SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

ASSIGNMENT COVER SHEET

STUDENT DETAILS
Imran Ali Tamer 18019647
Student name: Student ID number:

UNIT AND TUTORIAL DETAILS

Unit name: Researching Teaching & Learning 1 Unit number: 102096
Tutorial group: N/A Tutorial day and time: Tuesday 1.30pm
Lecturer or Tutor name: Roberto Parada

ASSIGNMENT DETAILS
Engagement With An Educational Issue
Title:
16th October 14th October
Length: 1,976 words Due date: 2017 Date submitted: 2017
Home campus (where you are enrolled): Kingswood

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from the Lecturer / Tutor / Unit Coordinator for this unit.
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Student’s signature: ITamer

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Reducing Bullying Through Social & Emotional
Learning

Overview of Educational Issue

The educational issue examined within Morcom’s (2015) study of social and emotional
learning is bullying within the school landscape. Bullying has been defined as an act of
targeted intimidation which humiliates another person (Juvonen & Graham, 2014). It is of
major concern to teachers as bullying has been identified as a factor impacting upon a
student’s educational outcomes with the ability to cause disengagement in the classroom and
increase school dropout rates (Cornell et al. 2013). Bullying is a highly relevant educational
issue as it is the teacher’s role to ensure that all students are provided an equal opportunity to
learn within a safe and supportive environment.
Further emphasising the gravity of the issue is the fact that bullying increases the risk of
physical and mental health problems as well as reducing the academic achievement of
victims. As these children develop into adults, the prevalence of these social and emotional
issues can lead to further problems such as poor health and wealth, increase in risk
taking/illegal behaviour and an inability to develop effective social relationships (Wolke et al.
2013). This highlights the importance of Morcom’s study which provides an insight into how
social and emotional education can reduce bullying which in turn decreases the likelihood of
developmental issues in adulthood.
Additionally, teachers may identify students facing numerous at-risk factors such as bullying
which can lead to problems self-regulating behaviours and emotions, struggling to adapt to
school (disconnectedness) and poor academic performance. This is of particular concern to
PDHPE teachers as they aim to enable students to develop effective social and emotional
skills, within a healthy classroom community promoting health and wellbeing. Hence,
teachers play an important role in the development of their students, with the ability to
implement pedagogical practices enhancing their social and emotional learning.

Article Overview
The article ‘Scaffolding social and emotional learning within ‘shared affective spaces’ to
reduce bullying: A sociocultural perspective’ written by Morcom (2015) is focused on
bullying. Its purpose is to focus on social and emotional learning reducing bullying within the
school landscape. The author aims to investigate the impact of social and emotional learning
upon the behaviour and development of year 4/5 students.
The article is of high authority as the author’s expertise is in the fields of educational theory,
pedagogical theory and teacher education with a range of publications in numerous sources.
The research article is current as it was published in 2015, which indicates the data presented
is valid and accurate. The author has referred to previous research, identifying the gaps and
limitations influencing their research project which is a qualitative study. The article has also

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been published in the Journal of Learning, Culture and Social Interaction, increasing its
reliability and credibility.

Methodology
The researcher has developed a qualitative methodological approach to assist with their study
of social/emotional learning and bullying. The researcher who happened to be the classroom
teacher of the students, purposefully selected classroom activities to develop a framework for
active student participation in social and emotional learning. The study was conducted in the
Northern suburbs of the Perth metropolitan area in Western Australia. Most of the students
who participated in the study had been attending the same school for over five years. The
research conducted has been shaped by Vygotsky’s sociological theory whereby social and
emotional learning are key aspects of cognitive development. This ideological framework
identified the purpose of education as the development of effective social and emotional
skills such as building relationships, communicating with others and enabling students to
think critically about their sense of self (Vygotsky, 1978).
The sample size consisted of thirty-one students in a co-ed year 4/5 classroom. Although this
is an insufficient representation of all students within the Perth schooling system, it provides
a valuable insight into the impact of social and emotional learning on the prevalence of
bullying. Data was collected via several forms including observation of student interactions,
student reflections, student behaviour records, weekly student interviews, parent interviews
as well as sociograms which mapped out student relationship development. This enabled the
researcher to gain an understanding of the students’ emotions, perceptions of their
relationships with others and how they felt about their peers.

