• Date: Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021
• Time: 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.
• Location: Online via Zoom (a link will be sent closer to event)

Peer victimization is a significant public health risk that negatively impacts many aspects of school adjustment. The lack of insight about teachers’ roles in peer victimization is alarming, given that (1) teachers are unsure of how to respond when a student is victimized, (2) many teachers report a need for training on how to intervene effectively in all forms of bullying, and (3) there is insufficient evidence to guide teacher training. A number of factors influence how teachers understand and respond to bullying in school. This presentation will address teacher influences on students’ peer victimization (both perpetration and victimization) and defending behaviors, based on existing literature. We propose that overall teaching practices and relationships with students contribute to individual students’ social behaviors and to the classroom ecology, and that positive teaching practices are the mechanism that influences peer victimization and defending behaviors. We will discuss implications for teacher training and professional development.

Participants will be able to:

• summarize what research has demonstrated about teachers’ understanding of, and responses to, bullying and peer victimization
• explain the theoretical background and key processes that explain how teachers influence peer relationships and peer victimization
• identify teacher training needs, and intervention and prevention strategies to support teachers