How Australian parents of bullied and non-bullied children see their school responding to bullying

Views on how schools in Australia are responding to student victimisation were accessed through an on-line survey answered by 167 parents whose children were attending government schools in year levels 5 to 10. Some 50.2% of the parents believed that their children had been bullied at school. The perceptions and judgments of these parents were compared with those of parents whose children were thought not to have been bullied. The former were significantly less positive in their judgments of the actions undertaken by the schools. Although both sets of parents made similar, mostly positive, appraisals of the work of teachers, for example, through classroom work, the parents of bullied children were more critical of the school's anti-bullying policy and the supervision of student behaviour. Reasons for these differences are discussed, together with suggestions provided by parents on how bullying can be more effectively addressed by schools.