A Multi-Perspective Analysis of School Bullying in China: An Empirical Study Based on Recent News Reports

Leilei  Zhang

doi:10.6000/1929-4409.2024.13.11

Authors

Leilei Zhang International College, National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA), Thailand https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3842-1516

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.6000/1929-4409.2024.13.11

Keywords:

School bullying, media reports, multi-case studies, intervention measures, conflict between family and school, laws and regulations

Abstract

Bullying is a kind of anti-social behavior, which causes physical and mental harm to the victims, and even death in severe cases. Many countries have adopted a "zero tolerance" approach to it and have developed countermeasures early on. In contrast, China's campus bullying incidents are worsening, involving severe and harmful behaviors, the governance has been ineffective, and the whole society has condemned them, and there is limited academic research on the subject. This study analyzes 15 typical incidents reported by news media between 2015 and 2023 using a combination of multiple case studies and literature research. It explores the main characteristics of bullying behavior, the deficiencies in education and laws concerning bullying, etc. The paper proposes intervention measures from four perspectives: governance policy community, family and school education, bystander participation, and laws and regulations. This paper uses many cases to prove that Chinese education needs to learn more from international education experience when dealing with bullying cases, and this is an imperative reform.

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