School Bullying
New Theories in Context

Bullying is a socially and culturally complex phenomenon that until now has largely been understood in the context of the individual. This book challenges the dominance of this approach, examining the processes of extreme exclusion that are enacted in bullying - whether at school, through face-to-face meetings or virtual encounters - in the context of group dynamics. Contributors draw upon qualitative empirical studies, mixed methods and statistics, to analyse the elements that allow bullying to emerge - the processes that produce exclusion and contempt, and the relations between children, teachers and parents. Introducing a new definition of bullying, this book goes on to discuss directions for future research and action, including more informed intervention strategies and re-thinking methods of prevention. Exploring bullying in the light of the latest research from a wide variety of disciplines, this book paves the way for a new paradigm through which to understand the field.

Reviews & endorsements

'Once in a generation, a new book helps to shift understanding of a long-standing social issue. School Bullying … is such a book. It brings together original thinkers who are also gifted researchers from three continents to take a complex view of the plural and shifting processes by which bullying is enacted and its effects. The result is an assembly of accessible, theoretically sophisticated chapters informed by innovative, multidisciplinary research that invite and allow new ways of thinking about the group dynamics of bullying in person and in cyberspace. Readers will be in no doubt as to why this book is necessary … [It] marks a paradigm shift that both disrupts easy certainties about how bullying should be addressed and gives hope that research attention to its complexity, local and social manifestations can provide invaluable insights into genuinely strategic school interventions.' Ann Phoenix, Institute of Education, University of London

Customer reviews

Product details

• Date Published: March 2014
• format: Hardback
• isbn: 9781107027763
• length: 482 pages

• dimensions: 229 x 152 x 27 mm
• weight: 0.81kg
• contains: 7 b/w illus. 6 tables
• availability: Available