Results
The purpose of the study was to focus on the capacity of social and emotional learning to
reduce bullying within the school environment. Results were displayed and analysed via a
series of tables and extracts from student reflections. The researcher has noted via
observation during weekly meetings that students were able to establish guidelines to develop
a healthy community in the classroom. These guidelines were centred around attentive
listening, mutual respect, equal participation, appreciation of others and the prohibiting of
putting others down (i.e. bullying). The students have also expressed their beliefs that respect
is a vital aspect of being part of a community with an emphasis placed on working together to
achieve common goals, observing the feelings of their peers and encouraging reputable
behaviour within the classroom.
Furthermore, as students strived to improve their behaviour it was also noted that their social
circle of peers changed throughout the study. This has been attributed to students wanting to
make new friends, associate with people who can help them improve and learn more about
their peers to make everyone feel included. Data also portrayed that students who had
previously engaged in bullying became leaders amongst their peers and promoters of social
inclusion, empathy and collective learning (Morcom, 2015). This alludes to students learning
how to establish effective relationships with others and developing social and emotional skills

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applicable outside of the classroom. These findings are synonymous with Durlak et al’s
(2011) research which indicates that social and emotional learning can enhance student
behavioural management, improve academic performance and establish positive perceptions
regarding a sense of self, others and school.

Discussion/Conclusion
The discussions provided throughout the article provide an outline of the concluded findings
of the study on social and emotional learning. The researcher has linked their conclusions
with the analysis of the data received from the project. The article satisfied its intended
purpose by examining the role of social and emotional learning in reducing bullying within
the schooling environment. References were made to theoretical frameworks and practices
which shaped their analysis of the data collected. The researcher discusses the importance of
positive relationships to reducing the prevalence of bullying with relation made to previous
research on social and emotional learning.
Morcom (2015) has provided several recommendations for teaching practice in the
conclusion of her research project. It was advised that it is the teacher’s role to contribute to
the development of their students by structuring activities to enhance their social knowledge
enabling them to make new friends, communicate effectively and work together within
broader peer groups. In addition, connecting with students’ emotions was deemed key as a
more holistic approach was recommended, where students are enabled to express their
feelings and gain an in-depth understanding of bullying. The researcher also identified the
generalisability of the findings as a limitation and acknowledged the need for further
research on developing teachers’ expertise to engage students both psychologically and
emotionally.

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Lesson Activity & Modifications

Original Activity

Source: Catholic Schools Office (n.d.)

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Modified Activity

Building effective relationships – Social and emotional learning

Outcomes (NSW Education Students Learn About Students Learn To (NSW

Standards Authority, 2003) Education Standards
Authority, 2003)

Outcome 4.11 – selects and Effective communication LS.1 – recognise similar

uses communication skills and
strategies clearly and coherently
in a range of new and
challenging situations
LS.7 – A student uses
appropriate strategies to initiate
and manage relationships.
Building effective relationships
Connecting with others
Respecting others
Responsible decision making
characteristics of students
within the class group, e.g.
feelings, interests and abilities
LS.5 – demonstrate behaviours
that are socially appropriate in a
range of situations - use good
manners, e.g. when eating,
asking for assistance

LS.7 – demonstrate the skills to

initiate relationships

Learning Activity
The aim of this activity is to develop a foundation for students to establish effective
relationships with their peers. They will learn about the importance of effective
communication to building effective relationships and will learn to recognise similar
characteristics within the classroom to produce connections with their peers.

The activity entails student discussion on aspects of positive and negative relationships (e.g.
bullying), outlining characteristics of both categories. The teacher will also demonstrate
strategies to counteract bullying, drawing upon student ideas from the previous discussion.
This facilitates active psychological engagement whereby students demonstrate behaviours
that are socially appropriate in varying situations.

Having discussed the characteristics of positive/negative relationships, students will create

mind maps in pairs, describing the important qualities of friendship and how this impacts
upon an individual’s health and wellbeing. This draws upon the students’ ability to recognise
the similarities between themselves and others (i.e. feelings, emotions, interests, abilities
etc.), engaging students on an emotional level. As a result, students will explore the notions
of self-esteem, belonging and etiquettes that need to be observed to enhance the wellbeing of
themselves and others.

Moreover, the teacher will also establish a classroom community via the encouragement of
invitational ‘buddy groups’, where students are encouraged to make new friends within the
class. An important aspect of this is to provide students with the freedom to make decisions
encouraging positive social interactions which requires students to demonstrate the essential
skills to initiate relationships.

Note: Students will be assessed via observation of their interactions with others and
participation in the activity.

