School Built Environments and Bullying Behaviour: A Conceptual Model Based on Qualitative Interviews

Area of Science:

• Environmental psychology
• Educational sociology
• Public health

Background:

• Growing interest in the school built environment's impact on bullying.
• Previous research identified bullying hotspots but lacked conceptual pathways.
• Need for understanding how physical spaces influence student interactions and safety.

Purpose of the Study:

• Identify school built environment factors influencing bullying.
• Develop a conceptual model linking built environment to bullying behavior.
• Inform future anti-bullying intervention research.

Main Methods:

• Seventy semi-structured interviews with policymakers, school staff, parents, and students.
• Participants recruited from six metropolitan primary and secondary schools in Perth, Western Australia.
• Thematic analysis of qualitative data from online and face-to-face interviews.

Main Results:

• Identified specific school locations associated with bullying (e.g., locker areas, bathrooms, corridors).
• Built environment factors linked to bullying via visibility, supervision, comfort, safety, and social-emotional competencies.
• Developed a conceptual model illustrating pathways between the built environment and bullying.

Conclusions:

• School built environment design is crucial for bullying prevention.
• Interventions should consider visibility, safety, and social-emotional aspects in school design.
• Findings offer policy and practice implications for creating safer school environments.