Bullying is socially-regulated, but autonomy-supportive teaching and autonomy need satisfaction are effective antidotes

Abstract

Autonomy-supportive teaching interventions generally decrease classroom bullying. The present study compared three models to explain why this is so: A socio-ecological model in which autonomy-supportive teaching decreases the classroom’s bully culture (single mediation model); a self-determination theory model in which autonomy-supportive teaching increases autonomy need satisfaction experiences (single mediation model); and a combined model in which autonomy-supportive teaching both decreases the bully culture and increases autonomy satisfaction (double mediation model). We randomly assigned teachers (33% female, 34.2 years old) from 86 secondary PE classrooms to participate in an autonomy-supportive teaching workshop (experimental condition) or a no-intervention control condition, while their 2,491 students (38.5% female, 14.4 years old) reported their classmates’ bullying and their own autonomy satisfaction and individual bullying at the beginning, middle, and end of an 18-week semester. Using the classroom as the unit of analysis, all three models fit the data well. The double mediation model fit the data the best, and it accounted for a greater proportion of explained variance in decreased individual bullying than did either single mediator nested model. These findings confirm three antidotes or counterforces to individual bullying: Greater autonomy-supportive teaching; a lesser pro-bullying classroom culture; and greater autonomy need satisfaction.