Asian Institute of Science and Technology

Emilio Aguinaldo Highway, Dasmarinas City, Cavite

K-12 Program

Chapter 1

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Introduction

Bullying has become one type of violence that threatens a young person’s well being both in

schools and in the neighborhoods. Bullying creates effects that are felt by individuals, families,

schools, and the society as whole and may result in the young people feeling powerless,

intimidated and humiliated by the aggressive deeds of fellow mates. This vice may occur in

many settings, such as schools, after-school programs, or in a youth’s neighborhood. A student is

characterized as being bullied or victimized when he or she is exposed, repeatedly and over time,

to negative actions on the part of one or more other students (Olweus, 1993). This paper

investigates the effects of bullying in elementary school on victims’ and perpetrators’ education,

health and risky behavior. Bullying in schools is a worldwide problem that can have negative

consequences for the general school climate and for the right of students to learn in a safe

environment without fear (Banks, 1997). According to Olweus (1996), bullying is when “a

student is exposed, repeatedly and over time, to negative actions on the part of one or more other

students” (p. 275). The relationship is characterized by an imbalance of power between the bully

and the victim based on physical size, strength, age or social status. Bullying is the intentional,

repetitive harming or injury by one’s peers; they are occurrences in which the victim is unable to

avoid or stop the victimization (Brank, Hoetger & Hazen, 2012). It is said that courage can be

likened to fire and bullying can be likened to smoke. Bullying is a phenomenon that is elusive,

conniving and hard to define properly because times change and so do means by which to inflict

harm upon others. It is thus stated that bullying behavior is a cowardly action, in all probability
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Emilio Aguinaldo Highway, Dasmarinas City, Cavite

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caused by some or other childhoodpain.2 In order to remedy the problem, one has to find and

treat the root. One can not hope to solve a problem by merely scratching the surface. In recent

years, school bullying and related violence have escalated to the point where multiple newspaper

reports pertaining to bullying-related incidents are published annually.

Bullying exists in all communities since long time. Bullying exists either in developed or

developing societies. Bullying starts in early age. Child starts to build an initial concept of

bullying. Then, it starts increasing and continues until it reaches its peak in the basic phase stage

(4, 5, and 6). It continues in higher basic stage, and then started to decline at secondary level

(Dickerson, 2005). Bullying is considered a common form of violence in schools. Various

studies indicated that bullying makes schools to be unsafe places for schools’ students and it

contributes in the belief that some schools are become not safe anymore (Maliki et al., 2009).

Shahria et al. (2015) reported that bullying is deemed as a serious problem in academic settings

in all parts of the world. They found that bullying has negative impact on academic performance.

Females were more affected than males by bullying. Bullying constitute a complex problem in

school kids lives. It is a problem that affects all students, either bullies or victims, and those who

attended interpersonal violence. Bullying may involve many sections verbal, physical assaults,

threats, jokes or language, and criticizing. All of such factors affect individually, or collectively,

and contributes in child’s bullying. It is well known that bullying is difficult to eliminate or to

stop it in schools because it is used by students. Bullying at school affects academic achievement

since bullied children feel fear and weak and in the same time it affects students’ personality

traits and self-confidence. Therefore such situation makes bullied students unable to follow or to

pay attention for their study well and even they might do not like to go to school. Bullying all

over the world is becoming a primary concern among children, adolescence and even adults.
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Emilio Aguinaldo Highway, Dasmarinas City, Cavite

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According to Abe (2012), it can occur in any context in which human beings interact with each

other. This includes school, church, family, workplace, home, and neighborhoods. It is even a

common push factor immigration and it can exist between social groups, social classes and even

between countries. Bullying all over the world is becoming a primary concern among children,

adolescence and even adults. Bullying is a repeated verbal, physical, social or psychological

aggressive behavior by a person or group directed towards a less powerful person or group that is

intended to cause harm, distress or fear. Bullying has two key components: physical or

psychological intimidation occurring repeatedly over time and an imbalance of power. Taunting,

teasing, and fighting don’t constitute bullying when two persons are of approximately the same

physical or psychological strength. Bullies engage in hurtful behavior against those who can’t

defend themselves because of size or strength, or because the victim is outnumbered or less

psychologically resilient (U.S. Department of Justice, 2004; Northwest Regional Educational

