Award Date

8-1-2019

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Teaching and Learning

First Committee Member

Katrina Liu

Second Committee Member

Michael McCreery

Third Committee Member

Linda Quinn

Fourth Committee Member

Cori More

Number of Pages

180

Abstract

Bullying is an act of aggression intended to physically or emotionally harm another. It is a problem that affects millions of K-12 students around the world each year. Victims of bullying may suffer severe effects that follow them into adulthood, including depression and self-harm. In-service teachers, though aware of the problem, are often inadequately trained to correct the current trends. This lack of knowledge and skills is the result of a failure among teacher preparation programs to properly prepare their candidates. This study examined the use of the video game Bully as a pedagogical tool in an attempt simulate mastery experiences in the area of bullying intervention. Results show significant increases in the intervention groups ability to define the four main characteristics (intent, physical/emotional harm, imbalance of power, and repetition) of bullying as compared to the control group. The intervention group had a significant change in their reported bullying self-efficacy on all four subscales (needs assessment, implementation, planning, and situational), whereas the control group had no significant changes. There was also a significant change in all four subscales when intervention groups change scores were compared to the control groups change scores Although there were no statistically significant differences in the intervention groups ability to identify and intervene in bullying based on the quantitative scales (either pre/post or against the control), the qualitative results documented improved understanding of the complex nature of bullying as compared to the control group. Including adoption of intervention tactics that are designed to solve the larger issues between the bully and the victim, instead of the simple assigning of traditional consequences (e.g., detention, call home, suspension).

Disciplines

Teacher Education and Professional Development

File Format

pdf

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Download


Share

COinS