Primary and secondary school teachers seeking practical and empathetic approaches to addressing bullying in their classrooms and schools.

• Here and now: facilitates immersion in real-time scenarios, emphasizing awareness and presence during role-play exercises.

• Self-awareness: increases insight into one's emotional responses and biases, promoting understanding of personal attitudes towards bullying.

• Personal responsibility: highlights the importance of teacher involvement in recognizing and addressing bullying, stressing proactive measures.

• Direct experience: utilizes role-play to provide first-hand experience with bullying situations, enhancing learning through practical engagement.

• Creativity and experimentation encourage creative approaches to understanding and solving bullying through improvisational techniques.

• Empathy and interpersonal relationships aim to deepen empathy for both victims and aggressors, improving understanding and communication skills.

• Conflict resolution: offers strategies for constructive conflict management, focusing on resolving bullying with positive outcomes.

Props typical of a school setting (backpacks, balls, snacks, etc.), to enhance the realism of the role-play scenarios.

60 minutes, extendable based on discussion length.

1. Volunteer preparation: select two volunteers to act out a pre-planned bullying scenario. One will play the bully, and the other the victim. Brief them on their roles, ensuring they understand the context and dynamics to be portrayed.

2. Scene improvisation: perform a 5-minute scene depicting a common bullying situation, pausing at a critical moment of tension. Use props to create a realistic school environment.

3. Forum theatre: after the scene pauses, invite the audience (teachers) to suggest how the story could evolve towards a positive outcome. Volunteers from the audience can step into the roles to improvise these alternatives.

4. Group discussion: break into small groups for teachers to discuss real or hypothetical bullying cases they are aware of or concerned about in their schools, sharing strategies for addressing them.

5. Reflection: facilitate a reflective conversation on the role-play, focusing on emotional responses, insights into the bullying dynamics, and the practical application of intervention strategies in educational settings.

For participants uncomfortable with direct role-play, offer options to observe, script, or narrate scenes instead. For those with limited mobility, scenes can be done seated or as verbal improvisation. In virtual settings, use breakout rooms or chat-based role-play. For younger or neurodiverse groups, simplify roles, use puppets or props, and offer clear emotional cues to guide the activity safely.

After the role-play, gather the group in a calm and respectful space to reflect on the emotional impact of the scenes. Ask participants to share what it felt like to play each role (bully, target, bystander), what surprised them, and what real-life lessons they took from the experience. Emphasize empathy, accountability, and how actions—both harmful and supportive—affect others.

• Increased awareness and understanding of the complexities of bullying.

• Enhanced empathy for both victims and aggressors, leading to more nuanced approaches to intervention.

• Development of practical strategies for preventing and addressing bullying in schools.

• Strengthened commitment among teachers to create a supportive and inclusive educational environment.

Ensure a safe and supportive environment throughout the activity, emphasizing the educational rather than punitive aspects of understanding bullying. You can emphasize the importance of empathy, open communication, and collective responsibility in addressing bullying. Encourage teachers to consider how they can use similar role-play exercises in their classrooms to educate students about bullying and foster a more empathetic school community.