6/2024 to 5/2027

Bullying between students is a phenomenon of violence that has been the focus of research for years and continues to affect a large number of students. The negative consequences for students are serious and long-lasting and affect not only their mental health (e.g. depression, anxiety disorders, psychosomatic complaints) but also their learning at school.

Teachers' reactions to bullying incidents have a significant influence on the incidence of bullying in schools. However, many teachers do not feel sufficiently prepared to intervene consistently. In fact, although there are many bullying prevention programs available, they are primarily student-oriented. Teachers are generally not taught the skills to intervene and check the success of the intervention, to recognize the negative consequences of bullying for the mental health of those affected and how to deal with it. When teachers are specifically addressed in anti-bullying programs, there is a lack of evidence of their effectiveness. In addition to imparting knowledge, training measures for teachers should also address specific strategies for intervening in cases of bullying and the relevant skills. This requires activating methods and everyday, experience-based exercises, a combination of preventive and interventive strategies and sufficient training time. This is not usually the case in current anti-bullying measures.

This research project aims to investigate the effectiveness of a teacher training course based on empirical findings. To this end, a cooperative, teacher-centered intervention approach to bullying was developed, the effect of which is to be investigated in a randomized, comparative control group design. A total of 24 schools, involving 120 classroom teachers and around 2,280 pupils, will be used to analyze the additional benefits of combining established pupil-oriented training with the new teacher training (intervention group) compared to a sole pupil-oriented approach (control group).

Due to the known far-reaching negative consequences of bullying for the mental health of learners, the aim of the teacher training should be to reduce bullying as well as to contain the psychological consequences. In addition, the mechanisms of action underlying the cooperative, teacher-centered intervention approach will be investigated. Data from teachers and pupils will be linked to answer these questions.

The results close research gaps in the field of school-related violence and prevention research, can serve as a basis for the further development of school-based intervention approaches to bullying and can be incorporated into teacher training and further training.