Preventing Bullying and Promoting a Healthy School Environment - A Special Issue

By Arthur Horne and Pamela Orpinas

For more than two decades, we have developed training manuals, written textbooks, and published journal articles summarizing our research and practical experience in preventing and reducing aggression in schools, families, and communities. Our initial work focused on working with teachers and students to address individual bullying problems encountered in the classrooms or on school grounds. Our work progressed by engaging more people in, including youth who reported bullying behaviors, students who were victims of that bullying, and the onlookers and bystanders who witnessed the negative interactions. This approach expanded prevention to focus on the whole school environment, engaging the entire community in creating safe and welcoming schools.

Seeing the power of the group to boost a positive classroom environment has led researchers to focus less on individual bullying behavior and to commit to enhancing a positive social environment where all people are treated with respect and dignity. For example, we created Students for Peace, Bully Busters, GREAT Schools and Families, and the Safe and Welcoming Schools and Communities Program as part of our work with the local and national schools. Researchers and educators confirmed that classrooms with positive social valence have less aggression and require less intervention to stop negative behavior while improving academic performance. However, more research is needed to pinpoint the best strategies to promote a positive school environment.

This special issue on “Preventing Bullying and Promoting a Healthy School Environment” in the Journal of Prevention and Health Promotion advances the science of creating a positive school climate. The articles examine strategies to prevent bullying by creating classroom environments that are respectful and supportive by adding affect to teaching (Abu-Yaman & Shechtman, 2022), increasing cooperative learning (Van Ryzin & Roseth, 2022), raising the voices of adolescents (Abraczinskas et al., 2022), and strengthening the capacity of educators and staff (Solomon et al., 2022). A theoretical study explores best practices to provide effective counseling to students who are victims of bullying (Lydecker, 2022). The final two studies examine how students (Andrysiak et al., 2022), school counselors, and psychologists (Burlet & Panahon, 2022) manage cyberbullying.

This Special Issue provides an excellent overview of the current status of bully prevention efforts, along with recommendations for steps to create more inclusive and connected communities within schools. Positive classroom environments are essential for healthy and engaged learning. Creating an atmosphere of respect and caring allows students to focus on learning rather than defensiveness and caution – and leads to an overall more engaged learning environment. This special issue encourages establishing a school environment where learning can flourish, and students develop healthy life management skills, including learning to handle conflict and relational challenges.

LIST OF ARTICLES

Horne, A. M., & Orpinas, P. (2022). Introduction to the Special Issue on Preventing Bullying and Promoting a Healthy School Environment. Journal of Prevention and Health Promotion, 3(2), 123-125. https://doi.org/10.1177/26320770221086956

Abu-Yaman, M. M., & Shechtman, Z. (2022). Affective Teaching: A Method to Reduce Negative Classroom Behavior and Improve Relationships. Journal of Prevention and Health Promotion, 3(2), 126-146. https://doi.org/10.1177/26320770221094679

Van Ryzin, M. J., & Roseth, C. J. (2022). The Longitudinal Relationship Between Peer Relations and Empathy and Their Joint Contribution to Reducing Bullying in Middle School: Findings From a Randomized Trial of Cooperative Learning. Journal of Prevention and Health Promotion, 3(2), 147-165. https://doi.org/10.1177/26320770221094032

Abraczinskas, M., Kornbluh, M., Golden, A. R., Glende, J., Velez, V., Vines, E., & Ozer, E. J. (2022). Preventing Bullying and Improving School Climate Through Integrating Youth Participatory Action Research Into School-wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports: An Illustration Using a Multiple Case Study Approach. Journal of Prevention and Health Promotion, 3(2), 166-194. https://doi.org/10.1177/26320770221092148

Solomon, B. J., Stratford, B., Steed, H., Sun, S., & Temkin, D. (2022). Implementation of a Capacity-Building Framework to Improve School Climate in an Urban School System. Journal of Prevention and Health Promotion, 3(2), 195-230. https://doi.org/10.1177/26320770211055861

Lydecker, J. A. (2022). Conceptual Application of Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to Treat Victims of Bullying. Journal of Prevention and Health Promotion, 3(2), 231-245. https://doi.org/10.1177/26320770221074008

Andrysiak, C. J. L., Mani, P. S., Pomrenke, M., Ukasoanya, G. U., & Mizock, L. (2022). The Changing World of Bullying: Student Strategies for Cyberbullying Intervention. Journal of Prevention and Health Promotion, 3(2), 246-257. https://doi.org/10.1177/26320770211064330

Burlet, R. E., & Panahon, C. J. (2022). Cyberbullying Prevention and Intervention: Current Practices in Schools. Journal of Prevention and Health Promotion, 3(2), 258-267. https://doi.org/10.1177/26320770221087454

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Article Details

Introduction to the Special Issue on Preventing Bullying and Promoting a Healthy School Environment
Arthur M. Horne, Pamela Orpinas
First Published May 13, 2022
Journal of Prevention and Health Promotion

About the Authors

Featured

Arthur Horne, Ph.D., is Dean Emeritus and Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus at the University of Georgia. Dr. Horne has worked in the areas of violence reduction and bullying prevention for several decades. He was a member of the Centers For Disease Control Multisite Violence Prevention Project, a 5-year project examining the effects of intervention programs on reducing aggression and violence in schools and families. He has authored, co-authored, and edited books and articles on delinquency, conduct disorder, and bullying and directed the Safe and Welcoming Schools program with an emphasis on positive approaches to creating classrooms of respect and dignity.

Featured

Pamela Orpinas, Ph.D., is a Professor in the Department of Health Promotion and Behavior, College of Public Health at the University of Georgia. Dr. Orpinas has conducted extensive research on violence prevention in schools and families. She has studied peer bullying, dating aggression, intimate partner violence, relational aggression, adolescent developmental trajectories, and family violence in the United States and Latin America. Her research has focused on improving the lives of immigrants and underserved populations through collaborative, multidisciplinary efforts. She has published two books and over 100 research studies.