The Effects of School Bullying on Middle School Students Attendance Dissertation

The Effects of School Bullying on Middle School Students Attendance - Dissertation Example Smith and Sharp assert that studies concerning teacher opinion show that school bullying involves â€Å"5-10 per cent of children as being bullied and about 5 per cent of children as bullying others† (1994, p. 5). They state that bullying is generally hidden from the school authorities because the bullied students and their peers hesitate in informing their teachers about the bully and start disappearing from school which lowers their attendance (Jimerson & Furlong, 2006, p.310). Bullying students are normally very sociable and bold without any idea of shame or guilt; whereas, the bullied ones are already very shy and unsure which makes the overall idea of going to school and attending classes disagreeable. A bullied student may suffer from hypertension, freight, loneliness, anxiety, depression, low self-worth, low grades and suicidal attempts. The National Association of School Psychologists (as cited in Shore, p. 5) estimates that â€Å"160,000 children miss school every da y for fear of being bullied†. Besides bullied students, bullying creates bad effects on the observers of bullying as well. Since, bullying creates a fearful environment in schools, students who watch someone being bullied may tend to turn away from their classes, feel guilty for not stopping it or may even be tempted to participate and support the bullying students. In short, bullying inflicts long lasting adverse effects on the victim and should be considered seriously by school authorities so that necessary interventions are made (Dixon & Smith, 2011, p.34), because according to Smith and Sharp (1994, p.64), when successful interventions and policies are designed to counter school bullying, it improves â€Å"pupil achievement and attendance over time.† Samdal et al. (1997) studied how the middle school students’ judgment and perception of school affected their academic performance, attendance and school satisfaction.