Bullying in Educational Institutions and lts Impact on the Students Personality

Abstract

This research addresses one of the most prominent social and human issues experienced by students in educational institutions: bullying. Bullying is a pervasive phenomenon across all societies, particularly within educational settings. It constitutes an educational, social, psychological, and personal problem with emotional, social, and academic dimensions that threaten student safety and disrupt the proper instructional process. It negatively impacts the general school environment, the cognitive, emotional, and social development of students, and their right to learn in a safe environment. Effective learning occurs only in a setting that provides psychological security and safety by protecting students from violence, danger, and threats. School serves as the primary environment for nurturing students, promoting positive behavior, refining character, and developing skills and talents to foster balanced holistic growth across physical, spiritual, intellectual, psychological, and social dimensions, while instilling positive values such as cooperation, healthy competition, and teamwork (Al-Obaidi, 2021). However, real-world observations and empirical findings indicate that schools can become fertile ground for unhealthy behaviors such as bullying. This contradicts educational ethics, institutional values, and Islamic principles, which advocate for equality, mutual respect, and non-malice. Within this context, students may engage in negative and aggressive behaviors, including teasing, ridicule, verbal abuse, physical assault, threats of injury, extortion, and other manifestations of aggression perpetrated by individuals or groups against peers. An evaluation of this phenomenon indicates that bullying behaviors are repetitive and stem from an imbalance of power and authority between individuals (Abu Al-Diyar, 2022). Bullies employ physical or social power to exert dominance over others. Both perpetrators and victims are vulnerable to serious, lasting psychological harm. While research often focuses on the victim—who endures coercive, distressing actions leading to severe academic and mental health consequences—perpetrators themselves may be former victims. Such individuals may resort to bullying to project strength, conceal vulnerability, cope with difficulties in forming social relationships, or ensure peers fear them (Al-Baroni, 2020). Investigating school bullying is critical due to its devastating psychological consequences, which place victims at risk of self-harm, suicide, academic decline, frequent absenteeism, and school dropouts, while fostering a culture of violence in schools. Consequently, specialists, researchers, educators, and parents must prioritize this issue and expand research to determine its scope, underlying causes, risk factors, and interventions. This study aims to examine these dimensions to help eradicate bullying and ensure a safe, supportive learning environment (Al-Desouki, 2019).