Fed: Adults should lead by anti-bullying example: expert
By Larine Statham and Angela Harper14 Dec 2008 6:08 PM
ADELAIDE, Dec 14 AAP - Bullying is rife in Australian primary schools, researchers say, but community groups, politicians and educators believe it's up to adults to set a better example.
More than a quarter of Australian Year 4 students say they have been bullied, according to findings released by the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study.
Of 36 countries surveyed, the 2007 report showed Australian primary school students had the worst perception of being safe in school.
The report, which asked survey questions to gauge the correlation between a student's perceived level of safety at school and their level of academic achievement, showed that Australian Year 4 students performed above the international standard in both science and mathematics.
Australian Capital Territory Parents and Citizens Association president Elizabeth Singer said many parents came to the association with concerns about their child being bullied on their way to and from school or while participating in extra-curricular activities outside school hours.
"It's not just limited to students interacting with other students from their own school, it's children interacting with other children," she said.
"Inevitably, it has got to be a whole of community approach: parents, teachers, sport coaches, fellow students."
School and workplace bullying expert Evelyn Field said that as a country, Australia was not setting the best example and a community approach coupled with new laws against bullying were needed to stamp out the problem.
"What's the use of stopping school bullying when your sports people bully, or your politicians are bullying," she said.
"Parents don't really have the skills to teach their children not to be bullies, or not to be targets."
Federal education minister Julie Gillard said students' wellbeing and safety were essential for academic and social development.
"The Rudd government wants to make sure that all students can learn and develop in safe and supportive environments," the deputy prime minister told AAP.
"Governments and non-government school authorities are responsible for duty of care in schools, but clearly a national approach is required to effectively combat this issue."
The results, which sampled 460 Australian schools and showed only Kuwait, Qatar, Taiwan and New Zealand fared worse than Australia, have alarmed the educational bodies that run strict anti-bullying campaigns.
Given the survey was conducted last year and the results were only released this week, some question their validity due to the work that has been done to combat bullying since then, while others believe the willingness of Australian children to detail their experiences in a survey is a good sign.
NSW education minister Verity Firth said kids were being encouraged to talk about what was happening to them.
"That's why when you see this sort of reporting happening from our kids it's not necessarily a bad thing," she said.
"It shows that they feel confident enough to talk about feeling uncomfortable at school."
