The Business of Bullying: The Olweus Program’s Construction of Bullies, Bystanders, and Victims

• In Event: Children and Crime in the Media

Abstract

This paper explores childhood cruelty within the complex evolution of the bullying discourse. Throughout history, the “schoolyard bully” has been vilified by children, teachers, and parents. The concern about bullying has driven research across many disciplines internationally, leading to a greater awareness of multivariate risk factors of bullying, the psychopathology of victims, demographic variables of offenders and victims, along with school policies and the implementation of prevention programs. More recently, concern about bullying has also driven legislative initiatives which require school districts to become more proactive in implementing anti-bullying policies and reporting problems to the police and state authorities, creating potentially significant legal obligations for administrators. This paper will analyze the internationally implemented Olweus Bullying Prevention Program’s school-wide anti-bullying approach within the context of a complex evolution of bullying definitions. This initiative has arguably shaped the modern bullying discourse, and represents bullying as a disciplinary problem which the school has primary responsibility to identify, address, and eliminate. The paper will critically analyze the Olweus initiative's contribution to the social construction of childhood cruelty, as well as the program's resulting success as a flourishing anti-bullying business.

Author

• Jonathan M. Kremser, Kutztown University of Pennsylvania