“PERCEZIONE DI BULLI E DI VITTIME NELLA SCUOLA DELL’OBBLIGO: UN CONFRONTO FRA INSEGNANTI DELLE ELEMENTARI E DELLE MEDIE”

Bullies and victims’ perception at the obligatory school: a comparison among Elementary and Middle School Teachers - Bullying is a widespread social phenomenon involving both individual and group variables. Few researches have explicitly evaluated how this phenomenon is perceived among teachers. The present study is aimed at analyzing and comparing elementary and middle school teachers’ perception of bullying. Perceived problems among children/adolescents in the classroom, perceived peer’attitudes toward bullies, perceived victim’ attitudes and perceived seriousness of bullying situations were assessed using a questionnaire completed by 81 teachers. Results highlighted differences in perceived seriousness of phenomenon across two di¬ferent conditions (elementary and middle school teachers). Specifically, middle school teachers perceived bullying situations more serious than elementary school teachers. Theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed in terms of directions for future research and intervention in bullying.