Towards full acceptance: The school bullying experiences of children with disabilities as a basis for an intervention program

Abstract

This qualitative study was conducted to document the school bullying experiences of children with disability in public school through the use of multiple case study. The documented school bullying stories from children with disabilities determined the child's bullying experiences in school, practices of parents on how to help their child with disability to overcome school bullying, coping mechanism of teachers in and out of school, types of bullying that exist as a whole and the intervention program based on the result of the study. The participants of this study were primarily children with disabilities who experienced school bullying, their parents, teachers, relatives, and peers. Four (4) participants were purposively chosen by the researcher to attain the objectives of this study. Each participant represents a different viewpoint of the child with disability who experienced school bullying. Triangulation was done with the stories of children with disability who were the primary participants and related individuals who were the peripheral participants. The information obtained from the interview schedule and observation were transcribed and analyzed using qualitative interview analysis and narrative data analysis. Based on the results, there were five themes constructed based from the stories. It was revealed that children with disabilities experience feelings of hurt, and stress along with fear to anyone. Classroom discussion and activities help children with disabilities learn how to react appropriately, and help them develop a variety of responses and a level of comfort in getting through such experiences. The parents shared the best and common practices on how to deal with their children who encountered school bullying. The teachers also revealed how to handle school bullying cases, especially to the children with disability. One of the most common bullying experiences of children with disabilities existing was the physical type of bullying. The teachers and parents believed that children's social and emotional growth is as important as their academic growth. Parents and teachers adjust the outdated thinking patterns that allow bullying behavior to be dismissed as unavoidable or part of growing up. As they imposed and teach tactics to children they believed that no child deserves to be bullied especially children with disabilities. With the cooperation of school administrators, SPED teachers, Sped Professionals, and parents, children with disability can be fully understood, loved, and accepted as they are in the school and in the community. And if every member of the school community supports what everyone else is doing, they will be working their way to creating a policy. A school policy is one in which no single member of the school community is solely responsible for enforcing that policy; each member does his/her part to ensure the safety and well-being of all.