Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1503864
12 NEWS maltatoday | SUNDAY • 16 JULY 2023 JAMES DEBONO STUDENTS experiencing bullying on a regular basis in Maltese schools declined to 11% 2021 from 16% five years earlier, an international study shows. During the same time window students saying they feel safe at school also increased to 67.7% from 60.3%. This emerges from infor- mation found in the national report on the Progress in In- ternational Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS). The study was based on information given by Year 5 students and heads of school. But the study also shows that 12.5% of students attend- ing Year 5 reported they are 'shoved, hit or kicked' by oth- er students a few times a week. Another 14.3% are also called names and made fun of at the same frequency, while 5.9% al- so received nasty online mes- sages on a regular basis. The study shows that bul- lying and classroom disorder are major obstacles to master- ing reading skills with reading skills improving in a more or- derly and safer environment. On the other hand, a greater sense of belonging in school contributes to improved read- ing scores. Slight improvement in controlling bullying According to the report Malta's mean scale score that measures the lack of bullying at school is similar to the interna- tional average and is marginally higher than the corresponding 2016 mean scale score, "indi- cating a slight improvement in the last five years in controlling bullying in schools". A scale score was generated by considering 10 items used to measure bullying at school ranging from being made fun of and called names to threats, physical violence and online abuse. Students who 'never experi- enced' five of the 10 items and 'experienced' the other five 'a few times a year' were consid- ered as 'students who rarely experienced bullying'. These amounted to 63% of all stu- dents. On the other hand, 11% of students experience bullying on a regular basis. This cohort includes students who 'expe- rience bullying a few times a week' with regards to five of the 10 items. A comparison between the 2021 and 2016 reports shows that the percentage of those who are bullied on a regular ba- sis has decreased to 11% from 16%, and those who rarely ex- perience bullying has increased to 63% from 54%. Moreover, bullying is more prevalent amongst boys than girls; and is slightly more prev- alent in independent schools than church and State schools. The report notes that bullying causes distress to victims, leads to low self-esteem, and makes victims feel like they do not be- long. Research shows that bul- lied students are less likely to achieve in school. Moreover, cyberbullying also appears to be common among students. In fact, 5.9% of stu- dents reported having received nasty online messages more than once a week and a further 5.6% received such messages once or twice a month. Too much noise in class The study also suggests that Maltese students are rowdy in their behaviour to the extent that a remarkable 33% of stu- dents said their teacher was interrupted by students during every lesson while 31.5% said there was too much noise for students to follow the lesson, and this happened in every les- son. Another 37% also report- ed their teacher must wait for a long time for students to settle down. Year 5 students were also asked about the frequency of five occurrences related to dis- orderly behaviour in class. According to a scale based on the frequency of these occur- rences, the study shows that only 8% of students rarely or never experience disruptive behaviour during lessons. The study shows no significant dif- ference between church, pri- vate and State schools with regards to orderly behaviour during lessons. The mean scale score that measures orderly behaviour during lessons (9.6) was found to be lower than the interna- tional average (10.0), indicat- ing that interruptions during lessons is more prevalent in Maltese schools than most schools abroad. School heads face no serious disciplinary problems Head teachers were also asked in the study to report the seriousness of several prob- lems related to school disci- pline ranging from vandalism to classroom disturbance. A comparison with 2016 sug- gests a general improvement with regards to school disci- pline. The percentage of heads saying that classroom distur- bance is not a problem has in- creased to 55.1% in 2021 from 29.5% in 2016. Overall, the study concludes that 87% of Maltese heads of school claimed almost no disciplinary problems, 12% claimed minor problems and 2% claimed moderate to severe disciplinary problems. Disci- plinary problems in Maltese primary schools were found to be "significantly less frequent compared to other schools abroad". Disciplinary problems vary marginally between State, Fewer students report being bullied regularly International study shows that percentage of students in Maltese schools who are regularly bullied falls to 11% in 2021 from 16% five years earlier The PIRLS study found that bullying is more prevalent amongst boys than girls; and is slightly more prevalent in independent schools than church and State schools (File photo) International study shows that 68% of Year 5 students said they felt safe at school in 2021, up from 60% five years earlier (File photo)