When the word “bullying” is used in the context of education, one often presumes the situation in which one student systematically mistreats another. Unfortunately, harassment, offense, and social exclusion can happen in professional relationships between teachers. For example, teachers can force their peers to utilize educational approaches which they find effective, assign menial duties to less-experienced colleagues, or even unite against them (Mulvahill, 2020). In addition to their unethical nature, all those manifestations of bullying are harmful to the atmosphere in the workplace and the effectiveness of the educational process. Therefore, bullying incidents between the teachers must be addressed to provide teachers with ethical working settings and prevent deterioration of the educational process.
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The problem scenario in question is related to workplace bullying in teaching and possible measures that can be implemented to solve or at least alleviate it. A recently hired college principal realizes that toxic behaviors have become a widespread element of organizational culture. For instance, experienced teachers impose their philosophy on younger colleagues and even openly ridicule their alleged incompetence in conversations. Therefore, the principal has to develop a plan of action that includes effective prevention measures and strategies of intervention. The teachers can use various coping strategies, such as asking for help, calling bullying incidents out, or gathering allies among colleagues (Miller, 2017). However, the principal has to introduce the necessary measures and interventions in order to address the problem without putting all responsibility on the victims.
The proposed problem-solving plan stems from the most effective anti-bullying policies mentioned and described by HR professionals. As such, the plan introduces three steps of anti-bullying interventions. First of all, primary interventions would reduce the risk of future bullying cases by redesigning the work environment (Salin et al., 2020). However, since the problem scenario implies a significant spread of bullying among the teachers, it would be necessary to employ secondary interventions directed at perpetrators (Salin et al., 2020). Lastly, tertiary interventions would help reduce and heal the damage done to the victims (Salin et al., 2020). Overall, the ultimate goal lies in the creation of a complex and all-rounded system of interventions.
Primary interventions would include the best ways and practices of bullying prevention. Salin et al. (2020) conducted a survey among 214 HR professionals who shared their views on the most effective primary, secondary, and tertiary interventions. Based on this research, the principal could start with awareness-raising training. This training would make perpetrators fully aware of the negative impact left by their behavior and equip other teachers for timely intervention (Salin et al., 2020). In addition, the principal could adopt a clear code of ethical conduct and enforce it through their authority. Finally, the principal could show an example of good leadership by clearly expressing a non-passive anti-bullying stance. In the corporative sphere, the behavior of higher-level managers often affected that of lower-level colleagues (Salin et al., 2020). Therefore, if the principal expresses a zero-tolerance position towards unethical behavior in the workplace, this might cause a positive attitude shift among the teachers.
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