Exploring the prevalence and perception towards bullying among adolescents: a study on the schools in underserved Areas in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Abstract

Around 44.4 percent of school students in Bangladesh have been found to suffer from bullying in 2021 (Shivananda, 2022). Bullying is a common phenomenon at schools in both rural and urban areas of Bangladesh and there is a prevalence of several forms of bullying are prevalent among high school children in Bangladesh (Ahmed et al., 2021; Mahmood & Islam, 2017). This study aims to assess the prevalence of school-related bullying among adolescents of under-served areas, and the perception of major stakeholders regarding school-related bullying among adolescents of under-served areas. This mixed-method study assesses the prevalence of bullying behavior among adolescents of underserved communities through quantitative study and the perception among teachers and students through the qualitative has been utilized. This study used surveys and semi-structured interviews with teachers and principals/assistant teachers (ATs) for data validation and in-depth insights into perception analysis and exploration of factors associated. In this study, a thematic analysis has been used for qualitative data analysis, and for quantitative analysis descriptive and inferential statistics have been employed. The study reveals students ages 11-18 in grades 7-9 experienced different forms of bullying and its prevalence in the past school term. The study explores that of students ages 10-18 in grades 6-9, boys were more likely than girls to experience different forms of bullying in the past school term in the underserved area of Dhaka. Regarding predictors of students’ perceptions of bullying in school, the study has included classroom factors, with school-level factors such as reporting mechanisms, and survivor support from the school ecosystem. The socio-economic background of the students, classroom-level factors, individual traits, the complexion of the students, and in some cases, school factors considering the local context are influencing school-related bullying behavior among students.