Critical issues for teacher training to counter bullying and victimisation in Ireland

Abstract

This paper addresses the need on a national scale for formal preservice and inservice training programmes for teachers on bullying and victimisation. It also discusses the areas of teacher training that are believed to be most critical in effecting a change in the level of bullying and victimisation in schools. The need for training of teachers was crystallised in Ireland recently by the tragic death of a young student who had been bullied for 5 years at school. Particular attention is paid in this paper to the need for teachers to understand the importance of self-esteem in bullying behaviour. Results are presented that indicate that children and adolescents who bully share with victims lower levels of self-esteem than peers who have never bullied or been bullied. Aggr. Behav. 26:99–111, 2000. © 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.