Who is bullying whom in ethnically diverse primary schools? Exploring links between bullying, ethnicity, and ethnic diversity in Dutch primary schools

Bullies and Victims in Primary Schools

“…Majority and minority students might have different likelihoods to be bullies or victims, and this association might be moderated by the ethnic composition of the class (Tolsma et al, 2013;Vervoort et al, 2010). Moreover, different ethnic groups might value high academic achievement differently; therefore, association between school performance and victimization might differ among majority and minority students.…”

“…Social misfit theory (Wright et al, 1986) suggests that minority students might be the targets of bullying particularly if there are large differences between the majority and minority culture (Tolsma et al, 2013;Vervoort et al, 2010). Students who do not accept the dominant group norms might be rejected in the class, and rejected students are frequently victimized (Knack et al, 2012;Veenstra et al, 2010).…”

“…Students who do not accept the dominant group norms might be rejected in the class, and rejected students are frequently victimized (Knack et al, 2012;Veenstra et al, 2010). Students' ethnicity might be perceived as a salient dimension along which cultural norms differ (Tolsma et al, 2013;Vervoort et al, 2010), therefore, minority students might be more likely to be victimized than majority students. Hence, it is expected that Roma students are more likely to be victimized than majority students.…”

Relational Integration as The Analysis of Friendship, Negative Ties and Ethnic Identity Among Adolescents

“…Research often, but not always, finds evidence for cross-race dislike relationships and negative interracial attitudes in school classes (Hartup, 1993;Stark and Flache, 2012). As a behavioural outcome, the prevalence of bullying might also be higher among racially different students, with both minority and majority students serving as bullies and victims as well (Tolsma et al, 2013;Vervoort et al, 2010). This also demonstrates that interracial conflict arises in some, but not in all, formally mixed communities.…”

“…Other researchers also showed that children and adolescents tend to exclude those of dissimilar ethnic background, gender, and age (Hartup, 1993). Ethnic and cultural differences may increase the prevalence of bullying among students, where not only minority, but also majority students can be the victims of bullying (Tolsma et al, 2013;Vervoort et al, 2010).…”