Chad A. Rose

Bullying Perpetration and Victimization in Special Education: A Review of the Literature

Bullying perpetration and victimization have become pervasive problems in American schools. Recent research suggests a causal association between prolonged periods of victimization and overt acts of school violence. These findings are germane to students with disabilities in light of evidence suggesting these students are victimized more often than typically developing peers. The purpose of this review is to provide special educators with an overview of definitions and issues related to bullying perpetration and victimization and to synthesize research on this topic as it pertains to students with disabilities by disability type, personal characteristics, and educational placement. It was concluded that additional research is needed on prevalence and types of bullying, factors related to perpetration or victimization, and appropriate school-based interventions for special needs populations.

Bullying and victimisation rates among students in general and special education: A comparative analysis.

Bullying and victimisation remains a pervasive problem within the nation’s schools. International research has indicated that students who are enrolled in special education curricula are victimised and perpetrate more bullying than their general education peers. Few empirical studies have examined bullying and victimisation rates among American schoolchildren within special education programmes. The current study examined rates of bullying and fighting perpetration and victimisation among middle‐school students (n = 7331) and high‐school students (n = 14,315) enrolled in general education and special education programmes. As hypothesised, students in special education reported greater rates of bullying and fighting perpetration, and victimisation than general education students. Students who were in self‐contained classrooms reported more perpetration and victimisation than those in inclusive settings. Fighting perpetration was similar for younger and older students in special education settings, whereas fighting perpetration was lower for older students, versus younger students, in general education.

Risk and Protective Factors Associated with the Bullying Involvement of Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders.

Bullying has been recognized as a dynamic process, where involvement is based on interactions between an individual and the social-ecological factors related to the individuals environment. While involvement in bullying is not exclusive to one population of students, evidence suggests that students with disabilities are overrepresented within the bullying dynamic. However, few empirical studies have explored subgroup differences among this population of students. The current study examined rates of bullying involvement and the intersection of individual attributes among middle school students (n = 163) identified with specific disabilities and their peers without disabilities (n = 163). As hypothesized, students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) engaged in significantly higher levels of bullying and fighting than other subgroups of students. Additionally, higher levels of anger predicted higher levels of bully perpetration for students with EBD, where higher levels of victimization predicted higher levels of bully perpetration for students with disabilities other than EBD. These findings demonstrate the importance of recognizing the influence of the characteristic differences between subgroups of students with disabilities, and the unique influence these characteristics may have on student involvement within the bullying dynamic.

Social-Emotional Learning Program to Reduce Bullying, Fighting, and Victimization Among Middle School Students With Disabilities

Results of a 3-year randomized clinical trial of Second Step: Student Success Through Prevention (SS-SSTP) Middle School Program on reducing bullying, physical aggression, and peer victimization among students with disabilities are presented. Teachers implemented 41 lessons of a sixth- to eighth-grade curriculum that focused on social-emotional learning (SEL) skills, including empathy, bully prevention, communication skills, and emotion regulation. Two school districts in a larger clinical trial provided disability information. All sixth-grade students (N = 123) with a disability were included in these analyses, including intervention (n = 47) and control (n = 76) conditions. Linear growth models indicated a significant intervention effect for bully perpetration; compared with students in the control condition, intervention students’ bullying perpetration scale scores significantly decreased across the 3-year study (δ = −.20, 95% confidence interval = [−.38, −.03]). SEL offers promise in reducing bully perpetration among students with disabilities.

Bullying and Victimization among Students with Disabilities: Effective Strategies for Classroom Teachers.

Bullying has come to be recognized as a pervasive problem in schools today. Frequently bullying is not immediately recognized or viewed by classroom teachers as problematic behavior. As more students experience bullying, questions arise as to how well teachers understand the bullying dynamic and are aware of strategies for intervening when those behaviors occur. This article is designed to give teachers, administrators, and researchers a fundamental understanding of bullying behavior and strategies for intervening in schools and classrooms.

