Harassment, Intimidation, Bullying (HIB) in New Jersey Schools

Kema Zamor

Co-Presenters: Casie Williams

College: College of Education

Major: BA.EC/P3/TSD

Faculty Research Mentor: Sehba Mahmood

Abstract:

Bullying is pervasive in schools across the USA. In a national survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Education, 100% of student participants reported experiencing, witnessing, or being aware of acts of bullying during the 2021-2022 school year. (National Center for Education Statistics, 2022). This survey further that reported that one out of every five students report being bullied. An official website of the United States government “stopbullying.gov” has described the long-term effects of bullying such as negative physical, social, emotional, academic, and mental health issues that can last into adulthood. Hence it becomes imperative to study these factual common occurrences in the lives of school age student. The aim of this study is to examine harassment, intimidation, and bullying (HIB) in New Jersey Schools. We intend to explore this topic through the publicly available data provided by the NJ Department of Education. Our study will answer the following broad questions: Are harassment, intimidation, and bullying (HIB) prevalent in New Jersey schools? What is the nature of harassment, intimidation, and bullying (HIB)? What school level does bullying take place most often ? Are the schools with the highest incidence of HIB are in low or high socio economic areas? Based on our findings we will present some strategies that night work towards mitigating these instances of HIB, This study will likely benefit future policies and practice on this topic that are developed by the state and school districts.