This study identified the methods used by kindergarten teachers to reduce bullying among their students in and out of the classroom and examined differences based on the teachers’ years of experience and the number of courses on bullying they had taken. A descriptive survey using a questionnaire tool collected responses from 208 public kindergarten teachers in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The participants agreed with using such methods to reduce bullying among children as responding to parents’ reports and following up on the reasons for a child’s absence. They also agreed that bullying in the classroom could be reduced by methods such as avoiding comparisons between children and helping to build friendships among them. Moreover, the teachers agreed to use some methods in which the teacher relies on her authority, such as depriving the bully of play time and transferring him/her to another class. These methods were endorsed more strongly by teachers with at least 10 years of experience than by those with less experience, but no significant difference was observed according to the number of bullying courses taken. In addition, there is a lack of courses that focus on dealing with and confronting bullying in educational environments. The study highlights the need to provide teachers with training on how to deal with bullying and to set specific and clear policies on addressing bullying in kindergarten.
Kindergarten is an important preschool stage for young children because it contributes to building their personality as they begin to interact with their social environment. Interactions with peers take different forms, such as cooperation, competition, and building friendships, that help them increase their awareness of social values and envision their future social roles.
Interactions in kindergarten can be negative and hostile. This affects the balance and stability of the kindergarten and exerts negative psychological and social effects on the lives of the children [
Bullying has negative effects on bullied children, making them feel afraid, anxious, and uncomfortable. Because of their fear of bullies, they may prefer to withdraw from activities or refrain from attending kindergarten. They may also suffer more severe impacts, such as an inability to establish social relationships, low self-esteem, and an unwillingness to play with peers [
Bullying has received global attention. Several laws have been enacted to prevent bullying and intentional and repeated persecution in schools and society. These include the Gun-Free Schools Act and other federal laws in the United States, the Child Safety Act adopted in the United Kingdom [
Moreover, many preventative programs have been designed to reduce bullying and its effects on children, such as the Dan Elwes Anti-Bullying Program and the Kiva Anti-Bullying Program. These programs aim to modify the school environment and train teachers to improve their ability to manage bullying behaviors and prevent bullying [
Therefore, further studies on bullying and how to address it are required in the KSA context, especially since the Arab world began paying attention to bullying in kindergarten at the local level relatively recently. Only Al-Hamid [
What methods do teachers think are effective in reducing bullying among kindergarten children in general?
What methods do teachers think are effective in reducing bullying among kindergarten children specifically in the classroom?
Do participants’ responses regarding methods of reducing bullying differ based on their functional experience and the number of courses on bullying they have taken?
Different researchers have defined bullying in different ways, but most follow Olweus’s [
Children in kindergarten participate as members of a group in an environment away from their families for the first time. This makes kindergarten a crucial stage in children’s social development, as it helps them understand relationships and develop the functional skills required for social interaction. Studies have revealed that kindergarten students may engage in negative behavioral patterns and bullying behaviors. These behaviors may continue until they enter the primary stage unless adults intervene and apply preventive and curative methods [
Alsaker [
Gender affects children’s practice and experience of bullying. Grünigen et al. [
Sakran et al. [
Vlachou et al. [
Bullying among children has gained considerable attention because of its negative effects on all parties (the bully, the victim of bullying, and the onlookers). Many educational institutions suffer from its consequences, which may appear soon after its occurrence or later in life [
Proactive preventive measures based on the principle that children in kindergarten must be protected and provided a psychologically safe environment are the first steps in confronting bullying behaviors. These measures must eliminate the factors that lead to the behaviors and help provide children with the social and emotional skills they need to address bullying behaviors prospectively [
Reducing bullying requires cooperation between kindergartens, parents, and teachers. Enhancing their awareness of its nature is the first step toward a safe kindergarten that does not accept bullying [
Some kindergartens attempt to reduce bullying by providing teachers with guides on how to use kindergarten activities and curricula in a way that allows them to manage bullying children and teach them how to practice positive behaviors with their peers and present other activities that can enhance the social skills of their victims [
The teacher directly dealing with bullying situations when observed shows the bully that the teacher does not tolerate these behaviors, which will reduce them. The first step in dealing with bullying is starting a dialogue between the bully and the victim individually and separately. This dialogue should make clear to the bully that his/her behavior is unacceptable. It should also provide support to the victim by listening carefully to everything he/she has to say and helping him/her express his/her feelings through appropriate activities, such as discussion, drawing, writing, and role-playing [
