An exploration of bullying in public schools in Lesotho

Abstract

This explorative study investigated bullying in a sample of schools in Lesotho from the learner’s perspective. A review of the existing literature formed the basis for the offered description of the phenomenon. The work examined concise definitions of bullying, school violence, victim and bully. The research described various forms of bullying, reason for and possible intervention strategies. The quantitative research method was applied, which included an analysis of the data obtained from a questionnaire containing 33 close-ended questions divided into six sections: general information; observation of bullying; experience of bullying; impact of bullying; participation in bullying activities and reasons for bullying and measures against it. The questionnaires were distributed among 1 373 learners from Lesotho public schools which were used for the study. The research was brought to a conclusive end with a proposal for school bullying intervention strategies in Lesotho public schools.