Analysis of Actions Taken to Counter Bullying and Their Effectiveness in Nakuru West Sub-County Schools, Kenya

Abstract

This paper investigated the nature of bullying taking place in Nakuru west sub county schools and the effectiveness of the measures put in place to counter it. Simple stratified random sampling was used to select 25 schools that were invited to participate in the study though only 22 continued up to the end. Of the 22 schools, 4 were private primary schools, 7 public pruimary, 7 public secondary and 4 private secondary schools. A descriptive survey design was used with the questionnaire as an instrument for data collection. Each school nominated two teachers who were conversant with what the school was doing to counter bullying. These teachers were inducted by the researcher on what was required and finally filled the questionnaires on behalf of their schools. Data from questionnaires were analysed with help of SPSS using quantitative methods. The results were tabulated, tallied and summarized to obtain descriptive statistics such as frequencies and percentages. Results indicated that bullying occurred in Nakuru West Sub County schools and common forms included students teased in hurtful ways, nasty stories told about one, being kicked, left out or ignored and being made to feel afraid. Most schools had anti bullying policies but majority didn't discuss them with their staff, students and parents. Some of the classroom activities that were used to counter bullying included promoting respect, encouraging inclusiveness, teaching coping skills and cooperative learning. The most used sanctions to control bullying included verbal reprimand, temporary removal from class and suspension from school. Most schools indicated that their teachers have not been trained on bullying interventions like support group method, mediation and restorative practice. Anti bullying interventions were most effective on physical bullying followed by verbal and indirect bullying. Very few schools reported interventions on cyber bullying implying that it is not well understood by most schools.