-
-
-
Loading
Loading
```html
As Halloween approaches, it’s not just the spooky season that’s upon us—October is also recognized as Bullying Prevention Month. This is an opportune moment to delve into the transforming landscape of bullying in schools. A recent incident involving a boy bullied for his Halloween costume starkly illustrates how easily festive occasions can morph into hostile environments. While data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) suggests a decline in bullying rates, the repercussions remain significant for students, educators, and parents alike, as highlighted by Study.com.
Over the past twenty years, bullying among students aged 12-18 has generally decreased. For instance, in the 2004-05 school year, 28.5% of students reported being bullied. This number peaked at 31.7% in 2006-07 but has since dropped to 19.2% by the 2021-22 school year. Notably, the most substantial decline occurred between 2010-11 and 2012-13, where rates fell from 27.8% to 21.5%.
In 2022, the most common types of bullying reported were:
While the decline in bullying may indicate the effectiveness of anti-bullying campaigns, it masks significant differences across demographics, school types, and regions.
Both male and female students have reported fewer incidents of bullying, yet female students consistently report higher overall rates. In the 2004-05 school year, 27.5% of male students and 29.7% of female students reported being bullied. By the 2021-22 school year, these numbers had decreased to 16.7% for males and 21.8% for females. The largest decline in reported bullying occurred after the 2010-11 school year, with rates dropping from 31.4% to 23.7%.
Despite the overall decrease, higher levels of bullying among female students may reflect the distinct ways in which bullying manifests, with social and emotional forms being more prevalent among girls.
The locations of bullying incidents have remained largely unchanged, with specific school areas being more susceptible than others:
Bullying rates also vary by geographic location. In the 2021-2022 school year, 23.8% of students in rural schools reported being bullied, compared to 19.0% in urban schools and 16.8% in suburban schools.
Geographic influences on bullying include:
Bullying reports differ between public and private schools, as well as between urban, suburban, and rural environments. Public schools tend to have more consistent bullying reports across locations, while private schools—particularly Catholic and nonsectarian—exhibit higher variability, potentially due to differences in student populations or school culture.
Jenn Jones is an award-winning professional journalist with 10+ years of experience in the field. After graduating from the Columbia School of Journalism, she began her career at a local newspaper in her hometown before moving to a larger metro area and taking on more demanding roles as a reporter and editor before calling Breaking Now News her home.
Comments
Leave a Reply