Teaching kids social responsibility – like how to settle fights and ask for help – can reduce school bullying

Authored by theconversation.com and submitted by rustoo
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Schools that encourage their students to care for their classmates’ feelings and to peacefully resolve conflicts with their peers can lower incidents of bullying, according to our peer-reviewed study published in the International Journal of Behavioral Development in June 2021.

We surveyed 1,850 Brazilian schoolchildren ages 7 to 15 and their teachers over a three-month period in 2019 – shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted in-person instruction. The teachers were working to cultivate these social responsibility skills among their students.

Students who said their teachers encouraged them to care about others and work together to settle disputes, and fostered a classroom environment with clear rules, also said they felt both less aggressive and less victimized by their classmates.

Specifically, there was a 34% decrease at the end of the period in reported incidents of hitting, kicking, pushing, spreading rumors and leaving people out. Students said that a supportive classroom climate was the main reason for the decrease.

Around the world, including in the U.S., over half of children and adolescents say they are victimized by their classmates, with at least 10% being bullied repeatedly.

When children help each other out and cooperate to resolve conflicts, they are exercising what psychologists call “social responsibility” by contributing to the greater good of a group.

School can nurture social responsibility by fostering an environment that combines fairness and positive social connections with opportunities for students to learn and model ways to be kind and include others. For example, teachers can encourage students to feel responsible for their actions, help others and seek assistance when in need.

Additionally, no one knows how the social distancing required by the COVID-19 pandemic will affect the children and teens who are growing up today, in Brazil or anywhere else. But it seems likely that the decline in interactions will take some kind of toll.

We believe it’s important that schools focus on children’s social and emotional well-being both during and after the pandemic.

Brazil had registered over 17 million COVID-19 cases, including over 480,000 deaths, as of June 2021 – more than any other country except the U.S. and India. Many Brazilian K-12 schools, as in the U.S., pivoted to remote instruction in early 2020.

The techniques used by teachers in our study might help to cultivate positive connections and foster a resilient response to the pandemic – in Brazil, the U.S. and elsewhere – among children, families, schools and communities. As for how exactly social responsibility can help accelerate this recovery, more evidence-based research is needed.

We are conducting rapid-response surveys and interviews with schoolteachers and designing new programs, such as new lesson plans for remote learning, including for children without internet access. We are also deploying program activities through social media and online learning platforms to help children to continue learning these skills and also nurture a sense of connection in their remote schooling activities.

Our next goal is to study how fostering social responsibility in children contributes to the development of engaged and responsible citizenship as students grow up. We want to understand new ways to create opportunities for children and adolescents to actively engage and contribute to the well-being of their communities.

Fromanderson on June 19th, 2021 at 13:59 UTC »

This needs to be everywhere.

Giving kids the tools they need to deal with this stuff, is a good thing. Of course I'm more than a little skeptical that anything like this will actually become standard.

Let's just say my time in school left me with a rather skeptical view of our public education system.

Sigouin on June 19th, 2021 at 13:05 UTC »

Im HUGE into teaching this to my kids. Communication, respect and understanding are some VERY strong values in my household. There is also a no screaming rule.

Things had to change after i had to call the cops on my ex for a second time because she would physically assault me and yell at me in front of my kids.

Someone once told me, treat your kids kindly when you are in a dispute with them, because one day, they will search for a partner that holds the same values as their parents.

If no screaming and proper communication is taught at a young age, they will have much healthier relationships when they grow up.

EDIT SINCE LOTS OF COMMENTS ARE ADDRESSING THE "NO SCREAMING" PART:

I summed it up without having to write a novel elaborating on this. Of course everyone screams, its normal, even i can have an outburst, we're all human and this has been explained with them. No one gets punished for screaming.

The important part is addressing it after and talking about it. I ALWAYS make sure to apologize if raise my voice at them in an aggressive manner that reminds me of a previous toxic relationship. There is obviously a balance here that needs to be respected; as a father, i need to have an authoritarian tone at times, but that can be achieved without crossing into the poor/toxic communication vibe.

Theyre young, theyre learning, but pointing out the poor behaviour when it happens and working on it together will benefit everyone in the long run. Also, theyre 5 and 7, so i feel like its a good time to start talking about this kind of stuff.

crazybones on June 19th, 2021 at 12:27 UTC »

I've always thought this made sense.

Also giving kids the vocabulary to be able to own up to mistakes and apologise without feeling they are losing face is an important early lesson for all young humans.