Page 17 - Demo

17In addition to the characteristics of individual children, bullying is also influenced by many group factors. For example, students who bully others may be expected to behave in a certain way. By staging a %u201cbullying performance%u201d for others, a child may feel that they belong to the group and that they are acting according to expectations. In addition to expectations, the behavior of a bullying student is also influenced by the norms that allow or prevent bullying in the classroom and the school%u2019s operating culture. It has been observed that certain individual risk factors increasing bullying do not predict bullying in all classes or schools. For example, a child%u2019s social shyness is associated with an increased risk of bullying, especially in classes where students tend to join in on the bullying and reward bullying by, for example, laughing.When considering the influence of the group on the bully%u2019s actions, the aim is not to remove the student%u2019s responsibility for their actions, but to view bullying as a phenomenon influenced by many other factors in addition to the characteristics of the bully. These issues are discussed in KiVa lessons, and it is also encouraged to talk about them at home.