Educators’ perceptions of bullying and children with special needs

Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate the relationship of bullying behaviour and children with special needs. Research highlights that discrimination based on difference and vulnerability takes place on a regular basis in schools today. Children with special needs are considered a vulnerable population within schools and are therefore prone to being bullied. This study reinforces previous literature and takes a look at the topic from a South African perspective. South Africa is a democratic society with laws that protect previously disadvantaged people. Children with special needs were not disadvantaged previously in the same way that people of colour were, they were disadvantaged in subtle exclusionary ways. This exclusion appears to be prevalent today and was therefore focused on in this study. Eight educators were interviewed who worked at private primary schools in South Africa. Both schools followed mainstream curriculums and included special needs learners. The objective of this research was to investigate educators’ perceptions of bullying in relation to children with special needs. As bullying is a rife topic of research globally, a South African perspective was seen to add to literature. The research design was qualitative and of an exploratory, descriptive and contextual nature. Bronfenbrenner’s Social Ecological theory and the Social Dominance Theory were used as theoretical frameworks in order to create an in-depth multilayered analysis of the topic. Information was gathered through questioning eight participants from two private primary schools in Gauteng, via semi-structured interviews. The researcher analysed the data using thematic content analysis. Seven sections (and multiple themes within these sections) were identified, discussed and supported with literature. These sections were: types of special needs, stigma, perceived causes, prevalence and definitions, intervention success, gender roles and social hierarchies. Some of the themes identified included: ignorance is bliss, bullying stagnation or the rise of bullying, is bullying universally defined, and is physical bullying decreasing or is it less acceptable? The research concluded that girls who play the role of the bully tend to maintain indirect forms of bullying and boys make use of both direct and indirect bullying. Social hierarchies are present in some schools, however, not all bullying stems from this. It was found that the primary causes of bullying are social and behavioural difficulties. The themes found from the collected data highlighted that bullying behaviour in the two schools sampled is not as prevalent as research suggests and that children with special needs are not necessarily vulnerable to bullying behaviour. However varying perceptions of bullying were indicated. Due to this varied perception and the fact that only two schools were sampled, conclusions regarding the prevalence of bullying within schools cannot be made.