New Perspectives on Bullying

Extremely useful background reading for pre- and in service teachers especially, but not only, of pre-adults.' –The Teacher Trainer 'There are no muddled thoughts or fudging of issues here; Rigby deals head on with difficult issues, and the book has a nice literary style that is a pleasure to read – an ambitious and creditable achievement, with many excellent sections that break new ground while remaining equally accessible to practitioners and researchers.' – Educational Research 'This book is written in a lively style, and is comprehensive.' – Professional Social Work 'Ken Rigby's important book, New Perspectives on Bullying, is a useful drawing together of a range of research on bullying and should prove a good general reference point.' – Cambridge Journal of Education 'Anyone developing a policy on dealing with bullying should read this book.' – Prime Focus 'Rigby's book is a fantastic reference source for anyone who is at all concerned with, or interested in, the issue of bullying. It could well serve as a springboard for a multitude of research projects. At the very least, the book will provide you with a summary of the very latest research on the subject.' – Prime Focus 'Written by Ken Rigby, this draws on the author's extensive research to examine how bullying is being understood in different societies and offers critical appraisal of the suggested ways of tackling it. The author defines bullying as the systematic abuse of power, therefore making it a vital issue for society at large – not just schools but the workplace, prison and the home.' – Young People Now Magazine 'This book is an attempt to descibe how the problem of bullying has been, and is being, conceptualised and understood; to explain what researchers and educators (and others) are saying about why there is so much bullying going on; and to examine what solutions are being canvassed… Bullying is a phenomenon one can literally find everywhere. It is time that our perspective on bullying extended further afield. In a way, this book is a testing of the water. It is the first book that has attempted to examine bullying comprehensively. If I am right in thinking that an examination of bullying as «the systematic abuse of power» is an issue that is of vital importance to society at large, then it should indeed be useful to consider bullying in a wide range of contexts: not only in schools, the workplace and prisons, but also and especially in the home, long the preserve of students of domestic violence.' – Ken Rigby, from the Preface This book takes as its subject matter bullying behaviour in a wide range of settings, including kindergartens, schools, the workplace, in sports and prisons. Examining bullying in each of these areas, it discusses alternative views and perspectives on bullying, helping policy makers and professionals to coordinate their work and so tackle the problem effectively. Dr Ken Rigby draws upon his extensive research into bullying in different countries, societies and social contexts and considers many aspects of victimisation within this broad perspective, including: * the defining characteristics of bullying * the harm that bullying does * the role of gender, race and culture * children's and adult's attitudes to, and perceptions of bullying * current views on methods of prevention and intervention This multi-faceted exploration will help to deepen understanding of bullying in its many manifestations. It also provides practical and critical discussion of suggested ways of tackling bullying for professionals dealing with it in their field, providing valuable guidance in combating an ever-present problem.