Statistics on Bullying in Elementary Schools

                                               Statistics on Bullying in Elementary Schools

Bullying in elementary schools occurs when a bully identifies a perceived physical, social, or emotional characteristic as an obvious difference in one student.  The bully singles out this victim from the other classmates or schoolmates. Statistics on bullying in elementary school indicates that bullying in elementary school occurs with surprising frequency.  Children as young as  kindergarten age may even display bullying behaviors. The bully is keenly aware of the victim’s appearance and zooms in on any physical trait that is perceived as “different”.  This difference might include physical characteristics such as height or weight, or other attributes that a bully defines as a negative item.  The link,  https://antibullyingsoftware.com/school-bullying-statistics/ , contains specific information about statistics on bullying in elementary schools.

Bullies do not place a limit on what they find unusual and almost any characteristic can be negatively described.  For instance, a bully might make repeated comments about a student who is extremely intelligent or  constantly tease the student who struggles academically.  Students who receive academic assistance in a special education class or program are often prime targets of bullying. Take a moment to review the section on statistics about Bullying of Students with Disabilities: http://www.pacer.org/bullying/about/media-kit/stats.asp. This site provides an informative description of statistics on bullying in elementary schools.  Key statistics on bullying in elementary schools and across other age groups are contained on the website. Statistics on bullying in elementary schools related to students with disabilities is limited and more research-based information is needed to address the issue.

 The bully chooses his target through careful observation.  The bully might observe his classmates or students in the school environment to identify someone perceived to have odd or unusual behaviors or physical traits.  Students who are deemed underweight or overweight might be singled out as the recipient of repeated teasing and verbal harassment. A victim’s appearance is a primary reason that he or she might experience victimization and bullying.  Children in all age groups appear consumed with thoughts about their appearance. Girls are becoming increasingly concerned with their weight and physical appearance at a younger age.   Boys may experience teasing about weight or their lack of athleticism. Information is provided in two sections of the link on General Statistics and Weight-based, http://www.pacer.org/bullying/about/media-kit/stats.asp. These sections of the website highlight statistics on weight-based bullying.  Lastly, the bully might single out at a student who is sensitive, shy, kind, quiet, or simply perceived as “weak”.  Bullies use almost any reason to identify and intimidate their next victim. It is crucial that educators and researchers continue to collect statistics on bullying in elementary schools.   Careful review of students’ responses about bullying and victimization will lead to a clearer understanding of the statistics on bullying in elementary schools.