The incidence and impact of bullying on students in second cycle schools in Ghana: A case study of selected schools in the Bawku Municipality

Abstract

This piece of work sought to find out the incidence and impact of bullying on students in the two second cycle schools in the Bawku Municipality namely; Bawku Senior High School and Bawku Technical Institute. The researcher looked at the physical, psychological, personal-social, and academic impact of bullying on students. A mixed study design was used. It comprises partly quantitative and partly qualitative aspects. A questionnaire was first administered on students and was followed up with an interview. Population of 1,879 made up of all first and second year students in the two schools were used. The sample frame was 300 respondents. Multistage sampling procedure was used in arriving at that figure. From the 300 respondents, 18 were purposively sampled and interviewed. A research questionnaire made up of 40 items was designed for the respondents to answer. Data collected were coded and analyzed using the Statistical Product for Service Solution (SPSS) version 15.0. Simple frequencies and percentages were used to analyze the data for answering the research questions. From the analysis, it was found that the incidence of bullying in the two schools was high. Major effects found were; “victims fell sick easily and were living under constant fear”. Again, students had difficulties in concentrating on their academic work. It was recommended that students be sensitized on bullying and its adverse effects on victims. Victims should be encouraged to report bullying issues to the appropriate authorities for redress. Finally, students’ views should be collated and considered when designing anti-bullying programmes.