When I began to research bullying in the late 1980s there was hardly any literature on the subject available. The chief exception was the work of Dan Olweus which provided the inspiration for much that followed. Even when I began to see the value of providing information about bullying on the Internet (around 1995) there was not a great deal of information to draw upon. This site began as an attempt to raise awareness about bullying in schools and inform people about the research that was being done in the area.The site was also intended, and still is, to help schools, children and parents in practical ways to overcome the serious problem of bullying.
To anyone who has looked on the Net for information about bullying it is evident that there is now a truly massive amount. Much of what you can find is (I’m afraid) uninformed opinion, sometimes (I think) sensible, sometimes misleading. But in addition, there is a good deal of research-based literature. So much so, that I have long abandoned any hope of doing justice to it all !
Hence my aim as a researcher has become much less grandiose – and more personal. As I continue with my research and my work in schools in the hope that it can be applied, from time to time I fancy that I have contributed something that some researchers and some educators would like to know about.
For instance, I think I have something useful to say about a relatively new area, that of bystander behaviour in schools. I also think we are making important progress towards discovering how successful anti-bullying programs can be and I would like to tell you what I and others have found out about this. From time to time I find that new resources to counter bullying are being used by schools and I want to draw attention to them. These include a new survey instrument to assess how schools are responding to the cases of bullying – How teachers and counsellors handle cases of bullying
Especially I want to tell you about some new resources that have been devised to help schools to intervene much more effectively in cases of actual bullying
I try not to forget that for some people the problem of bullying in schools is one they are just becoming aware of – sometimes through painful personal experience. Many readers have shared their experiences with me. But I know that there are still many people who sincerely cannot understand what the fuss is all about – and are even curious to know.
Hence in the re-vamping of this site I have retained some of the old stuff. For instance, despite the anticipated protests of the well informed, I continue to address the issue of the harm bullying does - Does bullying really do children any harm ?. For the unconverted, I retain some research evidence of what children tell us about bullying in schools. Because so many people talk at cross-purposes about bullying, I insist on drawing attention to how bullying is defined in Defining bullying: a new look at an old concept. Despite choruses of disapproval the author still appears at the end speaking words of unspeakable wisdom. There is lots more you can find if you click down the left margin.