Susan Swearer Reducing Bullying Through Social Cognitive Theory

Reducing Bullying Through Social Cognitive Theory Wouldn’t it be nice to send bullies to a special class and then have them come out magically transformed? In the article “Reducing Bullying: Application of Social Cognitive Theory,” the author Susan Swearer describes the problem of school bullying and offers cognitive theory informed methods to combat it. Her main idea is to reduce bullying through programs that address bully reinforcements and teach students appropriate problem solving and communication skills. The author describes some of the root causes of bullying and then gives methods of how to combat them. While she discusses preventing them and their initial cause, she gives more weight to intervention after the fact. Swearer

I believe that the author was singularly focused on one issue, stopping bullying with programmatic solutions; however, she could have elaborated on stopping bullying in the short term and preventing bullying in the long term. The author implies very good points that bullying and aggression are intrinsically linked, and that peoples’ attitudes toward both are impacted where the live, work, and learn. She also pointed out good research based methods, based on cognitive and behavioral theories, to transform a bully into a productive member of society and school. In school, those methods are also reinforced with parent, faculty, and educator reinforcement and education. I would have liked to see a comparison of reducing a bully’s aggression to those schools whose parents, faculty, and educators are as intimately involved but do not use CBI or T-BIP. I believe that getting a community involved addresses that negative reinforcement, even without formal programs, and will help a child be put on the right path. Additionally, the article does not show how parents or teachers can address bullying directly, only to refer them to the principal. Her solution is a school wide solution, and she does not provide something that teachers and students could use on an everyday basis. Further, not all parents are as involved with their children, or the parents may be counterproductive in stopping aggression and

The article showed very good results at addressing bullies through one-on-one intervention. The author also showed the research on bullying’s increasing prevalence and where the aggression stems from. I find it helpful as a teacher to understand and know where to look when identifying where students’ aggression may be coming from. It may be coming from observed behaviors at home, in their neighborhood, or even at my school. I need to be proactive in creating an atmosphere that does not tolerate it, and I need to be vigilant in addressing it if it forms. As long as the behavior is rewarded, it will continue. Bullying can be rewarded through indifference, social recognition, or physical gains such as the money or food of a victim. As a teacher, I need to ensure that my students have a good relationship with each other, and that they have positive role models to model their behavior. This may mean addressing parents who may not be providing the best environment to combat bullying. Reading this article has reinforced what I need to do to be an effective teacher and to stop