The many faces of bullying: Elementary students' perceptions and experiences with the phenomenon of bullying

This research thesis focuses on elementary students' perceptions, experiences and thoughts regarding the phenomenon of bullying. It describes a group of grade four students' feelings regarding this phenomenon through class discussions, student drawings and a series of in-depth interviews. From these various venues, several significant themes emerged such as the students receiving contradictory messages from administrators, teachers and parents on a daily basis in regards to how to respond to bullying. Other themes include the fact that a significant amount of bullying occurs on the school bus, that there is a strong call to action and a pessimistic outlook about the reduction of bullying. As a result of this research, we as a society are closer to understanding what it is like to be a grade four student who is bullied and hopefully we can begin to take initial steps in reversing this devastating phenomenon.