Can School Environment Effect the Willingness to Seeking Help and Prevalence of Bullying among Middle School Students

Abstract

Background: Current school climate theories believe that it is a multidimensional concept that relates to the experiences that students have during their school day. According to the National School Climate Center, climate affects the interactions of all students, teachers, and parents in a school. It also reflects the values, beliefs, and teaching and learning of the school. Objective(s): The aim of this study is to determine whether school environment effect the willingness to seeking help and prevalence of bullying among middle school students. Methodology: The descriptive correlational design has been considered a subtype of correlational research, with its primary purpose being to examine relationships between and among variables and it is referred to occasionally as simple correlational design. The study was carried out at public middle schools for males and females in Baghdad City. The study included a convenience sample of male and females middle school students who agreed to participate in this study. The study subjects were recruited from six public middle schools. Thus, the recommended sample size would be 305. Results: There is no statistically significant difference in in willingness to seeking help, prevalence of bullying, school climate among grade groups. Conclusion: The greater the willingness to seeking help, the larger the prevalence of bullying. The greater the willingness to seeking help, the larger the better the school climate. Recommendations: There is for the officials in the Ministry of Education to establish school-based zero-tolerance violence policy.