He Whakaaro: What do we know about bullying behaviours in New Zealand? Publications
Publication Details
This paper summarises what we know about bullying in the education system. Bullying has widespread implications not only for the students exposed to it (those who are bullied, those doing the bullying and the observers), but to their family wellbeing and the culture of schools and communities. We provide a setting for further discussion and research into bullying by examining the trends and forms of bullying that are currently known in New Zealand.
Author(s): Mercy Mhuru, Ministry of Education
Date Published: January 2021
Key Findings
- New Zealand has one of the highest rates of bullying in the world.
- About 36% of Year 5 and 38% of Year 9 students surveyed in PIRLS and TIMSS reported that they were bullied on a monthly basis.
- About 33% of 15-year-old students in New Zealand report that they have never been bullied.
- ‘Being made fun of’ and ‘being excluded on purpose from activities’ are consistently the most common forms of bullying.
- The proportion of students who report some bullying behaviours tends to reduce with age.
- Students that are more likely to be exposed to bullying are: male; disabled; LGBTQIA+, particularly transgender students; New Zealand born; low achievers; and from a disadvantaged background.
- Bullying is related to racism and discrimination, but these concepts are not the same – some of the groups reporting the highest rates of bullying also report the lowest rates of discrimination, and vice-versa.
- About 27% of students self-reported engaging in bullying behaviours, and up to a third of students taking part in bullying might themselves be bullied.
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