Bullying - a case study

Istanbul, Turkey, May 2023

a case study

Bullying

5. Inspiring quote

4. Different roles

3.5 Plan II- Focus on integration

3.4 Plan I - Focus on academic results

3.3 The impact of bullying on Raquel

3.2 The bullies

3.1 The victim

3. The new girl in class

2. Forms of bullying

1. What is Bullying?

Index

Intentional behavior targeted at an individual or group that is repeated, hostile or offensive, and creates an intimidating and/or threatening environment which produces a risk of psychological and/or physical harm.

What is bullying?

Cyberbullying

Sexual

Racist

Verbal

Emotional

Physical

Forms of bullying

The new girl in class

- The story of Raquel -

Raquel is a 14-year-old girl from Cape Verde Islands who immigrated to Portugal in the summer of 2022 and settled with her parents in Coimbra. Since she started attending our school, she has found it difficult to relate to her classmates. Her classmates haven’t shown much interest in getting to know her either. They say this is because she doesn’t talk to them much. She also dresses differently from the other girls, wearing mainly bright colours, of no specific brand. Another reason she stands out in class is due to her skin tone, which is very dark, and her height, making her taller than everyone else. All of these reasons have made her become very self-conscious and more and more introverted.

The victim

Why does Raquel feel different from her classmates?

Some of her classmates criticised her behind her back, saying that she was awkward and didn’t fit in. As soon as she turned her back, these classmates would start whispering about her. Raquel was aware of that and it made her really sad. Once she came into the classroom and saw a nasty drawing of her on the board. It was a caricature of an ugly black woman with the heading “I am Miss Cape Verde”. Raquel blushed and felt extremely uncomfortable and embarrassed, while her classmates burst out in laughter…

The bullies

How did Raquel feel?

Raquel would spend break time on her own, standing in a corner and staring at her smartphone. She felt more and more isolated from everybody else. She didn’t talk to anybody, except sometimes to some of her teachers, who often complained about her miserable school results. But what could she do? She wasn’t a good student and nobody in her class offered to help her with schoolwork. One day her form teacher took the initiative of talking to the school’s psychologist about Raquel’s situation to seek a solution. And soon they came up with a plan...

The impact of bullying on Raquel

What do you think their plan was?

The psychologist suggested doing more group work in class, because this usually produces beneficial results. So, the form teacher asked the class to do a project work and put Raquel with a group of hardworking and generous students whom she instructed to give Raquel a helping hand, especially when she wasn’t understanding what teachers were saying or asking. The other group members would then explain it to her again and make sure she understood. Slowly, but steadily her school results started to improve at that subject.

Plan I - focus on academic results

Do you think there is a link between being bullied and having poor results at school?

At the same time the psychologist wanted to help with her integration. Therefore she asked two girls of her class to become Raquel’s mentors. These girls had gone through a similar situation, as they had also a migrant background and had faced the same discrimination when they moved to Portugal, a few years earlier. Mentors support, advise and guide their mentee. And that’s exactly what these two girls started doing with Raquel. At the end of the lessons, they waited for her and started talking to her, regularly to gain her trust. After a while the three girls would spend break time together. As time went by, Raquel became more and more talkative, outgoing and self-confident. Because for the first time she had friends.

Plan II - focus on integration

Do you have mentors/ a mentoring project at your school?

active bystanders - form teacher, psychologist

passive bystanders - the rest of the class

bullies - most of Raquel's classmates

victim - Raquel

What different roles do the people play in this story?

- Michael P. Watson

‘Strong people don't put others down. They lift them up.’

Escola Secundária D.Dinis, Coimbra, Portugal

Presentation delivered by:

David rodriguesLuana Morais João Carvalho Yara Mendes Matilde Mateus

Istanbul, Turkey, May 2023