Burger et al. [
This program aims to enhance teachers’ ability to detect and prevent bullying behaviors in kindergartens and primary schools in Switzerland. It gives teachers confidence in their knowledge of bullying and enhances their ability to take necessary action. The principles of the program include cooperation and mutual support between teachers to solve bullying in their classes and continuous communication between kindergartens and parents. It also includes prevention strategies, such as identifying positive and negative punishments, using rules in class management, encouraging children to report undesirable behavior, promoting empathy, and understanding gender differences [
Established by the United States (US) Children’s Committee in 2013, this program aims to develop the social skills of children between the ages of 4 and 14 years. It focuses on improving the children’s social competence and aims to reduce impulsive and aggressive behaviors through modeling, practice, and role-playing to help children develop their abilities in empathy, impulse control, anger management, risk assessment, and decision-making. It includes a family guide and curricula, the content of which varies depending on the age of the children [
This program, widely used in the US and Northern Europe, includes preventive and other curative methods designed to reduce bullying among children aged 8 to 15 years. It is implemented by the program’s employees, students, and parents and aims to improve peer relations and provide a safe school environment. It offers specific measures and interventions for use at the school, grade, and individual levels, all of which are required for success, based on several basic principles, including the need for the support and participation of adults, providing basic systems and regulations to prevent unacceptable behavior, and the need for adults to act as positive role models for children [
This is an anti-bullying program used in Finnish schools with funding from the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture. It targets students aged 10 to 12 years. The program is based on research indicating that bullying behavior arises from the bully’s pursuit of a privileged position within the peer group and that bullying can thus be reduced through changes in peer group behaviors that reinforce bullying behavior. Its main objectives are to increase awareness of the role played by the peer group in the persistence of bullying, enhance empathy with and supportive strategies for victims, and provide students with the skills required to deal with bullying situations [
Some of these programs, such as the Second Step Program, focus on enhancing the social and emotional competencies of children. Other programs, such as the Bern Program, focus on raising awareness of the problem among teachers and students and training them to address it. These programs are implemented within a comprehensive school-wide anti-bullying policy. Perren et al. [
The Ministry of Education estimates that about 2,082 public kindergarten teachers work in Riyadh, KSA [
This study used a descriptive survey design. Data were collected using an online survey, and informed consent was obtained from all participants before the survey process. The data were analyzed by identifying statistically significant and anomalous results. SPSS was used for the statistical analyses. After verifying the validity and reliability of the questionnaire and obtaining the approval of the Scientific research Ethics Committee at King Saud University, the researchers distributed 213 questionnaires electronically to potential participants through a text message sent by the Education Department in Riyadh region; 208 responses were obtained.
The two-part questionnaire was designed to match the environment and education system relevant to the kindergarten stage. It was created after a careful review of the literature and several international and local bullying-reduction programs. The first part deals with the participants’ backgrounds (i.e., years of experience and number of courses taken on bullying). The second part covered the methods used to reduce bullying and was divided into two sections. The first comprised 15 statements concerning methods used at the kindergarten level. The second comprised 14 statements concerning methods used in the classroom. For each statement, a Likert scale ranging from 4 (“
The questionnaire’s content validity and internal consistency were checked. In terms of validity, its initial form was validated by 12 faculty members with specialization and experience in the fields of early childhood, psychology, and bullying. Its internal consistency was tested in an exploratory sample, outside of the study sample, consisting of 30 parameters. The Pearson correlation coefficient was compared between the degree of each statement, the total degree of the axis to which it belonged, and the total score of the questionnaire. The correlation coefficient value for the 15 items on the kindergarten level (0.804) and the 14 items on the grade level (0.781) was high and statistically significant at the 0.05 level, indicating a high degree of internal consistency. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was used to assess the questionnaire’s reliability. Cronbach’s alpha for the 15 items on the kindergarten level, the 14 items on the grade level, and the overall questionnaire were 0.941, 0.875, and 0.935, respectively, indicating high reliability.
The validity and reliability of the tool were confirmed by applying it to a small sample that was not part of the basic sample. The approval of the university’s Scientific Research Ethics Committee was then obtained, and the questionnaire was distributed electronically to the participants via text messages from the Education Department in Riyadh as well as from the researchers.
