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Teachers Using Role-play to Prevent Bullying

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Abstract

Ascertaining if non-drama specialist teachers would be able to use role-play to help reduce bullying in their classrooms was the key aim of a longitudinal two-year pilot study conducted in an inner-city school in Ireland. The study combined qualitative and quantitative elements, including ongoing teacher feedback (oral and written), student focus groups and teacher interviews and the Olweus Bully Victim Questionnaire. Role-play has been offered as a resource in other anti-bullying interventions, but its efficacy is not often evaluated as usage is optional and left to the discretion of teachers who can eschew role-play activities due to time constraints, curriculum overload and unfamiliarity with drama activities. At the end of the two-year intervention, students indicated that there was a 53% drop in victimisation. Most teachers reported that role-play was a very effective resource for opening the discussion and creating awareness about bullying while aiding its prevention. Students, who participated in focus groups, reported that they found their teachers more effective in dealing with bullying incidents. Thus, this study provides evidence that role-play can be a powerful resource for teachers to utilise in creating  awareness about bullying and give teachers and students the skills the aid its prevention.

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Notes

  1. The research was originally intended to track the fourth, fifth and sixth class teacher usage over two years. However, the intervention was received whole-heartedly by the school staff after the first year, the researcher was invited to extend the BPP to the whole school in the second year. As it was an opportunity to gather more data on a whole school basis, the researcher accepted the offer.

  2. Sr1 left for maternity leave on the fourth week of the second year of the intervention. Another teacher filled in for her on the last week of the intervention but did not give feedback or participate in the study.

  3. Fi1 went on sabbatical after the first year of the study and was replaced by Fi2.

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Acknowledgements

Thanks for the support of Mona O’Moore and Carmel O’Sullivan who mentored me through this study and for the financial support form CIT Cork School of Music and Cyclone Rep Theatre in Education Company.

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  1. CIT Cork School of Music, Union Quay, Cork, Ireland

    Peadar Donohoe

  2. Cyclone Rep Theatre in Education Company, Block B, Heritage Business Park, 2nd Floor, Bessboro Rd, Blackrock, Cork, Ireland

    Peadar Donohoe

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Donohoe, P. Teachers Using Role-play to Prevent Bullying. Int Journal of Bullying Prevention 2, 264–279 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42380-019-00036-4

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