Understanding the social context of school bullying behaviours among middle school students in China

Abstract

Currently, it is perceived that school bullying is no longer just a simple issue, but has become a serious problem in Chinese schools. An increasing number of students have indicated their bullied experiences and the trauma that they felt afterward. To better understand bullying, social influential factors behind such bullying behaviours have gradually become a central topic for scholars’ discussion. However, limited researches have actually paid attention on storybased experiences and have analysed the real inner journeys of certain bullies. In this study, a two-sided theoretical framework is established, from which the motivations of bullying can be comprehensively studied. The general strain theory and the edgework theory are employed to illustrate the different mindsets in bullying as a form of deviant behaviour from a criminological perspective. By conducting semi-structured interviews with the students, teachers and other experienced professional, this study offers a new insight toward understanding the motivations behind student bullying. In part, this dissertation supports that strains may be considered as sources of negative emotions that eventually lead to bullying, but it also critically points out and complements the weaknesses of the general strain theory by applying the edgework theory as well. Meanwhile, future research directions are suggested, particularly by combining both qualitative and quantitative research methods with similar multi-dimensional frameworks.