BYSTANDERS IN THE SCHOOL VIOLENCE SITUATIONS FROM THE PUPIL PERSPECTIVE

Authors

  • Dita Nīmante University of Latvia
  • Baiba Molnika University of Latvia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17770/sie2021vol3.6393

Keywords:

bullying, bystanders, pupils, Latvia

Abstract

Bullying rarely takes place between two individuals in isolation, usually, it occurs with pupil’s bystanders present. How often pupils take the role of bystander, what bystanders usually do in the bullying situation and how it can be explained was examined with 5003 pupils attending 55 Latvia’s schools. Responses indicated that more than a third (n=1913) of all respondents admitted that they had been in a situation where they witnessed another pupil being bullied. After analyzing the responses of those respondents, was concluded that although the majority of pupils felt bad about it, most did nothing about it or did not consider the situation important for involvement. This could be explained by the fact that the majority of children did not know what to do in the particular bullying situation. The implications for research and practice are debated.

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Author Biographies

  • Dita Nīmante, University of Latvia
    Associate professor and the leading researcher of the University of Latvia, Faculty of Education, Psychology and Art has a doctor’s degree in pedagogy (social pedagogy). She is a member of Promotion Board of the University of Latvia in educational sciences, a member of Study Programme Council of Educational Sciences, a scientific board member of the Pedagogical Science Institute, and an expert of the Latvian Council of Science. She has more than 20 years of work experience at different education levels: preschool, primary school, secondary school, higher and further education. D. Nīmante teaches study courses at bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral levels at the University of Latvia and is a guest lecturer at the Liepaja University. She is a scientific adviser of Qualification Papers, Diploma Papers, Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctor’s Theses. She is a director of the Master’s study programme “Pedagogy” and Master’s study programme “Educational Sciences”. For several years, she was a project coordinator, leading scientific projects. Her key research interests are related to inclusive education, aspects of classroom management, reduction of violence, teacher education for inclusive education. During the last three years she has participated in 15 international conferences, published 14 reviewed scientific articles, and contributed to 8 scientific projects as a leading researcher and expert, 2 projects as a project leader. She has a reviewer’s experience in several Latvian and international proceedings. Since 2017 she is a reviewer of journals “International Journal of Smart Education and Urban Society” (IJSEUS) and “International Journal of Knowledge Society Research” (IJKSR). D. Nīmante was delegated to represent the University of Latvia in the Ministry of Education and Sciences Working Groups (last experience: March-November 2018), developing a cost model for services supporting students with special needs. Besides, she is a Latvian coordinator of the project “Transnational Collaboration on Bullying, Migration and Integration at School Level” (2019-2023), supported by the European Cooperation in Sciences and Technology (COST Action). Since 2019 D. Nīmante is a delegated representative of the University of Latvia in the European Educational Research Association.
  • Baiba Molnika, University of Latvia
    Baiba Moļnika is the Secretary General of the Latvian National Commission for UNESCO and in charge of the implementation of the UNESCO Education program in Latvia, taking part in the development of the strategic documents.  She is a member of the Advisory Council "Education for All" and leads the Professional Continuing Education and Improvement Education Institution "Support", which in the form of games, helps children to teach socially acceptable behavior, as well as helps to solve behavioral problems in preschool and school.

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Published

2021-05-28

How to Cite

Nīmante, D., & Molnika, B. (2021). BYSTANDERS IN THE SCHOOL VIOLENCE SITUATIONS FROM THE PUPIL PERSPECTIVE. SOCIETY. INTEGRATION. EDUCATION. Proceedings of the International Scientific Conference, 3, 348-357. https://doi.org/10.17770/sie2021vol3.6393