Mobning og digitalmobning - en diskursanalyse af dominerende forståelser i udvalgte udgivelser om mobning og tre grundskolers antimobbestrategier

Abstract

The well-being among children and adolescents is declining. In children up to the age of 11, well-being is very high, but as the teenage years begin, the number of their problems increases, and the high level of well-being that characterizes 11-year-olds decreases. There are many factors that can influence the well-being among children and adolescents. Among those aspects are bullying and cyberbullying. The way bullying and cyberbullying are handled in schools, may have something to do with the way adults understand bullying and cyberbullying. An interest in ways of understanding bullying and cyberbullying forms the foundation for this master’s thesis. Insights on how bullying is handled is considered relevant because all children in an environment, where bullying emerges, deserve to be taken properly care of after episodes of bullying. The central theories of bullying in the thesis originates from Dorte Marie Søndergaard, Helle Rabøl Hansen and Jette Kofoed, who did extensive research on the topic. These women propose a critique of an individual-oriented understanding of bullying, for being blind to the degree of exclusion, relational nuances, and complexity. This criticism provides the basis for a community-oriented understanding, where bullying is seen as a result of social exclusion patterns which arise from humans’ existential need to belong to communities. The analysis in the thesis is based on Norman Fairclough's critical discourse analysis. With this method it is the intention to analyze the understandings of bullying in three publications from key actors in the field, and next analyze the understandings in three anti-bullying strategies from different schools, to see how these strategies' understanding can be related to the ones in the publications. Based on the theories of bullying two discourses are primarily addressed in the thesis. The individual-oriented discourse which encompasses the understanding that the cause of bullying can be traced to a single individual and the community-oriented discourse, where the cause of bullying is sought in the community. Regarding the key publications I conclude that in Red Barnet's publication, more ambiguities are evident than in DCUM's publication, with a clear reliance on both the individual-oriented and the community-oriented discourse. These ambiguities may cause concern, as the use of two opposing discourses might create confusion among primary schools about how to address bullying. Concerning the anti-bully strategies, I conclude that the strategy of Aalborg Steinerskole is the one where the community-oriented discourse is dominating, regarding both bullying and cyberbullying. Despite examples of the community-oriented discourse in the strategies for Gl. Hasseris Skole and Nordstjerneskolen, there are indications that bullying should be handled based on an individual-oriented understanding, such as focusing on individual conversations with specific students. This approach contradicts recommendations from Red Barnet and DCUM. Based on this, I conclude that the community-oriented understanding of bullying is not dominant when it comes to the two schools' strategy for how to act, when bullying emerges. This can be seen in relation to the ambiguities in Red Barnet's publication. In DKR's publication, there are examples of a discourse of crime, where bullying can lead to someone being judged for their actions. Both the discourse of crime and the individual-oriented discourse can imply an understanding where someone can be held accountable for bullying or criminal actions. These discourses may reinforce each other, potentially causing the discourses to emerge as more dominant. If this is the case, there may be concerns about whether bullying can be resolved, if a focus arises, where students are held responsible for something, that is a result of social dynamics in the community. In the discussion I argue that a community-oriented perspective provides a basis for further investigations that delve into school's practices and the contextual circumstances that may affect bullying. I Argue that these contextual circumstances cannot be investigated through a discourse analysis of documents. Therefore, these must be examined, possibly in a qualitative field study. Further I conclude that bullying and cyberbullying as phenomena will always be relevant to investigate from a community-oriented perspective. This ensures that knowledge about bullying and cyberbullying is always in flux, creating the best conditions for achieving a caring understanding for all children in a community where bullying has occurred.

A master thesis from Aalborg University

Mobning og digitalmobning - en diskursanalyse af dominerende forståelser i udvalgte udgivelser om mobning og tre grundskolers antimobbestrategier

[Bullying and cyberbullying - a discourse analysis of dominant understandings in selected publications about bullying and anti-bullying strategies from three schools]