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Academic Justification
The activity displayed above is aimed at developing a foundation for students to establish
effective relationships with their peers which has been modified to enhance its suitability in
line with Morcom’s (2015) research on social and emotional learning. Morcom has advised
that teachers should strive to connect with their students’ emotions enabling them to express
their feelings whilst gaining an in-depth understanding of bullying. This involves providing
students with a safe, supportive and quality learning environment (Australian Institute for
Teaching and School Leadership, 2011 & NSW Department of Education and Training,
2003).
Morcom (2015) has also suggested teacher’s play a major role in the development of their
students and should provide activities which enhance their social knowledge, enabling them
to build effective social and emotional skills. Accordingly, it was decided the original activity
lacked the ability to deliver opportunities for personal growth and development, with the
modifications establishing a framework for promoting the importance of effective
relationships to an individual’s health and wellbeing. Bullying can have adverse effects on
students, causing an increase in risk-taking behaviour, disengagement in the classroom, and
an inability to manage their own behaviour (Wolke et al. 2013). This emphasises the
importance of social and emotional learning and establishing a community within the
classroom.
Additionally, the modified activity enabled students to explore the characteristics of effective
relationships and benefits of friendship. This enhances their development in accordance with
the PDHPE syllabus outcomes, enhancing their social and emotional skills (NSW Education
Standards Authority, 2003). Another important aspect of the activity was encouraging social
interactions and collaboration between students in learning and decision making. This is an
effective pedagogical practice as students display an increased motivation when learning
through social interactions and relationships formed with their peers (Li & Lam, 2013).
Therefore, students are required to demonstrate socially accepted behaviours and skills
empowering them to connect with their peers, establishing a sense of belonging positively
impacting their health and wellbeing.
Furthermore, the modified activity delves into the negative impacts bullying has upon
individuals. Students are encouraged to identify the detrimental aspects of ineffective
relationships and how this can influence their health and wellbeing. Research has shown that
students participating in mindful activities have displayed positive emotions as well as social
and emotional competence (Schonert-Reichl & Lawlor, 2010). This further enhances the
effectiveness of the activity, facilitating the growth of a safe and supportive classroom
community promoting health and wellbeing.

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 References

Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (2011). Australian Professional
Standards for Teachers. Retrieved from https://www.aitsl.edu.au/docs/default-
source/general/australian_professional_standard_for_teachers_final.pdf?sfvrsn=399ae8
3c_2
Catholic Schools Office (n.d.). Getting Along With Others. Retrieved from
http://pdhpek10.weebly.com/uploads/8/3/5/9/8359319/stage1_getting_along_with_othe
rs.pdf
Cornell, D., Gregory, A., Huang, F., & Fan, X. (2013). Perceived prevalence of teasing and
bullying predicts high school dropout rates. Journal of Educational Psychology, 105(1),
138-149. doi: 10.1037/a0030416
Durlak, J. A., Weissberg, R. P., Dymnicki, A. B., Taylor, R. D., & Schellinger, K. B. (2011).
The impact of enhancing students’ social and emotional learning: A meta‐analysis of
school‐based universal interventions. Child development, 82(1), 405-432. doi:
10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01564.x
Gall, M. D., Gall, J. P., & Borg, W. R. (2014). Applying educational research: How to read,
do, and use research to solve problems of practice. Pearson Higher Ed.
Juvonen, J., & Graham, S. (2014). Bullying in schools: The power of bullies and the plight of
victims. Annual review of psychology, 65, 159-185. doi:10.1146/annurev-psych-
010213-115030
Li, M. P., & Lam, B. H. (2013). Cooperative learning. The Active Classroom, The Hong
Kong Institute of Education, 1-33. Retrieved from
https://www.eduhk.hk/aclass/Theories/cooperativelearningcoursewriting_LBH%2024J
une.pdf
Morcom, V. (2015). Scaffolding social and emotional learning within ‘shared affective
spaces’ to reduce bullying: A sociocultural perspective. Learning, Culture and Social
Interaction, 6, 77-86. doi:10.1016/j.lcsi.2015.04.002
Nestle Healthy Active Kids (n.d.). Unit 3 – Mental Health and Wellbeing. Retrieved from
https://www.healthyactivekids.com.au/teachers/tasmania/unit-3-mental-health-
wellbeing/lesson-4-social-online-etiquettes/
NSW Department of Education and Training (2003). Quality Teaching in NSW Public
Schools: A classroom Practice Guide. Retrieved from http://web1.muirfield-
h.schools.nsw.edu.au/technology/Programs/Template/Quality%20Teaching%20Guide.p
df
NSW Education Standards Authority (2003). Personal Development Health And Physical
Education (PDHPE) 7-10 Syllabus. Retrieved from
http://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/k-10/learning-areas/pdhpe/pdhpe-
7-10

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Schonert-Reichl, K. A., & Lawlor, M. S. (2010). The effects of a mindfulness-based
education program on pre-and early adolescents’ well-being and social and emotional
competence. Mindfulness, 1(3), 137-151. doi: 10.1007/s12671-010-0011-8
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes.
Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
Wolke, D., Copeland, W. E., Angold, A., & Costello, E. J. (2013). Impact of bullying in
childhood on adult health, wealth, crime, and social outcomes. Psychological science,
24(10), 1958-1970. doi:10.1177/0956797613481608

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