About the project

Peer bullying is "a student's being exposed to negative behaviour repeatedly (physical, verbal and / or psychological) by one or more students"(Olweus 1993). Besides there are physical, verbal, psychological and cyber bullying types, there are bullying behaviours that are classified directly and indirectly.

Bullying has become more and more widespread all over the world and affected many people as bullies, victims or bullies/victims in school life and then working life. The development of communication in different ways also leads to the appearance of bullying in different areas such as cyber bullying and it affects wider community internationally as well. According to UNICEF's report on September 6, 2018, 1 out of every 3 students aged 13-15 faces bullying in the world, in 39 industrialized countries, 3 out of every 10 students admit that they bully their peers. In the report published by OECD in April 2017 within PISA 2015, the rate of the students who state they are exposed to any bullying several times in a month. In addition, PISA 2018 data show that (OECD Av. 22.7%) Italy 27 %, Romania 34 %, Greece 27 % and Turkey 26 % of students were bullied at schools. In the studies conducted, it is seen that children who are bullied have problems such as loneliness, worthlessness, anxiety, anger, depression, dropout, low academic achievement and also in adulthood they face risks such as drug addiction and unsuccessful working life much more than the others do.

Bullying should not be tolerated and should always be followed by an immediate and appropriate response. Within the increasing devastating effects of bullying, it has now become imperative that schools take the problem more seriously and explore ways to reduce it. In order to deal with bullying, which can appear in many kinds and degrees, schools should search for opportunities to build the capacity of students and teachers to take actions to stamp out bullying.

When we look at the general characteristics of the bullies, it can be said that they get angry more quickly, and they have difficulty in communicating with people besides problems like impulsivity and hyperactivity. When we look at the students who are victims it is seen that they have weaknesses such as difficulty in social skills, introversion, and low coping skills. In addition, differences within the group such as migration, special education, and economic situation are factors affecting bullying.

Our project’s main objective is to raise awareness of the problem and looking for tools to eliminate it. Through our project, we also aim to prevent bullying that is becoming more and more common all over the world by using the advantages of intercultural interaction, experience/ observe methods and techniques applied in partner countries and thanks to the mobilities with students categorized as bully / victim, minimize this problem in our schools by increasing selfcare, empathy and social awareness in our students.

Details about the project:

Start date of the project: 1st October 2022

End date of the project: 1st October 2024

Project total duration: 24 months

Age of target children: Students aged 11-15 are the target group of the project. They will have the opportunity to participate as active members of the project team or work with the theme during their lessons where their teachers integrate the methods used in the project activities into classroom learning. Furthermore, they will have an active role in participating in the preparation of the project activities and become more knowledgeable in the topics discussed.

Budget: 60 000 euros