Students in Malta consider bullying a problem
A staggering 62 per cent of pupils in Malta consider bullying a problem in their school, according to research by the British council.
The research was conducted across more than 50 schools in Europe who were chosen for their mix of children from different backgrounds.
It found that children in Europe’s schools find that sexual orientation, differences in physical appearance and disability are barriers to fitting in at school.
46 per cent of students in the countries covered by the study say that sexual orientation is the most common reason for children to make fun of each other in Europe’s schools, followed by physical appearance at 42 per cent and disability at 35 per cent.
The study showed marked differences between countries: 58 per cent of pupils in Italy make fun of others because of race compared to nine per cent in the Netherlands; 62 per cent of pupils in Malta consider bullying a problem in their school compared to 15 per cent in Spain.
Only 11 per cent of pupils in Malta felt stressed at school and 65 per cent felt that it is very important for their future to be successful at school. 75 per cent felt that their school made an effort to involve all of its students regardless of their backgrounds.
Of the 4,200 children surveyed across Europe, first generation migrants were 47 per cent more likely to have been made fun of in the last three months, 17 per cent more likely to be bullied and almost three times more likely to need help in school because they do not understand.
The survey is part of the British Council’s Inclusion and Diversity in Education (INDIE) project.
The project was created in 2007 to deal with the challenges faced by schools with increased numbers of migrant pupils. It has united education specialists, head teachers and pupils themselves from Belgium, England, Germany, Greece, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Scotland, Spain and Wales.
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Maggie Debono
May 18th 2010, 22:19
J Farrugia yes you are right bullying exists in all schools and the workplace too. So a word of warning DON'T TOLERATE BULLIES.
j.camenzuli
May 18th 2010, 21:20
I quite agree with the survey. Bulling is rife in Malta particularly in government schools. Not just between students but also from teachers. I know of cases where teachers prefer one pupil to another especially in kinder garden classes and others calling their fifth year pupils ignorants, stupids and all sort of other adjectives, and that they are not capable of passing their final exams. What a way to encourage their students to look to the future. The problem is that most mothers don't speak out as they are afraid that their child education will suffer especially at examination time.
Liz Borg
May 18th 2010, 23:26
Bullying exists in government, church and independent schools - it is not just government schools.. i can assure you that even government schools take bullying issues very seriously.
@Jason Spiteri - have you ever filmed undressing your peers to put them up on facebook or youtube? Would you call these childhood pranks? Am not inventing cases, just remember the poor bloke at mcast whose video was viewed on youtube!!
@J Camenzuli - teachers calling pupils ignorant means that the teachers themselves are not well educated in their teaching skills, because if all kids were naturally bright they also would be able to learn/discover by themselves. So i agree with you that teachers should be careful in their linguistic expressions..however why should parents not speak out? Nowadays they can speak to the Head of School, to the Principal, to the Anti-bullying unit at education - they need to make themselves heard!!
Jason Spiteri
May 18th 2010, 14:33
What has changed isn't the rate of bullying, but children's perceptions. What was accepted as normal children's pranks when we were young has been labelled as bullying by the nanny-state culture fostered by politically correct Leftist governments abroad and imported to Malta. Children today are so worried about their self-worth and rights and self-esteem than the behaviour of any of their peers who doesn't treat them as a reality show star is immediately characterised as 'bullying'.
J Farrugia
May 18th 2010, 11:15
Off course we take this study with a pinch of salt. Lies lies and more lies. There is bullying in schools, yes, but not at the alarmist rate this British Council is saying. Bullying is found everywhere, in schools, in churches, in dancehalls, everywhere.
Liz Borg
May 18th 2010, 12:08
if as you are saying bullying exists everywhere, why all this chaos about numbers? what advantage would the British Council obtain by inflating the bullying percentage numbers? What's in a number? Bullying exists everywhere, but what is most important is what is being done to counteract such issues..what is being done to help the victims especially in self-assertion and what is being done to the 'bully' because most times s/he needs help as well, although it is not always the case..
M.Farrugia
May 18th 2010, 13:02
Dear Mr Farrugia,
Although our surnames show that we are related [all Farrugia's around the world are related as genetic studies show], I do not agree that these are lies.
Surely, further statistical studies should be commissioned but it does not mean that bullying does not exist. It's part of the pecking order all animals practice in a biological sense and some is required so that youngsters learn how to cope in life.
Aside from my extreme scientific view of this biological fact but the social aspect of bullying is bad when humans are cruel to each other.
So the fine line to be drawn is not easy when one has to consider what is a one time casual taunting interaction or down right persistent bullying which makes one's life hell.
J Farrugia
May 18th 2010, 13:54
NO M Farrugia. I'm certainly not related with you, thanks be to God. And your ideals are not mine. I dont go by statistical studies since these have been shown time and again to be false or not exact. So I dont go by statistics. I know how statistics work and that there is a margin of error in them. But still the information provided in such surveys is not real. Either exagerated or deflated for all kinds of reasons. And even according to the questions asked. Some of them are quite confusing. How can you expect right answers to such questions? No ... I'm certainly not even remotely related to you.
Mrs.M.Farrugia
May 18th 2010, 19:39
What the heck does the British council know about bullying in Malta any how, i kindly ask the British not to compare the Maltese schools or our bright youngsters with their lot in the UK, they are a different kettle of fish over there, here we have morals, true there are unfortunately some bullies walking about but not on the same scale as the British Please SIR/Madam, do not insult our intelligence thankyou verymuch! Period.