Study puts spotlight on scourge of bullying

OECD survey questioned 11,000 teenagers across the Emirates. International study also showed children are more ambitious than their international peers, are satisfied with their lives, but feel the pressure of exam anxiety

ROBERTA PENNINGTON

A quarter of pupils in the UAE experience bullying regularly, with many victims saying it is affecting their academic performance.

The Students’ Well-Being Report of 72 countries found Hong Kong schools had the highest instance of bullying, with the UAE in eighth position. More than 11,000 UAE pupils were surveyed.

Dr Sarah Rasmi, assistant professor of psychology and counselling at UAE University, said some schools “are not doing enough” to tackle bullying.

Dubai’s Knowledge and Human Development Authority has strong policies to battle bullying “in all of its forms”.

“Schools have a significant impact on children’s quality of life and the focus on well-being allows us to look at new ways of engaging students,” said Hind Al Mualla, the authority’s chief of happiness and innovation.

“Success and well-being in life depend on how well students have been able to develop socially and emotionally.”

The report, produced by the Organisation for Economic Co-ooperation and Development, found test anxiety in the UAE to be higher than the average for those surveyed.

More than 61 per cent of pupils said they “feel very anxious”, even if they have prepared well for exams. But it also found that the life satisfaction among pupils was on average 7.3 out of 10.

The country also scored higher than average when it came to parental interest in their child’s schooling.

Overall pupils were much more aspirational when it came to higher education, with 72 per cent intending to complete a university degree, compared with the organisation’s average of 44 per cent.

More than one in four UAE pupils aged 15 say they are bullied at least a few times a month, a new survey suggests.

And almost one in five say they are “frequently bullied”, which has a direct effect on their academic performance

“The fact of the matter is, if it’s one out of four students who are reporting that they are being bullied, and that’s a difficult thing they are going through, then schools are not doing enough,” said Dr Sarah Rasmi, assistant professor of psychology and counselling at UAE University.

“At the same time, it is difficult for schools to do more because a lot of them are understaffed, especially when it comes to counsellors.”

Twenty-seven per cent of UAE pupils surveyed said they had been victims – the eighth highest incidence among the 72 countries whose youths took part in the survey.

And 17.8 per cent were frequently bullied, which was twice the average.

More than 11,000 UAE pupils were quizzed as part of the Students’ Well-Being Report, from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Programme for International Student Assessment.

“Students in schools where bullying is frequent, by international standards, score 47 points lower in science than students in schools where bullying occurs less frequently,” the report said.

“In Qatar, Thailand and the UAE, students in the bottom decile of science performance were more likely – by at least 15 percentage points – to report being pushed or hit than students in the top decile of performance.”

Hong Kong had the highest incidence of bullying, at 32.3 per cent.

It was followed by Latvia, 30.6 per cent; Dominican Republic, 30.1 per cent; Tunisia, 28.2 per cent; Russia, 27.5 per cent; Macau, 27.3 per cent; and Thailand, 27.2 per cent.

The report also found that test anxiety in the UAE was higher than the organisation’s average, with 61.8 per cent of pupils agreeing that they “feel very anxious”, even if they are well prepared.

On the positive side, UAE pupils on average rated their life satisfaction 7.3 on a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 means the worst possible life. This is about the same as the organisation’s average.

UAE pupils were also more ambitious, as 72 per cent said they expected to complete a university degree, while the organisation’s average was only 44.2 per cent.

In Dubai, the Knowledge and Human Development Authority has launched initiatives to help improve student well-being and promote happiness in schools.

It also requires parents and students to sign a contract that spells out the “zero-tolerance policy for bullying in all of its forms”.

“Schools have a significant impact on children’s quality of life and the focus on well-being allows us to look at new ways of engaging students,” said Hind Al Mualla, the education authority’s chief of happiness and innovation.

“Success and well-being in life depend on how well students have been able to develop socially and emotionally.

“By embracing positive education and well-being, schools are taking a step forward in the development of character strengths and happiness,” she said.

The UAE’s mean science score in the assessment for 2015 was 437, which was 56 points lower than the organisation’s average and 12 points below the country’s score in the 2012 assessment.

In reading, the mean score was 434, a drop of eight points compared to 2012, and 59 points less than the organisation’s average.

In maths, the mean 2015 score was 427, a loss of seven points compared to 2012 and 63 points below the average.

UAE Vision 2021 has set a target for the nation to rank among the world’s best in reading, maths and science.

In Abu Dhabi, more than 4,000 pupils sat the Pisa 2015 assessment, while in Dubai, 6,798 participated. Figures for the other five emirates were not available.

The next Pisa assessment will take place next year.

Twenty-seven per cent of pupils aged 15 say they’re bullied, while 18% say it happens often – twice the average for the Organisation of Economic Development and Co-operation