A
The responses showed no statistically significant differences based on the number of courses taken on bullying. Of the participants, 32% had taken courses and 68% had not (see
Result | Function level | Mean square | Degrees of freedom | Sum of squares | Variance source | Area | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Non-function | 0.905 | 0.10 | 0.04 | 2 | 0.07 | Between groups | Kindergarten level |
0.37 | 210 | 77.46 | Within groups | ||||
Non-function | 0.596 | 0.52 | 0.07 | 2 | 0.15 | Between groups | Classroom |
0.14 | 210 | 30.00 | Within groups |
Statements | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
0.86 | 3.01 | 11 | 44 | 90 | 68 | The kindergarten has clear regulations for reducing bullying problems. | |
5.2 | 20.7 | 42.3 | 31.9 | % | |||
0.88 | 2.70 | 22 | 57 | 97 | 37 | The kindergarten records incidents of bullying (verbal or physical) among children during the school year. | |
10.3 | 26.8 | 45.5 | 17.4 | % | |||
0.87 | 2.83 | 14 | 60 | 88 | 51 | The kindergarten implements local programs to reduce bullying among children. | |
6.6 | 28.2 | 41.3 | 23.9 | % | |||
0.92 | 2.62 | 24 | 74 | 75 | 40 | The kindergarten allocates a period every day for its employees to discuss children’s problems, including bullying. | |
11.3 | 34.7 | 35.2 | 18.8 | % | |||
0.81 | 3.11 | 6 | 41 | 89 | 77 | The kindergarten intensifies supervision in places where bullying may occur, such as the playground, corridors, and toilets. | |
2.8 | 19.2 | 41.8 | 36.2 | % | |||
0.64 | 3.40 | 2 | 12 | 97 | 102 | The kindergarten tracks the reasons for the children’s absence daily. | |
0.9 | 5.6 | 45.5 | 47.9 | % | |||
0.89 | 2.94 | 9 | 64 | 70 | 70 | The kindergarten trains the teachers in methods of dealing with the problem of bullying. | |
4.2 | 30.0 | 32.9 | 32.9 | % | |||
0.95 | 2.77 | 19 | 70 | 66 | 58 | The kindergarten organizes awareness meetings for parents about bullying. | |
8.9 | 32.9 | 31.0 | 27.2 | % | |||
0.83 | 3.29 | 8 | 28 | 72 | 105 | The kindergarten ensures that parents are present when the children are leaving. | |
3.8 | 13.1 | 33.8 | 49.3 | % | |||
0.57 | 3.45 | 0 | 8 | 101 | 104 | The kindergarten administration responds to reports from parents regarding cases of bullying. | |
0 | 3.8 | 47.4 | 48.8 | % | |||
0.71 | 3.29 | 3 | 22 | 99 | 89 | The kindergarten administration responds to teachers’ reports of bullying. | |
1.4 | 10.3 | 46.5 | 41.8 | % | |||
0.71 | 3.24 | 2 | 28 | 100 | 83 | The kindergarten informs the parents of the children involved in the problem of bullying. | |
0.9 | 13.1 | 46.9 | 39.0 | % | |||
0.87 | 2.90 | 14 | 49 | 94 | 56 | The kindergarten holds meetings between parents and teachers to discuss cases of bullying. | |
6.6 | 23.0 | 44.1 | 26.3 | % | |||
0.85 | 2.96 | 12 | 45 | 96 | 60 | The kindergarten follows up on the latest developments to solve the problem of bullying with parents. | |
5.6 | 21.1 | 45.1 | 28.2 | % | |||
0.87 | 2.54 | 23 | 83 | 77 | 30 | The kindergarten administration transfers the bullied child or the victim of bullying to another class. | |
36 | 14.1 | % | |||||
0.60 | 3.00 |
Notes:
The participants generally agreed with all the statements, with average responses corresponding to either “
The statement “The kindergarten tracks the reasons for the children’s absence” ranked second (
The statements “The kindergarten allocates a period every day for its employees to discuss children’s problems, including bullying” (
These results indicate that the participants’ viewpoints were consistent with the international programs and methods used to reduce bullying (such as the Bern, Always, and Kiva programs). These methods involve cooperation between teachers to solve the problem, and continuous communication between the school and parents to raise awareness about bullying. It also involves training teachers about bullying and how to confront it, holding periodic meetings to discuss problems, conducting periodic surveys to identify bullies and victims in classrooms, activating supervision and control over children, and applying the rules of behavior [
Statements | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
0.48 | 3.65 | 0 | 0 | 74 | 139 | I set clear rules for the duration of the daily program. | |
0 | 0 | 34.7 | 65.3 | % | |||
0.60 | 3.50 | 0 | 11 | 84 | 118 | I discuss the problem of bullying with the children in the class. | |
0 | 5.2 | 39.4 | 55.4 | % | |||
0.60 | 3.56 | 0 | 12 | 70 | 131 | I use stories to educate the children in the class about bullying. | |
0 | 5.6 | 32.9 | 61.5 | % | |||
0.60 | 3.50 | 0 | 11 | 85 | 117 | I ask the children in the class to suggest solutions to problems, including bullying. | |
0 | 5.2 | 39.9 | 54.9 | % | |||
