School Bullying and Marginalisation: Harmonising Paradigms

This book addresses, and seeks to harmonise, different paradigms for understanding school bullying. It sets out to examine two paradigms for conceptualising bullying, and the worldviews that underpin them. It uses a complex systems perspective to bring the two paradigms together in a holistic fashion. By doing so, it creates an integrated framework for conceptualising the many individual, relational and societal factors that are in dynamic interaction and play a part in promoting or reducing school bullying.

This book draws upon a number of disciplines by way of background, including evolutionary, child development and social psychological theories of group behaviour and identity. It proposes that the human need for belonging is central to understanding bullying, and situates the topic within an understanding of gender and children’s human rights, bringing philosophical and moral perspectives to bear. It discusses practical ways forward, presents a systemic approach to bullying and application of complex adaptive systems methods to bullying research and evaluation. It serves as an introduction to such methods and suggests further creative ideas for policy, intervention practice, and teacher education about bullying.

Table of Contents:

Chapter 1 Introduction – What is Bullying, Anyway?
Chapter 2 The Social Animal
Chapter 3 Competition, Cooperation and the Self
Chapter 4 Paradigm Lost
Chapter 5 Individual and Family Factors: Do they Still Have a Role in Bullying?
Chapter 6 The Social Jungle – Groups and Identity
Chapter 7 Gossip, Reputations and Laughter
Chapter 8 Being Marginalised
Chapter 9 Coping and Resilience
Chapter 10 Bullying Interventions – A Global Perspective and Local Case Study
Chapter 11 Bullying as a Moral Issue
Chapter 12 Complexity, Schools and Bullying
Chapter 13 Paradigm Regained – The Integrated Bullying Framework
Chapter 14 Towards Complex Adaptive Systems
Chapter 15 Practising in the Social Jungle
Chapter 16 Getting Creative – Further Ideas for Practice
Chapter 17 To be written and named - Overview chapter by Grace Skrzypiec