Hierarchy, violence and bullying among students of public middle schools

Abstract

Hierarchies established in schools can lead to violence among students, particularly bullying, and this relationship is investigated in this study. A School Hierarchies Scale and a Peer Perception of Aggression Scale were applied to 274 9th grade students, both sexes, aged 14.08 years (SD = 0.81) old on average, attending four public schools in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The students more frequently perceived to be popular, were among the best in physical education and/or among the worst in academic subjects were also more frequently perceived to be bullies, while those more frequently perceived to be unpopular and having the worst performance in physical education were also more frequently perceived to be victims. Therefore, teachers should reflect upon the issue and fight school violence that may arise from these hierarchies.