Abstract

Egyptian children are no exception to their peers worldwide in facing bullying. However, bullying has been poorly researched in Egypt (Goryl, Neilsen & Sweller, 2013). Bullying is commonly defined as an aggressive behavior that is intentional, repeated for a long time and involves an imbalance of power. It can have negative effects on children's physical and psychological health and can even escalate to the tragedy of suicide. Teachers often serve as students' first line of defense against bullying. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to examine Egyptian teachers' perceptions of bullying in order to better understand how they deal with it, specifically how teachers view bullying, what kind of bullying interventions they employ at school, and how strongly are they committed to take an action towards bullying prevention in schools. Elementary teachers in a private school in Cairo responded to a survey on knowledge and attitudes towards bullying (n = 90, return rate = 60%). The study used the Bullying Attitude Questionnaire Modified (BAQ-M) (Yoon & Kerber, 2003) to create five vignettes that assessed teachers' attitudes towards bullying. In addition, six female teachers and seven male teachers were interviewed to gain a deeper understanding of teachers' perceptions of bullying identification, intervention and prevention. Findings showed that most teachers had misunderstandings about the criteria of bullying and how to define it, but they showed good awareness of the factors that influence bullying behaviors. Teachers implemented a variety of bullying intervention strategies with punishment being the most common strategy. They experienced many challenges, such as lack of support from parents, that made them hesitant to intervene in bullying situations. While the school did not have anti-bullying policies, teachers were eager to attend training workshops about bullying and gave many suggestions for improving bullying prevention. Based on these findings, a bullying prevention program that involves a training was developed to create social change by providing education and promoting self-efficacy for teachers faced with the challenges dealing with school bullying. Further research is needed to gain deeper understanding of the perceptions of all entities involved in bullying from different backgrounds.

Department

Psychology Department

Degree Name

MA in Community Psychology

Graduation Date

2-1-2019

Submission Date

January 2019

First Advisor

Forden, Carie

Committee Member 1

Eldeghaidy, Heba

Committee Member 2

Hassaballa, Ithar

Extent

139 p. pdf.

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Rights

The author retains all rights with regard to copyright. The author certifies that written permission from the owner(s) of third-party copyrighted matter included in the thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study has been obtained. The author further certifies that IRB approval has been obtained for this thesis, or that IRB approval is not necessary for this thesis. Insofar as this thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study is an educational record as defined in the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 USC 1232g), the author has granted consent to disclosure of it to anyone who requests a copy.

Institutional Review Board (IRB) Approval

Approval has been obtained for this item

Comments

I would first like to express my sincere gratitude to my advisor Dr. Carie Forden, she was always available for me whenever I had a question in my research or simply needed reassurance. Thank you for the constant guidance and support you have given me since I started the program until I submitted my thesis. Thank you for motivating me to follow my passion and opening doors of opportunities for me whenever you could. I could not have imagined having a better advisor for my masters’ study. I would also like to thank my thesis readers, Dr. Heba El Deghaidy and Dr. Ithar Hassaballah for their valuable feedback and support, I am really grateful for your efforts throughout the thesis process. I would also like to acknowledge Dr. Naela Refaat for inspiring me, believing in me, and pushing me towards being a better person and a passionate community psychologist. I would like to extend my gratitude to Dr. Mona Amer, Dr. Kate Ellis, Dr. Hani Henry, Dr. Mohamed Taha, Dr. Hassan Zaki and Dr. Heba Kotb for their encouragements and insightful comments. I would like to thank all my friends in the psychology department who shared with me this beautiful journey, and especially my dear friends who have helped me in my thesis; Noha Hassanin, Dina Al Bawab, Azza Osman, and Germeen Riad. Last but not least, I am forever grateful to my mother, Samira Dahawy who has quit her job to support me throughout my master’s study and to babysit my precious son Malek. She has always provided me with constant encouragements and motivations, this achievement would not have been possible without her. I also want to thank my husband, Mahmoud Labib for being my backbone and for providing me with unfailing support and encouragements throughout my journey. No words can express how grateful I am for having such a supportive and kind hearted sister. Thank you Ola El Minshawy for always being there for me and for loving me in all my conditions. I want to thank my mother in law, Zainab Rabea and my Father in law, Labib El Leithy for believing in me, treating me like their daughter and always motivating me to succeed. Lastly, I would like to appreciate one of God’s greatest gifts in my life, my son Malek, who showers me with unconditional love and inspires me every day to become a better person so he would be able one day to look up to me and tells me that he is proud of me.

Download

Share

COinS