School Antibullying Efforts: Advice for Education Policymakers

Bullying is now recognized internationally as a serious problem. In recent years, governments in numerous jurisdictions across North America have imposed new standards and requirements for schools related to bullying prevention. In order to meet these new demands, education policymakers can turn to a large and informative body of research on effective prevention and intervention practices. Six key recommendations for school policy that emerge from this bullying research are: (a) assess the prevalence of bullying, (b) develop a schoolwide antibullying policy, (c) provide schoolwide staff training, (d) implement evidence-based prevention programming, (e) build strong leadership support, and (f) use effective disciplinary practices.