School Bullying: Overall Victimization Declines, NCES Reports, Asian Students Most Bullied

For the most part, the instance of student victimization in schools has fallen since 1995, according to a new report by the National Center for Educational Statistics. But the problem persists.

Based on data analyses of information from the School Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey administered by the U.S. Department of Justice, the NCES found that there was a drop in the proportion of students reporting criminal victimization at school -- to 4.3 percent of students aged 12-18 in 2005, down from 9.5 percent in 1995. Criminal victimizations can range from "serious violent," like sexual assault, to "theft," like attempted and completed pickpocketing.

In the 2008-2009 school year, about 3.9 percent of students aged 12 to 18 reported being victims of a crime at school, while 2.8 percent said they were victims of theft, 1.4 percent reported violent victimization, and 0.3 percent reported serious violent victimization. More males than females said they had been victimized.

Worse, more students who said they were criminally victimized were also more likely to be targeted electronically -- 19.8 percent of those students reported online bullying, versus 5.5 percent of students who were not criminally victimized.

Overall, 64 percent of students who said they had been victimized were bullied by traditional means at school, and 20 percent said they were bullied by electronic means anywhere.

In a separate report released last week by AAPI Nexus, findings show that Asian American students are bullied in American schools much more than students belonging to any other ethnic group.

Research shows that 54 percent of Asian American teenagers said they were bullied in the classroom, compared with 31.3 percent of white students who reported being bullied in school, 38.4 percent for black students and 34.3 percent for Hispanics. The results come from a 2009 survey by the U.S. Justice and Education departments that interviewed 6,500 students aged 12 to 18 cross the country. The numbers come from a report by Agence France-Presse, who acquired preliminary access to the study from an anonymous government researcher.

"This data is absolutely unacceptable and it must change. Our children have to be able to go to school free of fear," U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said at a Center for American Progress forum last week. AAPI Nexus released their findings Saturday as part of President Barack Obama's White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

(Watch Duncan's keynote address here)

Even more alarming are the figures for cyber bullying: 62 percent of Asian American students reported being bullied online up to twice a month, compared with 18.1 percent of white students.

(Watch the panel discussion on the findings here).

Comments

[J R M]

03:22 PM on 11/08/2011

They tend to be smaller, more studious, and less embedded in athletic groups where the other group members would stand up for them. It has been popular to pick on the studious and academic students for generations, particularly if they make you look bad / feel stupid in class. Two generations ago, it was the Jews who were picked on.

Given that the schools are filled with students whose primary interest is zero-sum status games, this is not surprising. It is not acceptable, but also not surprising.

[other anonymous source]

02:28 PM on 11/08/2011

Rather inaccurate article. Asian students are the most bullied IN THE CLASSROOM, not overall. They're also the most bullied outside on school grounds. But white kids are bullied more overall (including in the cafeteria and on school bus) and black kids are bullied more in locker rooms or bathrooms. And this information came from an anonymous source? Why? The data were released online back in August (table 2.1): http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2011/2011336.pdf

[mangafreak2128]

05:18 PM on 11/07/2011

Doesn't matter who it is, bullying needs to be stopped.

[proudtohaveserved]

03:21 PM on 11/07/2011

but of course the are bullied the most. they are the most intelligent of the immigrants. also, dedicated to learning, not sports, have the highest IQ and make the whites look dumb in class

[Yam716]

03:43 PM on 11/08/2011

RE: they are the most intelligen­t of the immigrants­.

Is there a study that confirms this? I actually have NEVER see ANY immigrant fail! I have been in classes with Indians, Africans, and Asians...Really the only people who value sports over learning are AMERICAN students! So we can just blame the American parents...

[Klyn]

01:39 PM on 11/07/2011

I am an Asian American female and growing up I was only bullied by blacks and Mexicans though it was rare, which I always found puzzling. Mostly kids will pick on the smaller, weaker, geeky or special needs kids of all races. I feel very sad for those kids who have to live with it daily and the pain it causes.

[xhawk2]

09:27 AM on 11/07/2011

And yet Hollywood and other advocates are telling us that it's the blacks, gays, and Muslims who get bullied most.

