WAYS OF FINDING OUT

Because of pupils' reluctance to speak out, some schools are starting to explore alternative ways of finding out what is really happening.

• observe social relationships between pupils
• keep records of bullying incidents
• investigate pupils' views by asking them to write a story on bullying
• discuss potential problems with colleagues
• ask pupils to write about areas of the school which are safe or unsafe, and what should be done about this
• carry out a questionnaire survey.

USING QUESTIONNAIRES

The use of confidential questionnaires which has provided a lot of detailed information relatively quickly-and a lot of headaches.

ASKING USEFUL QUESTIONS

The first part of the process of conducting a questionnaire survey is to think carefully about what it is you want to find out. Advice is available about the writing, administration and analysis of questionnaires (see Munn & Drever) and you may want to look at this before you start. When planning your questionnaire you should aim to:

• keep it short
• be rigorous about collecting only the information that you really need rather than that which would be merely 'interesting'
• only include questions which have clear meanings and which can be easily analysed
• use all the expertise that is available-your school may have a mathematics or computer specialist who will help with analysis.

DEFINING WHAT COUNTS AS BULLYING

If you ask questions which mention bullying (eg Have you ever been bullied at school?) then it is important to agree what counts as bullying before you start. If you do not do this it will cause much confusion - to the young people answering the question - and to the person who has to analyse the answers.

POSSIBLE DEFINATION OF BULLYING

Bullying happens when one person or a group of people tries to upset another person by saying nasty or hurtful things to him or her again and again. Sometimes bullies hit or kick people or force them to hand over money; sometimes they tease them again and again. The person who is being bullied finds it difficult to stop this happening and is worried that it will happen again. It may not be bullying when two people of roughly the same strength have a fight or disagreement.

There is no harm in using a different definition and it may be best to use one that has been devised within the school but make sure that it is applied consistently.

If you do not want to use a definition at this stage (perhaps because you intend to discuss what counts as bullying at a later stage in the process of developing an anti-bullying policy) there is an alternative strategy that you could adopt: the questionnaire could ask questions about specific types of behaviour.

Examples of such questions are:

• Has anyone at school hit you recently?
• Has anyone at school helped you when you have been upset?
• Have you been very upset recently by names that people have called you?

As well as doing away with the need for a definition, this approach has the advantage that it can focus on positive as well as negative types of behaviour. There is a danger, however, of asking too many questions and thereby making the process of analysis long and difficult.

PROBLEMS WITH QUESTIONNAIRES

Although some schools have used questionnaires successfully, I have come across the following problems:

• questionnaires which are too long and difficult to analyse
• questions which are ambiguous
• leading questions which antagonise parents, teachers or pupils.

One school included a question about bullying by teachers, with the result that the main issue under discussion became the questionnaire and the way it was devised, rather than what had been discovered. Another school used a commercially produced questionnaire which did not seem to have been adequately trialled or evaluated. Although there is nothing wrong with using an existing questionnaire, schools should always consider whether it will provide them with the information they need and, if copyright allows, they should adapt it to suit their own purposes.

BUILDING BETTER RELATIONSHIPS

Whatever method schools use to find out about bullying, there is one step which should always be taken: make sure that the information collected from pupils, parents or teachers is fed back to them and discussed with them. Although this may seem obvious, it is something which schools sometimes find difficult to do.

Some questionnaires are so complex that it takes months to analyse them and by then the results have lost their immediacy. Others have included ill-considered questions which have produced results which exaggerate the scale of bullying. The temptation in such cases is to file away the results but this is hardly in the spirit of openness which most schools would agree to be desirable. Dealing with bullying provides the opportunity to build better relationships. But this will only happen if adults think carefully about who owns the information that they have been entrusted with, and if the opinions and suggestions of pupils and parents are valued and acknowledged.

SHOWING THAT SPEAKING OUT PAYS OFF

If finding out about bullying is to be any more than a one-off exercise, and if teachers want to ensure that pupils do tell somebody the next time bullying happens, then the pupils who have provided information need to see how it is used. Suggestions they have made about how bullying can be tackled may be accepted or rejected but, in either case, this should only happen after the reasons for acceptance or rejection have been explained and discussed. If teachers really want pupils to talk and tell, then it must be shown that this is a rewarding and relevant thing to do. This means that, where possible, young people's suggestions should be incorporated into school policies.

Questionnaires can be a useful way of gathering a lot of information although they can never provide more than a snapshot of ever-changing opinions and perceptions. They can also help to initiate a discussion about a difficult subject - like bullying - and this is perhaps their main value. The key to reducing levels of bullying is to encourage honesty and openness. The improved communication and relationships which result should mean that bullying is less likely to be the hidden problem that it has been for so long.