Teachers' Responses to Bullying Questionnaire: A Validation Study in Two Educational Contexts

Area of Science:

• Educational Psychology
• School Psychology
• Developmental Psychology

Background:

• Bullying in schools is a prevalent issue with significant negative impacts on students.
• Existing measurement tools for teachers' responses to bullying are limited.
• Understanding effective teacher interventions is crucial for reducing school bullying.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the validity of the student-reported Teachers' Responses to Bullying Questionnaire.
• To examine the factor structure and measurement invariance of the questionnaire across different educational contexts.
• To explore associations between students' perceptions of teachers' responses and their bullying behavior.

Main Methods:

• Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was used to test the proposed five-factor structure of the questionnaire.
• Measurement invariance was tested across two distinct educational contexts (Italy and Belgium).
• Associations between student-reported bullying behavior and perceived teacher responses were analyzed.

Main Results:

• The CFA supported the predicted five-factor structure: Non-Intervention, Disciplinary Methods, Group Discussion, Mediation, and Victim Support.
• Partial factor means invariance was established, enabling valid cross-context comparisons.
• Significant associations were found between self-reported bullying and most perceived teacher responses, but not with peer-nominated bullying.

Conclusions:

• The Teachers' Responses to Bullying Questionnaire demonstrates validity and reliability for student self-reports.
• The findings support the cross-cultural applicability of the questionnaire in assessing teacher responses to bullying.
• Student perceptions of teacher interventions are linked to their own bullying behavior, highlighting the importance of effective teacher strategies.