Influence of School Climate on Bullying Prevalence: Russian and International Research Experience

Abstract

The phenomenon of school bullying is considered from the point of its connection with the domains of school climate. Main characteristics of school bullying are given, specifically its prevalence, age, gender and socio-economical correlates, as well as effectiveness of most common anti-bullying programmes. Social relationships, both student–teacher and peer-to-peer are discussed as a significant factor of victimisation. Particularly data on teachers’ perspectives on bullying, their main preferred strategies of coping with respective situations in classroom and characteristics of relations with students which affect the risk of victimisation of the latter are in the main focus. The paper is analytically designed and based mostly on the findings presented in the past 10 years research, both Russian and foreign.