Examination of Preschool Teachers’ Views on Peer Bullying

Abstract

Although peer bullying is common in peer relationships, it has long been accepted as a natural part of growing up. Because it is a critical period for formation of friendship relations and shaping a child’s self-perception, examining the bullying behaviors in the preschool period becomes crucial. This study was conducted to determine the views of preschool teachers about peer bullying. For this study, a semi-structured interview format, "case study" approach from qualitative research designs and interview technique from qualitative data collection methods were used. The data of the study were collected from 63 preschool teachers working in 19 public and private institutions in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. The data obtained from the interviews were analyzed by the method of content analysis. As a result of the research, it was determined that teachers encountered the most physical bullying and the least verbal bullying in their classrooms. It is notable that the majority of the teachers stated that they did not receive any training in dealing with bullying behaviors. Additionally, teachers have been observed to mostly use methods like “talking, empathy” and “reward and punishment” to prevent bullying behaviors.