The extent of bullying in some schools in Zimbabwe: a psychological perspective, with the notion of designing an intervention model

Abstract

This study intended to investigate the extent of bullying in some high schools in Chegutu District with the notion of designing an intervention model. The major objective was to find out if there is bullying in the high schools and determine whether there would be need to come up with an intervention model. A survey research design was employed in this study. This study emerged as result of study of related literature, observation of situation on the ground, personal experience and general discussion with high school students from various schools in the country. Three schools were chosen from Chegutu district where on of the authors resides and a sample of 120 students and 90 teachers was drawn from them. The district was chosen not because bullying is rife there but for convenience purpose. A questionnaire of ten items was designed for students and another one was designed for teachers. A personal administration of questionnaires was made and the data was analyzed using descriptive statics, that is, tallies, percentages and graphs. The responses made by both the students and teachers showed high presence of bullying in their schools. It was concluded that bullying is rife in the high schools in Chegutu District. The subsequent recommendation made was that the extent of bullying in the high schools warrants an intervention model.