Solutions for Bullying: Intervention Training for Pre-service Teachers

Abstract

Studies show that teachers lack training and confidence when it comes to intervening effectively in bullying situations. The goal of this study is to respond to the needs of teachers for more formal training on bullying. A two-hour workshop on bullying was developed and offered to pre-service teachers completing a consecutive Teacher Education program in a central-Canadian University. Two parallel questionnaires, each consisting of simulated bullying incidents and standard intervention options, were developed, piloted with a group of experienced teachers, and then used to assess the effect of the workshop on teachers’ responses to the bullying. At pre-test, although three-quarters pre-service teachers in the sample (N = 66) had no formal training in bullying intervention strategies, their selected interventions were rated as consistently appropriate (i.e., restorative and relational) in nature. Study results revealed that pre-service teachers who participated in the workshop showed improved responses to the bullying scenarios, with the greatest improvements evidenced in their intervention with the children in bullying roles. With the growing legal and moral responsibility that educators have to protect their students from bullying, these findings add to accumulating evidence that training in bullying prevention and intervention should be mandatory for pre-service teachers.