Early adolescent bystanders’ experiences of school bullying in a South African school

Abstract

Bystanders of school bullying are relatively under-researched in the literature on bullying because most studies in this area focus primarily on bullies or on the direct victims of bullying. In this study, we aimed to explore the lived experience of early adolescent bystanders who witnessed bullying in a South African school. We followed a qualitative research approach and adopted a phenomenological research design. We purposefully selected 10 early adolescent bystanders to participate in the study. We recorded the interviews that were then transcribed. We used inductive thematic analysis to analyse the qualitative data. The findings of this study revealed the various emotional and behavioural reactions of bystanders to witnessing school bullying. We recommend that anti-bullying programs be included in the curriculum so that teachers and school psychologists can emphasise the negative impacts of bullying that include psychological, educational, and emotional consequences on everyone who is exposed to it.