Disabled students' experience of bullying: Student-to-student bullying and Teacher-to-student bullying

  Bullying is widely concerned as one of huge issues for disabled students in schools.

  Some studies show that disabled students are estimated to be twice as likely to be bullied as non-disabled students. (Kearney, 2011; MacArthur, 2012; New Zealand Human Rights Commission, 2009)

  Norwich and Kelly (2004) found that there are two types of bullying in schools; student-to-student bullying and teacher-to-student bullying. (Kearney, 2011) 

  Disturbingly, one third of parent questionnaire and interview respondents said that their disabled children had experienced some form of teacher bullying in schools. In addition, most school principals were aware that some teachers in their school were bullying disabled students. (Kearney, 2011) "Teacher-to-student bullying included humiliation, intimidation, shouting, teachers encouraging other students to bully the child, and in one case, a teacher physically hurting a child" (Kearney, 2011, p.84; MacArthur, 2012).

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FO857j0qCQo)

  Teacher-to-student bullying has been recognised for a long time. However, there are few studies that investigate the issue of teacher-to-student bullying and its influence on disabled students' learning outcomes, social relationships, relationships with being bullied by peers and development of self-esteem and identity. 

Image from <http://www.amazon.com/Bullied-Teacher-Student-Recognize-Bullying/dp/1551381907>

  Teacher-to-student bullying is similar to student-to-student bullying, since  bullying occurs many times for a long period of time in a public manner (Kearney, 2011). However, teacher-to-student bullying can influence more sever impact on disabled students. 

 "Some researchers reports that when a student bullies another person, observers can reinforce and model the bullying behaviour" (O’Connell, Pepler & Craig, 1999, as cited in Kearney, 2011, p.84). It could be said that teachers who are role models to every students' learning and behaviour bully disabled students, "non-disabled students may feel that if it is acceptable for a teacher to bully a student, it is acceptable for them to do so as well" (Kearney, 2011, p.85).