ABSTRACT
Bullying appears to be quite pervasive in schools, and probably to a greater extent than most teachers and parents realize, since many victims keep quiet about it. A common finding is that boys are more likely than girls to be doing the bullying, whereas the two sexes are about equally likely to be on the receiving end. Researchers working in various countries have shown that bullying problems are extensive during middle childhood and early adolescence. The Elton Report on discipline in schools, although primarily on teacher-pupil relations and discipline, does mention problems of bullying in a few paragraphs. Most of the bullying reported is by children or young people in the same class or at least the same year as the victim. Some is by older pupils, but not surprisingly little is by younger pupils. Several interesting and potentially important findings have come out of the research on the relationship between children's popularity with peers and their participation in aggression.
