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Irish schools need more robust national data on bullying, new UCC research finds
Ireland needs a more systematic and robust approach to collecting and using data on bullying in schools, according to a new international evidence review by researchers at University College Cork (UCC) and the Economic and Social Research Institute.
The report, National Reporting Frameworks for School Bullying: An International Evidence Review, examines how different countries collect, analyse and use information on bullying, and considers which approaches could provide the greatest value in the Irish context.
Minister for Education and Youth, Hildegard Naughton T.D., welcomed the publication of the report, which was funded by the Department of Education and Youth;
“Cineáltas Action Plan on Bullying is about creating school communities where every child and young person feels safe, respected, included and able to thrive. I welcome this report, which was commissioned by my department, as it demonstrates how other countries are gathering national data to understand the prevalence of bullying behaviour in schools. We will carefully consider its findings as we continue to implement Cineáltas.”
The review highlights how past studies show 22.4% of primary and 11.8% of post-primary students in Ireland reporting bullying. The nature of bullying in Irish schools has changed, cyberbullying is evident as is blended bullying, where online harassment is often intertwined with offline victimisation. Students from under resourced families and migrant students are also more vulnerable to bullying behaviour, the review finds.
The report, authored by Dr Caoimhe Dempsey, Lecturer at University College Cork, and Professor Selina McCoy, Associate Research Professor at the Economic and Social Research Institute and Adjunct Professor at Trinity College Dublin, examines four approaches to monitoring and evaluating bullying internationally. The review finds that each approach has advantages and limitations, but that Ireland could benefit from a more coordinated national approach to data collection, analysis and evaluation.
Need for stronger national evidence
The report notes that Ireland has made significant progress in understanding and addressing bullying. However, the researchers identify opportunities to strengthen the evidence available to policymakers, schools and researchers.
A key finding is that a large-scale, independently conducted survey of student experiences, repeated at regular intervals, could provide Ireland with robust information on the prevalence and nature of bullying.
The report identifies Finland's approach as an example of how national monitoring can provide schools with information on their own students while also generating evidence for national policy and research. A similarly broad approach in Ireland could provide evidence relevant not only to bullying policy, but also to wider areas including student wellbeing, health and education.
The researchers also highlight the importance of reducing the burden on schools. Greater coordination across Government Departments could reduce duplication and create a more coherent approach to data collection.
Towards a stronger evidence base
The report calls for a national student experience survey which could provide repeated, high-quality data on bullying and related aspects of school life, while systematic evaluation of specific policies and programmes could provide evidence about what works.
Dr Caoimhe Dempsey, University College Cork, said: “Ireland has made important progress in how we understand and respond to bullying in schools. The next step is to ensure that we have the evidence needed to understand how experiences of bullying are changing over time and, crucially, to evaluate whether policies and interventions are making a difference.”