The process of bullying involves the actions taken against others, either as a group or on an individual basis, towards another person incapable of properly defending against it. Behaviors are classified as bullying in instances where they occur intentionally, are repeated, and aim to change the balance of power. Ultimately, this makes it difficult for the victim to react or respond to such continuous attacks, empowering the bully. Menesinia and Salmivalli (2017) identify verbal attacks, social aggression, and physical behavior as the most common forms of bullying. Additionally, the onset of the digital age has also brought a rise in online bullying using social media. The above definition goes to show the extent to which the vice can manifest itself in learners pursuing education at a young age.
Bullying has evolved to be a global problem with students across different countries experiencing some form of victimization. Data from the United States Department of Health and Human Services showed a staggering 160,000 students have experienced a form of bullying in their school life, leading to them missing classes (Oliveira et al., 2018). The researchers further conducted a study to determine how bullying affected math scores in respondents in 6th grade. The aim was to understand the role of social-emotional skills in the students when influenced by bullying. From the results of the study, black students were more likely to experience bullying as compared to those from other races. Additionally, obese students also experienced a higher prevalence of being victimized. Social-emotional skills were determined to play a critical role in the ability of a student to be bullied. Ultimately, bullying caused a decline in the mathematics performance of the students showing a negative effect on the learning process.
Order this paper