Bullying in the Educational Workplace: Fictionalized Case Studies
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Date
2006-05
Authors
Hipwell, Anna Margaret Elizabeth
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Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Mount Saint Vincent University
Abstract
The purpose of this thesis is to examine bullying in workplace relationships in educational settings. Through the use of five fictionalized case studies, this thesis illustrates the following relationships: teacher/student, teacher/teacher, caretaker/teacher, family/teacher, and principal/teacher. By re-creating realistic, but fictional descriptions of the day-to-day realities of bullying in the workplace, I aim, as the researcher, to bring to light the issues, themes, and conflicts that arise when bullying behaviour is present in the educational workplace. By illustrating the actions and consequences of this behaviour, I hope to provide insight into conditions enabling the bullying behaviour to continue. The data for this research has been assembled from the following sources: research articles, articles from the popular press, publicly available media interviews, and personal experience during twenty years of teaching in educational settings. Because all of the data were either publicly available or fictionalized from my own experience or from publicly- sourced material, the risk to any individual, living or dead, is non-existent. No ethical concerns are related to this study. Because of the danger posed to targets of bullying, extraordinary measures were taken in the writing to ensure that, while demonstrations of bullying behaviour appear authentic in kind, they have no relation to any actual person or situation. The research was undertaken using the following procedure: creation of fictional narrative case studies to illustrate lived examples of bullying behaviour; research into contemporary studies and theories about bullying, and finally, analysis of the narrative case studies for common themes and patterns and parallels to current literature in the field. The study concludes with recommendations to create awareness about bullying, to address the effects of bullying, and to advocate for the introduction of policies and procedures to protect the target. The development of programs to promote the identification and handling of workplace bullying in educational settings is also advocated.
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Keywords
Bullying in workplace , Bullying in Sschools , Bullying Behaviour