Bullying and Middle School Students With and Without Specific Learning Disabilities: An Examination of Social-Ecological Predictors

The current study investigated demographic variables, sense of belonging, and social supports as predictors for involvement in bullying for students with specific learning disabilities (SLD) and students without disabilities. Although these student groups are characteristically different, results suggested involvement in bullying was invariant. However, gender, race, grade point average, and participation in extracurricular activities emerged as significant predictors for involvement in the bullying dynamic. In addition, increased peer social support was found to be the most significant predictor of decreased bullying, victimization, fighting, and anger for both students with SLD and students without disabilities. Educational implications include the suggestion that schools adopt multitiered antibullying programs that foster increased social supports and peer acceptance and incorporate targeted interventions for at-risk subpopulations of students.

A Longitudinal Examination of Homophobic Name-Calling in Middle School: Bullying, Traditional Masculinity, and Sexual Harassment as Predictors.

Objective: Being a target of homophobic name-calling is associated with adverse outcomes for youth. Few studies have examined homophobic name-calling longitudinally among middle school youth. To address this gap, this longitudinal study examined predictors of changes in homophobic name-calling including bullying, sexual harassment, dismissiveness of sexual harassment, and traditional masculinity over the course of 2 years of middle school. Method: Participants included 1,655 students in 5th–8th grade from 4 public middle schools in the Midwest. The survey assessed demographic characteristics, homophobic name-calling, bullying, sexual harassment, and traditional masculinity across 4 waves of 2 years of data collection. Results: Homophobic name-calling increased over time; however, the rate of acceleration slowed. Higher within-person and between-person bullying was associated with increases in homophobic name-calling, but increases in dismissiveness of sexual harassment and traditional masculinity were not associated with increases in homophobic name-calling. Increases in within-person sexual harassment were associated with contemporaneous increases in homophobic name-calling. Relations between bullying and homophobic name-calling were especially pronounced for those at high levels of dismissiveness of sexual harassment for both within- and between-person models. Conclusion: To effectively address school bullying among early adolescents, it is imperative that antibullying policies and prevention programs work to address homophobic name-calling and dismissiveness of sexual harassment.

The Influence of Psychosocial Factors on Bullying Involvement of Students With Disabilities

The involvement of students with disabilities within the bullying dynamic has been recognized as a pressing issue within the nations schools. Unfortunately, few studies have examined the psychosocial outcomes related to the bullying involvement of students with disabilities. However, involvement in bullying has been linked to negative short- and long-term outcomes for students with and without disabilities, increasing the necessity of exploring the relationship between psychosocial outcomes and bullying involvement. The purpose of this article is to initiate this discussion and highlight contemporary findings involving bullying among students with disabilities, as well as relate these finding to practical application and intervention.

Factors Associated With Enhanced Knowledge and Use of Secondary Transition Evidence-Based Practices

Students with disabilities lag behind peers without disabilities in most postsecondary outcome areas such as employment, postsecondary education, and independent living. Numerous initiatives aimed at supporting students as they transition from school to adult life have received attention over the last few decades. These initiatives include those that focus on preparing secondary special educators and transition personnel to be better equipped to facilitate these transitions. In this study, the authors examined the extent to which middle and high school educators (n = 280) and direct-service transition professionals (e.g., transition specialists, rehabilitation counselors; n = 203) reported level of knowledge and modes of access to this knowledge related to secondary transition evidence-based practices (EBPs). In addition, this study examined if there is a difference in educators and direct-service transition professionals in reported use of EBPs. Results indicate that few educators and direct-service transition professionals believe their professional development opportunities fully prepared them with the knowledge and skills to use secondary transition EBPs. Implications and future research directions are also presented.

Social-Emotional Learning Program to Promote Prosocial and Academic Skills Among Middle School Students With Disabilities

This 3-year study evaluated the effectiveness of the Second Step–Student Success Through Prevention (SS-SSTP) social-emotional learning program on increasing prosocial behaviors that could serve as protective factors against peer conflict and bullying among students with disabilities. Participants included 123 students with disabilities across 12 schools in Midwest United States. Students labelled with a disability were selected for inclusion. Students completed self-report measures of school belonging, empathy, caring, and willingness to intervene in bullying situations. Report card grades and standardized test scores were collected from school records. Students with disabilities in the intervention schools reported a statistical and clinical significant increase in willingness to intervene in bullying incidents in comparison with students with disabilities in control schools and an increase of half a grade on their report cards in comparison with the control sample. The current study demonstrates the promise of social-emotional learning programming for students with disabilities.