0.48 | 3.66 | 0 | 1 | 70 | 142 | I contribute to the formation of friendships among the children in the class. | |
0 | 0.5 | 32.9 | 66.7 | % | |||
0.46 | 3.75 | 0 | 2 | 50 | 161 | I avoid comparing the children to each other in class. | |
0 | 0.9 | 23.5 | 75.6 | % | |||
0.56 | 3.56 | 1 | 4 | 82 | 126 | I listen to all sides of the parties involved in bullying, one at a time. | |
0.5 | 1.9 | 38.5 | 59.2 | % | |||
0.76 | 3.16 | 2 | 41 | 90 | 80 | I use a role-playing strategy by making the bullying child empathize with the feelings of the victim. | |
0.9 | 19.2 | 42.3 | 37.6 | % | |||
0.55 | 3.60 | 1 | 4 | 75 | 133 | I explain to the bullying child the harm that his/her behavior causes. | |
0.5 | 1.9 | 35.2 | 62.4 | % | |||
0.79 | 2.83 | 7 | 66 | 96 | 44 | I punish the bullying child by depriving him/her of play. | |
3.3 | 31.0 | 45.1 | 20.7 | % | |||
0.57 | 3.52 | 0 | 8 | 86 | 119 | I encourage the child who is the victim of bullying to express his/her feelings in the appropriate way (e.g., talking, drawing). | |
0 | 3.8 | 40.4 | 55.9 | % | |||
0.54 | 3.57 | 0 | 5 | 82 | 126 | I assign the victim of bullying leadership tasks. | |
0 | 2.3 | 38.5 | 59.2 | % | |||
0.79 | 2.74 | 0 | 101 | 67 | 45 | I ask the child who is the victim of bullying to avoid the bullying child. | |
0 | 47.4 | 31.5 | 21.1 | % | |||
0.66 | 3.31 | 1 | 21 | 102 | 89 | I report incidents of bullying among the children in the class to the administration. | |
0.5 | 9.9 | 47.9 | 41.8 | % | |||
0.38 | 3.42 |
Notes:
The participants generally agreed with all the statements, with their average responses corresponding to either “
The statement “I contribute to the formation of friendships among the children in the class” ranked second (
The two statements “I punish the bullying child by depriving him/her of play time” (
Thus, the study participants’ general agreement with the questionnaire statements was consistent with the international programs and methods used to reduce bullying at the classroom level (such as the Bern, Second Step, Always, Kiva, and Respect Steps programs). These methods involve applying classroom rules; enhancing empathy skills; using strategy role-playing, problem-solving, dialogue, and discussion; encouraging children to make friends; encouraging victims to express their feelings; avoiding discriminating between children; talking seriously with the bullies and victims, and promoting supportive methods for victims [
This study’s findings revealed a high degree of agreement among participants about the necessity of interventions to reduce bullying. Such interventions are lacking in KSA kindergartens. Generally, the school’s administrative and educational staff respond to bullying by seeking to reduce it. They deal with parents’ complaints about bullying cases, and they inform the parents of children involved in such acts.
Additionally, the findings showed that teachers endorsed several negative methods to reduce bullying among children in the classroom, such as punishing the bullying child by not allowing him/her to play.
This highlights the importance of training programs for teachers to deal with bullying using effective educational methods and setting specific and clear policies on addressing the issue. These policies should provide a clear definition of bullying behavior, its forms, procedures for reporting it, and possible methods of limiting its effects.
The results of the current study may prompt researchers to conduct future qualitative studies on bullying in KSA kindergartens. Future studies should attempt to identify the prevalence of bullying, its causes, and its effects on children and determine kindergarten teachers’ awareness of these factors. Also, based on the results of the study the researchers, we see the necessity of adopting a policy to reduce bullying in early childhood educational environments, and the importance that this policy be based on the child rights approach, which emphasizes the right of the child to learn in a psychologically safe environment. Research has shown that the methods included within this policy are appropriate for the children’s age and are based on global experiences and scientific evidence, serving to create a safe environment that enhances positive social interactions between children. We recommend that future studies be conducted complementing this study with the aim of identifying the reality of bullying in early childhood, its prevalence, causes, and effects on the participating children, and applying experimental studies to proposed programs targeting children to enhance their awareness of the problem of bullying and ways to confront it.
The authors received no specific funding for this study.
The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest to report regarding the present study.