Bullying and the inclusive school environment

Bullying is one issue that needs to be addressed within the complex socioeconomic and political institutions that are schools. Addressing bullying in schools requires a multifaceted approach, involving not only appropriate interventions for the bullies but also consideration of the adequacy, form and manner of support available for the victims. Within the current educational debate in Australia, as elsewhere, focusing on developing more inclusive schools, bullying is considered in this paper from two perspectives: firstly, consideration is given to the current situation in Australian schools and secondly, the incidence of bullying in some Western Australian schools engaged in reviewing their inclusive educational practices is described, based on data collected from 246 staff, 1449 students and 654 parents and carers