Pesten op het Regulier Basisonderwijs: De Opvattingen van Ouders

Abstract

Bullying is a problem common to primary schools throughout the world. Research on this phenomenon has mainly focused on the school environment and its students. Research regarding the parents has focused mainly on their influence on both victim and perpetrator. In this study an attempt is made to gain insight into the different perspectives parents have on bullying as it takes place in the primary school context in the Netherlands. To this aim thirteen in-depth interviews have been conducted with twelve parents and one teacher. The goals of this research were made operational by corresponding topics in a topic scheme: a) definition and recognition of bullying of victims and of perpetrators (bullies); b) views and expectations of themselves, teachers, other parents, other children, victims and perpetrators of bullying regarding bullying situations. The results indicated that the respondents did not recognize all the different ways in which bullying can manifest itself. Also they felt that bullying was specific to the school context and should be dealt with in that context, with as little involvement of parents as possible. These results suggest that victims, perpetrators, parents and school could all benefit from greater parental knowledge and awareness regarding bullying.