School bullying

School bullying is a type of bullying that occurs in connection with education, either inside or outside of school. Bullying can be physical, verbal, or emotional and is usually repeated over a period of time.

School shootings have focused attention on student bullying, with shooters in several of the worst shootings reporting they were bullied.

Studies prompted by the shootings have shown long-lasting emotional harm to victims. The studies also revealed that bullies themselves are likely to suffer problems as children and adults.

Many educational institutions have implemented anti-bullying campaigns. Studies in Norway and England confirm these programs can be effective. The programs usually focus on increasing awareness and supervision, establishing clear rules, and providing support and protection for victims.

Types of bullying and what it means to bully
School bullying is behavior intended to harm or disturb the victim. It can be physical or emotional and can occur in person, electronically, or indirectly.

Physical school bullying
Examples of physical bullying include:
 * Punching
 * Shoving
 * Slapping
 * Other acts that hurt people physically and emotionally
 * Attacking
 * Pranks
 * Teasing and abusing

Emotional school bullying
Examples of emotional bullying include:
 * Spreading bad rumors about people
 * Keeping certain people out of a "group"
 * Teasing people in mean ways
 * Getting certain people to "gang up" on others
 * Name calling
 * Taunts, Insults etc
 * Harassment
 * Provocation

Electronic bullying: (cyber-bullying)
Bullying also can happen on-line or electronically. This form of harassment is known as Cyber-bullying. It occurs when someone bullies through the Internet, mobile phones or other electronic means. Examples include:
 * Sending mean-spirited text, e-mail, or instant messages.
 * Posting inappropriate pictures or messages about others in blogs or on Web sites.
 * Using someone else's user name to spread rumors or lies about someone.
 * Lying to hurt internally and externally.

Causes of school bullying
Some children bully because they have been isolated, and they have a deep need for belonging, but they do not possess the social skills to effectively keep friends.

Who bullies
One student or a group can bully another student or a group of students. Bystanders may participate or watch, sometimes out of fear of becoming the next victim. People that bully other people are the types of kids that enjoy putting other people down and that makes them feel better about themselves. People like that also feel insecure about themselves by putting others down. However, there is some research suggesting that a significant proportion of "normal" school children may not evaluate school-based violence (student-on-student victimization) as negatively or as being unacceptable as much as adults generally do, and may even derive enjoyment from it, and they may thus not see a reason to prevent it if it brings them joy on some level.

Bullying can also be perpetrated by teachers and the school system itself: there is an inherent power differential in the system that can easily predispose to subtle or covert abuse, humiliation, or exclusion - even while maintaining overt commitments to anti-bullying policies.

Strategies to reduce bullying within schools
Researchers (Olweus, 1993; Craig & Peplar, 1999; Ross, 1998; Morrison, 2002; Whitted & Dupper, 2005;