Bullying Prevention with Social Emotional Learning

Bullying has been acknowledged as a problem in schools for several decades. Bullying is intentional negative behavior that is repeated and involves an imbalance of social or physical power. Students who are bullied can suffer negative effects that last into adulthood, including depression, anxiety, sadness, and loneliness. What may be more surprising is that those who are doing the bullying also suffer. Students who bully others are at higher risk for a wide range of problems including abusing alcohol and other drugs, getting into fights, and doing poorly academically.

Many students bully for social reasons and use bullying effectively to gain status. Victims of bullying tend to be socially withdrawn and lack positive self concepts. Therefore schools should focus on social lemotional learning skills as part of their efforts to deal with bullying issues.

In simple terms, social and emotional learning is the ability to understand and control one's emotions, solve issues in an efficient manner, and build meaningful connections with others. These skills are unquestionably crucial for all students. Youth need social and emotional skills to succeed in their vocations, communities, and civic life. These abilities include clear communication, taking initiative, problem-solving, and interpersonal skills.

Instructional practice, students and staff need social and emotional learning skills to maintain a safe and supportive school environment, that a safe and supportive school environment is necessary to foster the development of social-emotional competencies. When school leaders consider opportunities for improving learning environments, they want to understand how the school will benefit. To answer this question, each school community must ask the following: Is improving academic performance a school goal? Is improving the overall well-being and success of students a school goal? Does the comprehensive school improvement plan focus on improving attendance or providing a more safe and healthy learning environment? Does the professional development plan include classroom management strategies and skills to increase the capacity of teachers to effectively address disruptive student behavior? Is reducing inappropriate student behavior a school goal? Does the school allocate substantial staff and financial resources to address these issues?

Social-emotional learning skills help all those involved in bullying and can be easily adopted into school curricula. Teaching these skills not only promotes a safe and positive climate within schools, it creates healthy children who are ready to learn.

Reference :

Olweus, D. (1993). Bullying at school. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2012). Understanding bullying. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/ViolencePrevention/pdf/BullyingFactsheet2012-a.pdf

https://www.p12.nysed.gov/sss/documents/SELEssentialforLearningandLife.pdf