Bullying in schools: parents and teachers in duty!

Bullying in schools: parents and teachers in duty!

Berlin, Deutschland - The chairman of the State Parental Committee, Norman Heise, appeals to the Berlin schools to take the topic of bullying seriously and to deal with it aggressively. According to Heise, bullying is a problem that occurs in every school. He emphasizes that schools that deal openly with bullying and use suitable support structures have fewer problems with bullying incidents. This underlines the need to focus on both the responsibility of the schools and that of the parents.

Heise points out that responsibility is not exclusively with schools. Parents should convey media literacy for their children, especially with regard to cyberbullying. "A ban on smartphone in schools does not solve the problem," he criticizes. Instead, Heise warns that affected students can contact various contacts in schools, such as the school management or school social work. External support offers, such as school psychological and inclusion educational advisory and support centers (SiBuz), are also available in every district.

stabilized trends and increase in cyber bullying

A current publication of the WHO study further highlights the situation. Accordingly, the second volume of the HBSC study shows that about 6 % of young people are involved in bullying in schools, with boys with 8 % and girls with 5 % have different distribution. In general, around 11 % of young people were affected by bullying, without a significant gender difference. The increase in cyber bullying is particularly worrying: 15 % of young people have had experiences with it, with boys and girls having a comparable extent (15 % boys, 16 % girls).

The study also shows that the behavior in bullying has stabilized since 2018, but has an increase in cyber bullying. Furthermore, 12 % of young people stated that they had actively committed cyber bullying against others. Girls show an increase in these activities, while boys in the past tend to have physical arguments. There were also physical attacks in about 10 % of young people.

urgent need for action

The significant increase in cyber-bullying experiences as well as the need for emotion regulation and positive social interactions are once again underpinned by the results of the WHO study. The WHO has also published a position paper that focuses on the protection of children from online damage. The aim is to promote healthy online environments for children. The HBSC study based on data from approx. 279,000 young people aged 11, 13 and 15 should support politics and practice to improve the lives of young people.

In the context of these challenges, a depressing individual case in Berlin is also discussed. A teacher at a primary school reported bullying and false allegations that were raised by students from Muslim families and a colleague against his homosexuality. Despite several visits to the help, the teacher was not adequately protected by the school management and school supervision, which emphasizes the need to quickly seek support in bullying incidents.

The debate about bullying and cyber bullying remains of great importance and requires the cooperation of everyone involved. Both schools and parents have to actively work to create a safe environment for the children and to meet the challenges in the digital age.

For further information on preventive measures in schools, on the of the Ministry of Culture Baden-Württemberg expelled. The results of the WHO study can be read at . Further information on the current case is available in the Tagesspiegel