Laboratory, 2001; Olweus,1993). Bullies regularly engage in hurtful teasing, name calling, or

intimidation, particularly against those who are smaller or less able to defend themselves. They

believe they are superior to other students, or blame others for being weak or different. Bullies

frequently fight with others as a way to assert dominance and may also enlist friends to bully for

them. (Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, 2001). Most bullying behavior develops in

response to multiple factors at home, school, and within the peer group. The frequency and

severity of bullying is related to a lack of adult supervision received by a child in the home.

Studies indicate that bullies often come from homes where physical punishment is used, where

children are taught to strike back physically as a way to handle problems, and where parental

involvement and warmth are lacking (Cohn and Canter, 2003).

 Asian Institute of Science and Technology
Emilio Aguinaldo Highway, Dasmarinas City, Cavite

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Statement of the Problems

Generally, this study aims to help Asian Institute of Science and Technology college

students in Dasmarinas, Cavite branch. To be informed about the effects of bullying in every

individual.

Specially, this study aims to answer the following questions:

1. Who will benefited of this study?

2. What will be the effect of bullying to the selected student of AISAT College?

3. How does bullying affects to every teenagers?

Objectives of the Study

Generally, this study is to conduct on how to help Asian Institute of Science and

Technology students in Virginia Mansion, Dasmarinas City, Cavite to.

Specially the objectives of this study are:

1. to know all beneficiaries of this study.

2. to determine the effects of this topic to the selected students.

3. to determine the affections to every teenagers..

 Asian Institute of Science and Technology
Emilio Aguinaldo Highway, Dasmarinas City, Cavite

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Significance of the Study

This study of Asian Institute of Science and Technology - Dasmarinas Branch; ‘Bullying In

Teenagers And Its Effects Among Selected Students Of Asian Institute Of Science And

Technology Dasmarinas Branch’ will provide importance to proponents, future researchers,

school administrator, parents and students.

To Proponents. This will be a learning tool for us as proponents of this study to enhance our

knowledge in making a research study. This will help college students like us to have a broad

understanding and knowledge about thesis writing.

To Future Researcher. This proposed study will benefits and helps them as their guide. The

study can also open in development in this study.

To School Administrator. This will benefit them to educate the young students to have a broad

understanding about bullying.

To Parents. It is essential for the parents to be able to educate themselves as well as their

children in terms of preventing bullying, specially on how they can cope up to the situation, also

guide them to help their children become more knowledgable about this topic.

To Students. This will help Asian Institute of Science and Technology students to be

knowledgeable about this serious topic.

 Asian Institute of Science and Technology
Emilio Aguinaldo Highway, Dasmarinas City, Cavite

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Scope and Limitations of Study

This study will focused only on how to help the 25 respondents from Asian Institute of

Science and Technology – Dasmarinas branch. It will include respondents from different

courses.

Definition of Key Terms

Adolescence. The period of life when a child develops into an adult.

Bullying. To cause, to do something by making threats or insults or by using force.

Criticizing. To look and make judgements.

Components. An important piece of something.

Imbalance. A condition in which different things do not occur in equal amounts.

Intimidation. To make someone afraid.

Psychological. Relating to the study of the mind.

Taunting. A sarcastic challenge or insult.

Violence. The use of physical force to harm someone, to damage property, etc.
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Emilio Aguinaldo Highway, Dasmarinas City, Cavite

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Chapter 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Foreign Literature

Research does not support the assertion that certain children are bullied because of their

physical appearance (for example, obesity or wearing glasses). The only physical characteristic

that makes children more likely to be bullied is below average physical size and strength. Most

victims are passive and tend to be more anxious, insecure, cautious, quiet, and sensitive. They

often appear weak or easily dominated (Shellard, 2002; Banks1997; Kreidler, 1996).Victims

signal to others that they are insecure, passive, and won’t retaliate if attacked. Consequently,

bullies target those who appear physically or emotionally weak. Studies show victims have a

higher prevalence of overprotective parents or school personnel. As a result, they often fail to

develop their own coping skills. They long for approval; even after bullying, some continue to

make ineffective attempts to interact with their victimizer (Cohn and Canter, 2003).Victims have

few or no close friends at school and are socially isolated. They may try to stay close to teachers

or other adults during breaks, avoid restrooms and other isolated areas, or make excuses to stay

home from school as much as possible (Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, 2001;

Olweus, 1993).

