Bullying is a significant challenge for schools today. It impacts students’ mental health, academic success and the overall school climate. There are strategies educators can implement to create safer, more inclusive classrooms and make bullying less likely to occur. Drawing from Penn State Extension’s “Bullying: What Educators Can Do About It”, here is a practical guide for teachers, administrators, and school staff to use to build a culture of respect and prevent bullying.
School/Policy Level Strategies
Develop a schoolwide bullying policy
- Clearly define bullying (physical, social, verbal, and cyberbullying) and unacceptable behaviors.
- Specify how incidents will be handled, including consequences and steps for intervention.
- Ensure that all students, staff, and parents are aware of the policy and consequences.
Involve the entire school community in policy development
- Include students, parents, teachers, and non-teaching staff in discussing and shaping anti-bullying efforts.
- Provide opportunities (in person and online) for students to voice concerns, possibly anonymously.
Create “bully-free zones” and use monitoring
- Assign peer or staff monitors in places where bullying is likely (outdoor areas, hallways, cafeterias).
- Use “bully boxes” (physical drop boxes) or online suggestion/incident boxes so students can anonymously report incidences or concerns.
Mediation and peer counseling
- Use mediation programs where a neutral party helps the bully and victim talk through the issue.
- Train older students as peer counselors to support victims (with appropriate supervision).
- Awareness campaigns and data collection
- Distribute questionnaires to students, parents, and teachers to assess the scope and nature of bullying in the school.
- Use the data to plan interventions and measure changes in school climate over time.
- Run awareness campaigns (developed with students) to increase understanding among parents and the school community.
Encourage students to act as allies. to refuse to watch bullying, to intervene safely, and to report incidents.
Classroom / Teacher-Level Strategies
Promote inclusion and open discussion
- Facilitate classroom discussions about bullying, inclusion, and respect.
- Use safe-space discussions where students brainstorm what a bully-free environment looks like and how to promote it.
Safeguard honest reporting / anonymity
- Make it clear that students can report incidents safely, maybe anonymously, without fear of retaliation.
Adopt multiple intervention strategies (rather than relying on one)
- No-blame approach: intervene early by bringing together bystanders and bullies (without assigning blame) to discuss solutions.
- Peer support: encourage students to act as allies, refuse to watch bullying, intervene safely, or report incidents.
- Empowering non-victim students: those not involved in bullying can help by refusing to support negative behavior, stepping in, or reporting.
Set classroom rules and monitoring systems
- Co-create classroom rules with student input against negative peer behaviors.
- Use a system for monitoring infractions and enforcing consequences.
- Use “problem boxes” or meetings to let students submit or discuss peer-relationship problems.
Use role-playing, scenario discussions, and cooperative learning
- Present hypothetical scenarios and have students decide whether behavior is bullying or teasing, and discuss responses.
- Use cooperative learning/group projects with assigned groups to encourage positive peer interaction and reduce social isolation.
- Teach alternative ways to manage conflict, empathy, and perspective-taking.
Teach digital literacy / cyberbullying prevention
- Be familiar with current digital tools and media so you can guide students.
- Teach students about online etiquette, privacy settings, recognizing harassment online, and responsible digital behavior.
Insight-oriented strategies
- Encourage students to reflect on how bullying affects others, respect differences, and stand up for what’s right.
Grouping / rearrangement strategies
- Occasionally reassign seating or mix groups to disrupt cliques or negative alliances.
- Increase opportunities for socially isolated children to interact with new peers.
SOURCE:
Penn State Extension. Bullying: What Educators Can Do About It.
