Mia Lund Kongsbak - Peer education Et redskab til - Institut for ...

10. Abstract
The thesis deals with bullying and anti‐bullying strategies in schools. Bullying is recognized
as a widespread problem in the Danish primary school (Børnerådet 2004, 2008, 2009,
DCUM 2006, Due et al. 2003). In August 2009 it was declared a legal requirement that all
Danish schools should develop an anti‐bullying strategy 25 . Research on bullying reveals
that bullying is understood and perceived in many different ways (Eriksson el al 2002,
Frånberg 2003). The prevailing paradigm in research on bullying describes it as an
expression of individual aggression (Olweus 2000), however more recent research reflects
deeper on this description and adds to the definition that it should be seen as a complex
social phenomenon (Kofoed & Søndergaard 2009). The thesis applies this complexity‐
sensitive understanding of bullying.
In Denmark a wide variety of anti‐bullying strategies is offered to the schools, this
despite the fact that very little research has been done on how these strategies affect or
reduce bullying (Kofoed & Søndergaard 2009). The thesis examines a specific anti‐bullying
strategy called peer education, which is applied in a specific Danish elementary school.
Peer education is a method wherethe older pupils are trained to take care of the younger
pupils, through effective conflict management and by acting as "good examples". The
thesis is looking upon peer education as a power technology and the theoretical
viewpoint regards phenomena and subjects as mutually constituted, and focus is on how
peer education and bullying are constituted. The thesis claims that the use and
deployment of peer education at a school is not without significance for school
stakeholders. The thesis specifically examines the following questions:
25 Look upon for example www.uvm.dk
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