EFFECTS OF BULLYING

Bullying can have long-term academic, physical, and emotion consequences on bullies, their

victims, and bystanders. The incidence of bullying at schools has a negative impact on students’

opportunity to learn in an environment that is safe and secure and where they are treated with
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Emilio Aguinaldo Highway, Dasmarinas City, Cavite

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respect (Shellard and Turner, 2004; Lumsden, 2002).Victims often have difficulty concentrating

on their schoolwork and may experience a decline in academic performance. They have higher

than normal absenteeism and dropout rates and may show signs of loneliness. They have trouble

making social and emotional adjustments, difficulty making friends, and poor relationships with

classmates. They often suffer humiliation, insecurity, and loss of self-esteem and may develop a

fear of going to school. The impact of frequent bullying can accompany victims into adulthood,

where they appear to be at greater risk of depression and other mental health problems(Shellard,

2002; Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 2001).

Studies documenting the negative impact of bullying on students have found that fifteen percent

of victims are “severely traumatized or distressed” by their encounters with bullies(Northwest

Regional Educational Laboratory, 2001). Twenty-two percent of grades 4-8students and 14

percent of grades 8-12 students report having difficulties they attribute to mistreatment by their

peers and 10 percent of students who dropped out of school say they did so because of bullying (

Weinhold and Weinhold, 1998; Hoover and Oliver, 1996).Bullies also experience negative

consequences. They are often less popular when they get to high school, have few friends, and

are more likely to engage in criminal activity. Bullying behavior has also been linked to other

forms of antisocial behavior, such as vandalism, shoplifting, skipping and dropping out of

school, fighting, and drug and alcohol use (Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency

Prevention, 2001). A strong correlation has been found between bullying other students during

school years and experiencing legal or criminal troubles as adults. Olweus (1993) found that 60

percent of boys characterized as bullies in grades 6-9 had at least one criminal conviction by age

24, compared to 23 percent of boys not characterized as bullies. Forty percent of boy bullies,

compared to 10 percent of boys not classified as bullies, had three or more convictions by age 24
 Asian Institute of Science and Technology
Emilio Aguinaldo Highway, Dasmarinas City, Cavite

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(Olweus et al., 1999). As adults, bullies have increased rates of substance abuse, domestic

violence, and other violent crime (Ballard et al., 1999).The most serious bullies in grades 6-10

(those who bullied others at least once a week and continued bullying away from school) were

more likely to report they’d carried a weapon to school in the prior month (43 percent versus 8

percent). They were also more likely to have been in a fight where they sustained an injury

serious enough to require treatment by a nurse or doctor (46 percent versus 16 percent) (Nansel

et al., 2003).Bullying also has an effect on bystanders. Those who witness bullying are more

likely to exhibit increased depression, anxiety, anger, posttraumatic stress, alcohol use, and low

grades (Shellard, 2002). Students who regularly witness bullying at school suffer from a less

secure learning environment, the fear that the bully may target them next, and the feeling that

teachers and other adults are either unable or unwilling to control bullies’ behavior (Shellard and

Turner, 2004).A survey commissioned by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that more age 8 to

15 year old students picked teasing and bullying as “big problems” than drugs or alcohol, racism,

AIDS, or pressure to have sex (Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, 2003).

