A conversation analysis of grade 7 learners who have experienced bullying

M.Ed. (Educational Psychology)Abstract: While I was observing the school and its social issues, I identified this particular group because most complaints regarding bullying came from this one particular class. I was interested in finding out the causes, the complaints and the thought process of these learners. I was curious to find out their difficulties and challenges. The purpose of this study was to analyze and understand bullying experiences and its effects on grade 7 learners using Conversational Analysis. This study used an Ethnomethodological Design where it used both Content and Conversation Analysis as a modality to analyze the data. I was able to analyze the content qualitatively. This led to the identification of themes that came up in the analysis. The learners were affected by both being victims of bullying as well as witnessing their peers being bullied. It evoked feelings such as anger and sadness, often expressed as tears. The data was collected in the form of video recording and thereafter the recording was transcribed. The transcription of the four levels of Conversation Analysis was used as a guide. The participants then came up with solutions such as more psychosocial support when dealing with bullying and the overarching principle of respect to be implemented to curb bullying in the school. As expected, many learners experience bullying and the participants expressed their distress when recalling their own experience of bullying and it has had a negative impact on the learners. Although the learners had to recall painful experiences, they were able to come up with solutions. The learners were able to learn from each other during this conversation. It is recommended that the adults that are in contact with grade 7 learners, converse with them about their lives at school and support them psychosocially to enable them to cope at school and ultimately overcome bullying