Bullying and exclusion from dominant peer group in Polish middle schools

Małgorzata Wójcik , Beata Kozak

Abstract

Abstract School bullying also referred to as peer victimization is considered extremely harmful for all parties involved. It has been recognised as an important issue in Polish schools. This article presents the first stage of a project financed by the National Centre of Research and Development and includes the results of qualitative research conducted in groups of middle-school students, middle-school teachers and psychologists. The results highlight several factors leading to the exclusion of individuals from the dominant peer group. The results also indicate that although students are aware the consequences of bullying and excluding behaviours, they do not implement this knowledge when explaining their own excluding actions. All results are discussed in terms of the possibility of designing and implementing a data-based programme which would effectively mitigate excluding behaviours during middle-school transition.   Key words: bullying, exclusion, school transition, social innovation