BULLYING PREVENTION PROGRAMS

The goal of bullying prevention programs is to improve peer relations and make schools safe

and positive places for students to learn and develop. With the incidence of school site bullying

showing no signs of decline and the negative consequences of bullying on victims, bullies

themselves, and bystanders well documented, schools are struggling to implement effective

bullying prevention programs. The need for these programs is further illustrated by research that

points to a lack of communication between students and staff regarding bullying behavior. Harris

and Willough by (2003) found that only four percent of students told a teacher or school

administrator when they had been bullied and only 25 percent of students perceived
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Emilio Aguinaldo Highway, Dasmarinas City, Cavite

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administrators as interested in stopping bullying. Harris and Isernhagan (2003) reported that 43

percent of students surveyed “did not know” if school personnel were interested in trying to stop

bullying and 14 percent believed they were not interested at all. In both studies, however, most

staff reported that they regarded all forms of bullying as harmful. The researchers concluded that

students’ perceptions that school staff were not interested in reducing bullying were probably not

accurate because staff had not conveyed their concerns to students .McCartney (2005)

discovered that victims usually don’t tell teachers or school administrators that they have been

bullied because they “don’t believe adults can do anything about it; don’t want other students to

know they have a problem; fear being laughed at or not believed; fear it’ll get worse if they tell;

are shy and lack confidence t speak up; and don’t want to hear adults say, ‘Ignore it.’” Students

want adults to ask about bullying problems, provide opportunities to speak privately with

students, “keep an eye out” for bullying, and punish bullies instead of just lecturing them.

Local Literature

The R.A. No. 10627 which is an act requiring all elementary and secondary schools to

adopt policies to prevent and address the acts of bullying in their institutions and DepEd

Order No. 40, S. 2012 or the child protection policy are the two enacted laws to safeguard

children’s rights against the unimaginable effects of bullying. To achieve this, teachers are

expected to create optimal learning environments by establishing and enforcing discipline rules,

creating caring teacher–student relationships, addressing problem behaviors, and using quality

communication. Students of all ages may have behavioral, attitudinal, and social

issues(www.sagepub.com/upm-data/39273_3). But the gray areas are: How capable the teachers

are in recognizing bullying behaviors in school? How can they integrate bullying behaviors in

their classroom management approaches to mitigate bullying incidences? Is there a link between
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Emilio Aguinaldo Highway, Dasmarinas City, Cavite

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bullying incidences and classroom management skills together with parenting styles? Holt and

Keyes (2004) reported that a greater proportion of studies have found that teachers report lower

prevalence rates of bullying than students do, which likely indicates that students are aware of

bullying to a much greater extent than teachers do. Teachers, especially pre-service ones, are

concerned about the problem of bullying, that they often have limited knowledge of the issue,

and that they desire to learn more about it (Nicolaides, Toda, & Smith, 2002). Furthermore, what

is striking about teachers’ observation about bullying is that it seems very possible for teachers

who appear to have perfectly behaved classes to provide havens for bullies that shelter them

against detection. This speaks to the savvy ability of some bullies to manipulate the classroom

environments of well meaning, yet unsuspecting teachers, and to hide behind facades of

innocence. It is evident; this is a bullying situation teachers need help recognizing (Allen,

2010).Parenting style also plays a role in early socialization of children regarding bullying

behavior. Pupils identified as bullies were 1.65 times more likely to come from homes with

authoritarian style of child rearing compared to a participatory style. Bullies also were 1.71 times

more likely than non-bullies to have parents who used punitive forms of discipline more often.

Being bullied also relates to parenting styles. A significant correlation existed between bullying

of a child and high levels of intrusive coerciveness by the parent (r = – 0.20). This findings show

that parents who allowed the child few opportunities to control social circumstances may foster a

passive orientation that could become problematic for the child. On the other hand, a pupil who

has a complete family is more likely to show favorable behavior compared to those who have a

single parent and are abandoned (cited by Tiongco, 2010).In Binakayan National High School,

Kawit, Cavite, there is a reported 36 bullying cases for SY 2013-2014 which emanate from name

calling, playing offensive jokes, hiding or getting someone’s personal belongings, and inflicting
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Emilio Aguinaldo Highway, Dasmarinas City, Cavite

