Students' Perceptions of Bullying after the Fact: A Qualitative Study of College Students' Bullying Experiences in Their K-12 Schooling

Today students confront more than writing, reading, and arithmetic in school. Students witness and participate in various forms of bullying at an alarming rate. As educators we must help create an environment that is conducive for all students to learn. This study examines college students' definitions and perceptions of incidents of bullying that they witnessed, or where they were the victim or perpetrator. Through 41 in-depth interviews and utilizing the constant comparative method of analysis, themes were identified including reasons students bully and are bullied, such as: weight, size, clothing, being perceived as different, sexual preferences, and placement in special education. Clothing as a reason for bullying emerged as a theme that was echoed by many of those interviewed. Whether it was the brand name of the clothes, where they were purchased, or the style of the clothes, several participants were bullied and bullied others because of clothing. Participants' definitions of bullying were from the perspective of those who are bullied, bully, and who have witnessed bullying, and included defining emotional bullying. Other students noted in their definitions the role of groups and the role of power in incidents of bullying. Unique to this study were participants' recollections of regrets. These regrets were from those participants who had participated as a bully or as a witness. In addition, themes that emerged in the data included: how students perceive teachers' involvement in incidents of bullying, ways to reduce bullying in schools, where bullying occurs, and why some people bully.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph. D.

Level thesis:degree_level

doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Curriculum and Instruction

Department dc:contributor.department

Teaching and Learning

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

2008

Author dc:creator

• Williams, William Patrick

Chairs dc:contributor.committeechair

• Barksdale, Mary Alice
• Graham, Richard Terry

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Williams, Robert C.
• Stewart, Daisy L.
• Gardner, Thomas M.

• violence
• victims
• weight
• bullying
• clothing and bullying

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Dc Identifier Other

etd-12012008-175427

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/29864