Harcèlement scolaire : à propos d’un dispositif de prévention mis en place dans un collège

Abstract

Aims

Bullying is now a true issue in National Education. Implications are serious in both victims and agressors who belong to two high-risk young populations which leads to the intervention and preventive programs implementations. Around 15 per cent of school-age pupils are affected by that. Understanding and acting therefore sound important. This research aims to table a preventive program for intervention in a French secondary school.

Materials and methods

This study has being leaded in both a first and third-year class in a secondary school to collect each pupil's representations for talking about that and understanding each individual's working in the classroom. Firstly, pupils are invited to respond to this question “what do you think of the word bullying?” by the mean of an illustration drawn for one hour. These productions let do various kinds of representations. Then we asked three questions so that each pupil play the role either as an abuser or an onlooker or a victim to start talking in the class from each pupil's drawing for improving the group dynamics.

Results

We first noticed each pupil's answers have shown how serious and burdensome situation is. From their drawings, differents kinds of representations was characterized such as the various aspects of bullying (secret, failure of group dynamics, phenomenon of repetition and markers of difference), the acknowledgement of feelings, their victims, abusers and onlookers’ representations in which the pupils of both classes shown differents ways of life and behaviour. From different pupils’ talkings and representations, we understood when they identify with both the victim and the abuser or the access to the words can stop the bullying especially if caring and motivated adults are there. During the talkings, a reassuring message travels between the witnesses who then have a common feeling to be a part of a group whose each member has to be protected from. The results restitution time provided an opportunity for the most positive feelings pupils to talk about in front of other people.

Conclusions

These various data are used to draw up a plan of action for stopping micro violence. They brought to light the diversity of issues according to the age and the gender of participant's requiring suitable actions depending on groups and classes. In this way, the prevention of bullying becomes a top priority of any age group and specially during the teen years which is a identity weakness time. The understanding of whiteness’ behaviour remains the best way to draw pupils’ attention. At last, it is essential to tell them the effects of bullying on victims and abusers as well as to draw pupil's attention to their differences.