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physical injury. These had turned into physical bullying where kicking, slapping and beating up

another person in the school are the most common cases. Based on interview and teachers’

records; however, verbal bullying such as name calling, mocking, and hurtful teasing happen

frequently inside and outside the classroom which are not usually reported to school authorities

and resolved immediately instead. The discrepancies on the number of reported cases and its

surrounding information deplete the capability to understand the taxonomy and cellular level of

bullying. Hence, this descriptive study is aimed at investigating the bullying experiences of

students and classroom discipline techniques employed by the teachers towards the crafting of an

anti-bullying program in the school. It has the following objectives: determine students and

teachers’ profile relevant to main variables; assess the occurrences of direct and indirect bullying

incidences among students and the classroom discipline techniques employed by teachers; test

the independence of the profile variables from bullying incidences; create a model localized to

the concerned school that adequately explains classroom discipline techniques employed by the

teachers; and propose an anti-bullying program of the school. As the school year started in June

2012, the Philippines’ Education department has once again stressed the promotion of violence-

free schools, urging students, parents, school teachers and the entire community to fight and end

all forms of violence committed against school children. Children will better learn and will be

more productive under a school environment free from threats to their young lives [1]. Henrich,

emphasized effects of feeling secured at school because students consider school to be a “safe

haven” from violence. A survey conducted revealed that bullying or abuse is experienced by one

in two Filipino school children.This statistics is backed up by a report in an Australian

newspaper involving 117,000 nine-year olds from 25 different countries, stating that 50% of

Filipino students are being bullied in school. Also, Lai, have affirmed that students in the
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Emilio Aguinaldo Highway, Dasmarinas City, Cavite

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Philippines had led the record of different types of bullying, which include being “made fun of or

being called names,” “left out of activities by others,” and “made to do things the student did not

want to.” A study conducted by Barbero that sought to evaluate the effectiveness of the

intervention and violence prevention programs revealed that there is an existence of a

phenomenon that has probably always been present in school, although it has become the subject

of increasing attention and a social alarm in recent years. School violence and bullying issues

continue to be an alarming subject of national discussion for years. The government has

consistently set up campaigns in forming schemes that would make bullies liable and hamper

school violence. Last May 14, 2012, the Philippines’ Department of Education has issued Order

No. 40, s. 2012, entitled DepEd Child Protection Policy. The order mandates concerned

individuals the policy and guidelines on the protection of school-children against abuse,

violence, exploitation, discrimination, bullying and other forms of abuse. The issuance of this

policy aims to safeguard the welfare of school children from all forms of violence.

The 30-page document contains 26 sections, which particularly presented detailed discussion of

the policy, with initial reference to the 1987 Constitution; “The State shall defend the right of

children to assistance, including proper care and nutrition, and special protection from all forms

of neglect, abuse, cruelty, exploitation, and other conditions prejudicial to their development.”

With this comes one of the main thrusts of the Philippines’ Education Department in partnership

with all involved stakeholders: an assurance that schools be conducive for the learning of

children.

One argumentative subject cited in the memorandum was the advocacy for zero tolerance policy

for child abuse, bullying, etc. With the reiteration of the department’s stand on bullying and acts

of violence, student protection is considered to be a vital element for the students’ well-being.
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Emilio Aguinaldo Highway, Dasmarinas City, Cavite

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Cyber-bullying has also been included as an aggressive behavior with the use of electronic

materials inflicting harm, intimidation, or humiliation, Vacca and Kramer-Vida [7] stated that

there is a need for professionals to be aware of the role of technology in providing new and

different avenues for children to bully and be bullied. Kwan and Skorik [8] in their study on

cyber-bullying through Facebook affirmed that the existence of online and offline networks has

also opened the idea of offline and online problems.

The policy deliberately outlines the specific duties and responsibilities of each concerned party

in the entire community when dealing with school violence issues. The 2012 DepEd Child

Protection Policy also explicitly noted the Article 218 of the Family Code of the Philippines to

refer to the obligation of school administrators, teachers, academic and non academic and other

personnel. “School staff members play a central role in this coalition, from working directly with

children who have been exposed to violence, to reaching out to parents and intersecting with law

enforcement personnel”[9].

With the course of action to be taken when handling cases of bullying and others to be

complicated, the Department of Education has also thoroughly outlined step-by-step methods to

be followed, naming definite individual to pursue specific actions.