This article was downloaded by: [University of Kent]On: 20 November 2014, At: 15:17Publisher: RoutledgeInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registeredoffice: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK

Compare: A Journal of Comparativeand International EducationPublication details, including instructions for authors andsubscription information:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ccom20

Bullying, victimization and peerharassmentGerry McAleavy aa University of Ulster , UKPublished online: 25 Nov 2011.

To cite this article: Gerry McAleavy (2012) Bullying, victimization and peer harassment,Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 42:1, 163-165, DOI:10.1080/03057925.2012.632838

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03057925.2012.632838

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serves both boys and girls appropriately and recognizes and develops thepotential in both. While the content is thought-provoking, it is unclear thatit can be used independently, as is apparently intended, without the benefitof skilled facilitation. Based on the view that each school needs to con-struct its own ethos, the guide is full of questions to stimulate thought,activities and planning, but relatively light on ‘answers’. Although thereare good definitions of numerous concepts included at the beginning andnumerous examples drawn from the studies and the action research pro-jects, it is doubtful that users unfamiliar with gender issues and genderanalysis could develop a ‘gender-responsive school’ based on the exercisesand activities.

Karin HydeIndependent Consultantkalhyde@hotmail.com� 2012, Karin Hyde

http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03057925.2012.632840

Bullying, victimization and peer harassment, by Joseph E. Zins, Maurice J.Elias and Charles A. Maher, Binghamton, NY, The Haworth Press, 2008, 428pp., $59.95 (paperback), ISBN 978-0-7890-2219-6

Bullying including victimization and peer harassment is now recognized byschool managers, teachers and education policymakers as being a scourgethat can affect, according to different studies, 30% to 50% of students ormore. While definitions of bullying vary and some countries do not have aword for bullying, the existence of unacceptable and persistent maliciousbehaviour directed at individuals in schools is universally acknowledged asa serious problem. Moreover it is now understood that the effects can belong-lasting, adversely impacting on student self-esteem and consequentlycapacity to learn. Tragically, parents and teachers will relate that there aremany documented cases of students self-harming and worse where there hasbeen bullying in schools.

Furthermore, bullying in relation to gender, ethnicity, disability and sex-ual preference can contravene statutory requirements regarding equality oftreatment. School teachers and managers have an increasing awareness ofthis issue as they strive to create a supportive educational environment forstudents, and also as they become aware of the potential for litigation asparents increasingly resort to legal remedies. The problem for many educa-tional practitioners is how to manage this problem, since previous forms ofteacher education may not have wholly prepared teachers for dealing withbullying and indeed, as research has shown, in some unfortunate casesteachers themselves are the source of bullying or collude with bullies, per-haps not being totally aware of the harm they are causing.

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The changing school context in many countries, with an increasingdiversity in school populations being recognized, raises for teachers manypedagogical issues. In some school populations, around 25% of studentshave documented special needs as education policies promoting integrationof students with needs into the school environment take effect. These aregeneral trends affecting most countries.

The book is therefore of international interest and is the most inclusivework of its kind in the area of bullying. Constructed on the basis of anextensive analysis of research, the book will be of interest to academicsworking in this area, particularly as it covers a broad range of areas andstarts from first principles by adopting an appropriately critical approach toprevious research. The authors subject to scrutiny research on the instru-ments that have been widely used, pointing to the need to ensure reliabilityand validity in this difficult area and noting that students may have differentconstructions concerning what they believe to be bullying.

While this book will be a first source of information for researchers, thefocus on the application of research to practical teaching situations meansthat this handbook should be a central feature of all school staffrooms andis essential reading for all teacher educators. The book addresses issues ofethnicity in great detail; the often neglected area of girl bullying is exam-ined; and mental-health and sexual issues are subjected to analysis withclear pointers being provided for practitioners.

An important aspect of this book is the attention paid to interventionprogrammes. Such programmes can be resource-intensive and school man-agers and educational policymakers are often in a quandary regarding howto decide which type of intervention may be most effective. The book pro-vides both conceptual analysis and practical suggestions regarding differentforms of intervention, which will be welcomed by many practitioners. Agood example is the F (face) B (body) I (information) procedure which canbe used by teachers to guide decision-making in those difficult situationswhere there has been an accusation of aggression by one student regardingthe behaviour of another. This is, however, only one of a range of interven-tion strategies which can be found in the book and which teachers will findhelpful.

For academic researchers across the social sciences, this book will pro-vide a valuable guide to areas for future research, building on the rigorousand critical review of research which is evident. The list of contributing aca-demics includes eminent academics from education, psychology, counseling,social development, medicine and child development, so the insights pro-vided are viewed from a multidisciplinary perspective.

Again for many schools the central issue is how to prevent bullying fromthe outset and how to create an inclusive environment in classrooms wherethere is considerable diversity. The research cited in the book emphasizesthe primacy of the classroom experience in shaping pupils’ experiences of

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aggression. The conclusion that action by teachers in the classroom can beeffective if strategies such as peer and co-operative group learning are usedoffers teachers and teacher educators valuable advice in relation to improv-ing the classroom experience through modified pedagogical practice. Further,the findings suggesting that peer victimization can be reduced throughmulti-setting programmes are important for educational policymakers tostudy.

Gerry McAleavyUniversity of Ulster, UK

Email: gjmca1@gmail.com� 2012, Gerry McAleavy

http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03057925.2012.632838

Alternative education: filling the gap in emergency and post-conflictsituations, by Pamela Baxter and Lynne Bethke, Paris, IIEP/CfBT EducationTrust, 2009, 194 pp., 12.00 (paperback), ISBN 978-92-803-1332-1

The past three decades have seen a rise in conflict situations in many partsof the world and this has had a significant impact on children’s educationalprogress. For this reason, this book is a timely intervention with reference tofocusing on alternative education programmes for primary and secondaryschool children in emergency situations brought about by ‘conflict, naturaldisasters or conditions of structural violence’ (19). Although the focal pointof the book is on children in conflict situations, Bethke and Baxter do wellto apply the overarching principles of alternative education to post-disastersituations.

The position taken in this book is in step with the Dakar Framework forAction which encourages countries to make education in emergency an inte-gral part of their Education for All (EFA) programmes (UNESCO 2000).The consensus is that Ministries of Education should take a lead role ineducation-in-emergency plans, rather than leaving initiatives up to UnitedNations (UN) agencies and Non-Government Organisations (NGOs). Thethrust of the book also resonates with the Millennium Development Goals(MDGs), which also prioritise the wellbeing of children, thus giving it aninternational appeal. It examines the effectiveness of several alternative edu-cation provisions against the backdrop of specific EFA goals – 2, 3, 5 and6. These relate to access to primary education, meeting the learning needsof all learners via equitable access, eliminating gender disparities, andimproving all aspects of the quality of education and ensuring excellence ofall, respectively. To simplify the number of approaches identified, theauthors focus on two basic types of intervention – alternative accessprogrammes and alternative curriculum provision.

‘Geographical variety’ played a role in the selection of the countries cho-sen for fieldwork. Kenya, Nepal and Sierra Leone ‘provided a spectrum of

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