incidents, schools could also review their suspension rates for each year and then determine whether the suspension rates have declined or increased (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2012).
The Ontario Ministry of Education (2012) acknowledged that “administrators, teachers, and other school staff need to be provided with opportunities to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to address bullying,” and this knowledge needs to be incorporated throughout the daily curriculum (p. 3). This is crucial for understanding how to implement the policy plan. Teachers cannot be instructed on the policy without being given the knowledge required to implement the policy plan or the research that goes with it. Every student in school should be educated on bullying, the psychological effect, and a list of resources and services. Also, teachers and administrators need to be aware of board resources and community-based services that are available to those students who are in need, so they are able to refer students if needed (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2012).
It is also important that students who are experiencing bullying are taken seriously. The Ontario Ministry of Education wrote that all “employees of the board must take seriously all allegations of bullying behaviour and act in a timely, sensitive, and supportive manner” (p. 7). Students need to know that they are able to confide in a teacher or administrator about being bullied whether it is at school, home, or online. If students do not feel they are able to tell someone, then the situation could escalate until the bully is identified and disciplinary action is taken. The policy states that any school board employee who witnesses or becomes aware of a student who is engaging in bullying or being bullied, “must report it to the principal no later than the end of the school day” (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2012, p. 9). This hopefully prevents staff that might ‘overlook’ certain incidents because they feel they are not serious enough to ‘bother’ administration with. Reporting an incident could prevent a potentially harmful situation from escalating. Sometimes students are too afraid of reporting such incidents and need teachers and staff to take notice and report it.
Bullying has evolved from mostly occurring in the schoolyard to now include cyber-bullying. This requires policy makers to revise past and existing policies. Hopefully, for the students whose parents are bullies, the bullying prevention and intervention policy plan can break the cycle so they do not become bullies themselves.
© Sabrina Morgan
References
Delaney, J. G. (2002). Educational policy studies: A practical approach. Edmonton, AB: Brush Education Inc.
Ontario Ministry of Education. (2012). Bullying prevention and intervention. (Policy/Program Memorandum No. 144). Retrieved from http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/extra/eng/ppm/ppm.html