[Yam716]

03:44 PM on 11/08/2011

This is the first article focused on Asians, outside the tiger mom thing, that I've seen on HP.

[osofar]

08:44 AM on 11/07/2011

Bullies are children who later become Republican politicians, or other paid apologists for the 1% who are still hiring them.

[xhawk2]

09:27 AM on 11/07/2011

And Democrats aren't bullies? Read about what they're doing to the Catholic University of America.

[CAELadyJane50]

02:43 AM on 11/07/2011

I think kids need to be educated and told repeatedly that whatever you say or do against someone online will never get erased. Whatever you type on the internet it bounces around from one computer to another computer, from one network to another network and from one country to another country. What goes around comes around.

Kids need to experience what is called a "Time Capsule". They should write down something that they would always want to remember . Roll up the paper and put it inside of a cardboard box or envelope and seal it. At the end of the school year or one year later open it up and have them read their own time capsule messages. Then have the students exchange their time capsule messages with each other until all of the students have read each other's time capsule messages. Then have the students share their views about their experience with their time capsul messages. This might help students to be more cautious about what they write on the internet.

[allisonmkramer]

01:47 AM on 11/07/2011

I've been a victim of SEVERE bullying, including bodily injury & psychological abuse. Now I'm an autistic adult & I'm on a mission to destroy bullies. The sweet girl who longed for friends is dead. The girl who wanted to help change the world for people with disabilities is dead. You read it here. Bully me and suffer. Justice is its own sweet reward!

[GlennWatson]

09:25 AM on 11/07/2011

Two wrongs.

[k1dork]

05:05 PM on 11/06/2011

This is news to me. The Asians were some of the toughest kids and worst gangs in my neighborhood.

[Yam716]

03:45 PM on 11/08/2011

Just curious, where did you grow up?

[k1dork]

04:02 PM on 11/08/2011

Irving, Texas. It's a very racially diverse area.

[Laxsmi de Potrero]

03:46 PM on 11/06/2011

i would wager making this a race thing simply confirms stereotypes. i also would wager disabled, nerdly intelligent and gay kids suffer even more. or how about just sticking with kids wearing glasses? to try to make a racial point one needs to make sure apples and being compared to apples.

[inmyhumbleopinion]

09:59 AM on 11/06/2011

Not to contribute to the stereotype, but it follows that the kids with the best grades are also the ones getting picked on. Statistically, Asian kids are far more likely to be at the top of the class. Heaven forbid we allow the smart and studious to simply BE.

Any sort of "difference"--be it racial or academic or sexual orientation--is a threat to the conformist mobs. Lord knows why. Parents, physical violence or electronic harassment of any kind is criminal. Full stop. Take it out of the hands of school administrators who are likely to downplay it and press charges.

[Laxsmi de Potrero]

03:50 PM on 11/06/2011

while i agree with you that it is about conformity. i think your solution is tantamount to doing nothing more than rattling the tiger's cage. one will not stop bullying by making it a criminal act. just as we have not stopped racist, anti-feminism and homophobia through legislation and penalties.

[inmyhumbleopinion]

05:50 PM on 11/06/2011

None of the things you describe is criminal. They all fall within free speech territory.

However, the minute something becomes either physical assault or stalking in person or online, it becomes criminal and the fullest extent of the law should be pursued.

[Cheri Quinn]

02:30 AM on 11/06/2011

It is time to start charging the parents when they have been told their child is bullying others and they do nothing to stop the behavior. Likewise, school officials will not take this seriously until some are charged with nonfeasance for their failures to control this behavior through serious santions, including expulsions. From my perspective and experience, many coaches encourage bullying under the guise of making some kid tougher.

[jonathan6773]

01:53 AM on 11/06/2011

Everyone gets bullied. End of story.

[Stacey Jones]

04:55 AM on 11/06/2011

No not everyone gets bullied that's a logical fallacy.

[Laxsmi de Potrero]

03:52 PM on 11/06/2011

how is that a logical fallacy? everyone is born, everyone dies, everyone suffers. while i think jonathan is overly dismissive of the problem, it is probably more worth while to consider that everyone gets bullied than "not everyone" gets bullied.

[madcityy]

01:46 PM on 11/05/2011

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