Summary:
School bullying is a widespread phenomenon with significant negative consequences for both victims and perpetrators. In the Greek education system, school psychologists, in collaboration with the rest of the school community, are called upon to implement interventions to deal with and prevent the phenomenon, as well as to help implement an inclusive culture within the school. However, according to the relevant literature, there are still deficiencies and gaps both at the level of targeted interventions and at the level of creating an inclusive culture in school units. Given the above, the present study recorded and analyzed the perceptions of school bullying as well as the experiences of 11 school psychologists - members of Interdisciplinary Support Committees (EDY) of primary education schools. The main objective was to understand the methods applied in practice for the prevention and management of bullying in schools, as well as the recording of deficiencies or systematic problems that occur. To study the above, interviews based on pre-selected themes and questions were conducted with the participants of the sample, which were qualitatively analyzed through thematic analysis. The key conclusions of the analysis were that the school psychologists in the sample are adequately trained in recognizing the characteristics and manifestations of bullying among children and are overall positive in helping to achieve the inclusivity goals of the school. In this direction, they often implement individualized or collective interventions within the school with the aim of preventing and managing bullying behaviors as well as raising awareness of the school community. A key challenge for school psychologists is the lack of central guidance regarding their actions, which leads to actions based on the psychologists' personal creativity and initiative. Furthermore, the employment regime, based on their cyclical presence in multiple schools per year, significantly limits the creation of trust and cooperation relationships with each school, with the result that their effectiveness in dealing with issues such as bullying, which require close cooperation, is often reduced. observing and understanding the dynamics between students.
Keywords:
school bullying, school psychologists, Interdisciplinary Support Committees (E.D.Y.), inclusive education, inclusive culture
