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Koptleuova D. A.

11th grade student

Nazarbayev Intellectual School of Physics and Mathematics in Aktobe

The Effects of Verbal School Bullying on the Academic Performance of Teenage

Victims in Kazakhstan: The Necessary Support for Victims

Authenticity Declaration

I declare that the work in this research project is my own and is authentic. All resources and

sources are acknowledged and cited, where sources and resources of other people have been

used.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I want to use this chance to offer my sincere gratitude to everyone who helped make

this research endeavor a success. It would not have been feasible to complete this task

without their invaluable input.

I would like to start by expressing my sincere gratitude to my mentor, Dr. Yeraly

Baizhanov, for his important advice and helpful criticism during the planning and

development of this research endeavor. The direction and scope of our work have been

greatly influenced by his continuous support and generosity with his time. I consider myself

extremely fortunate to have had the chance to work with him as a mentor.

Additionally, I would like to express my gratitude to the interviewees who took part in

the study, particularly those who shared their own firsthand accounts of bullying. Their

willingness to share their experiences with me has been motivating and humbling, and it has

helped bring attention to a topic that is sometimes ignored. I am very appreciative of their

time and confidence in letting me hear about their experiences.

I also want to express my gratitude to my parents for their consistent support and

inspiration during my academic career. I can never fully repay them for their love and

wisdom, which have been a continual source of inspiration and strength for me.
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ABSTRACT

This study investigates the effects of verbal bullying on victims' academic achievement in

Kazakhstan as well as the inaction of teachers. The research opens by pointing out how

common verbal bullying is in classrooms and how damaging it is to both kids' mental health

and academic performance. The study explains the factors that contribute to bullying in

schools, such as poor upbringing and challenging family circumstances. The study makes the

case that verbal bullying at school is a real problem that equally affects boys and girls, and

that it is important to comprehend how it affects the academic performance of victims.

Face-to-face interviews with two victim adolescents, two instructors who have observed

verbal school bullying, and one school psychologist who strives to prevent it were conducted

as part of the qualitative research methodology employed for this study. The results of the

study show that verbal bullying at school has an adverse effect on the victims' mental health

and academic achievement. According to the study, teachers frequently treat the victims

unfairly and give them low ratings, which has an additional negative impact on their

academic performance. The research finishes by making the case that this issue must be

addressed in order to avoid verbal school bullying and provide support for its victims.

Keywords: verbal bullying, school bullying, academic performance, teenagers, mental

health
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INTRODUCTION

The most prominent kind of violence in schools is verbal bullying, which affects both

boys and girls equally (Erika et al., 2017). Spreading rumors, using foul language, or other

forms of bullying that target a person's ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or religion are

examples of this sort of bullying: 13% of the students who reported being bullied experienced

mockery, insults, or rumor about them (National Bullying Prevention Center of PACER,

2020).

According to Tambawal and Rukayya (2017), bullying in schools is caused by a variety

of reasons, which can be divided into two categories: environmental and psychological

factors. Bullying in schools is frequently brought on by poor or incorrect upbringing. These

extreme cases of upbringing are defective because they prevent the child from internalizing

right or correct behavior. In society, it is common to find homes where discipline is either too

harsh, especially when corporal punishment is frequently used, or too lenient, especially

when the child is always allowed to do whatever he wishes, especially bad deeds without

anyone discouraging him. As a result, the child develops a lack of ability to distinguish

between right and wrong activities. Children that bully others may do it because they want to

fit in or because they are dealing with a challenging circumstance at home. To feel better

about themselves, they bring suffering to another person.

According to a United Nations Population Fund (2020) brochure distributed in

Kazakhstan, 63% of children there have experienced violence and discrimination, 44% have

been victims, and 24% have perpetrated violence and discrimination against other children in

school. Verbal school bullying can affect Kazakhstani victim-students negatively. For

example, the study of Skues et al. (2005) found that students who experienced peer bullying
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at school frequently reported reduced self-esteem, a sense of disconnection from their peers,

teachers, and school, and a lack of motivation to do well in class.

This problem is very relevant for our society because it is reflected in several

sustainable development goals. For example, SDG 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-

being for all at all ages, which is directly connected with this issue, as the researcher has

mentioned earlier, verbal school bullying affects the health of victims. Moreover, SDG 16:

Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to

justice for all and build effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions at all levels also

reflects this issue since my research will determine the ways to help the victims of verbal

bullying. By the way, this issue is very relevant in Kazakhstan, since one in

five teenagers aged 11 and 13 and one in ten adolescents aged 15 have been bullied at school

at least once or more (United Nations Population Fund, 2020). Thus, this problem is vital for

Kazakhstani society too.

By studying this topic, the researcher wants to raise not only students’ awareness on this

topic, but also adults’, namely parents’ and teachers. All schools, organizations and

communities should be encouraged to widely disseminate and post information on how to

prevent bullying in their communities. What is more, the researcher has witnessed school

bullying myself: in her previous school the researcher watched kids with less self-confidence

become victims of bullying, and she blamed herself for not being able to do anything to help

them. It is important to create a safe environment in all schools so that everyone understands

that no one deserves to be bullied and all students deserve to feel safe and supported, and to

inspire everyone to act with kindness, acceptance, and inclusion. That’s why, through her

research, the researcher wants to explain the importance of creating a safe environment for

every student in school. The researcher is highly interested in psychology so studying

victims’ mental consequences of school-bullying and how they affect their academic
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performance will be extremely useful in university, since she is going to study developmental

and counselling psychology.

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LITERATURE REVIEW

Verbal bullying is the most common type of violence in schools and is equally

prevalent among boys and girls (Erika et al., 2017). This type of bullying includes spreading

rumours, shouting profanity, or other derogatory terms based on a person's race, gender,

sexual orientation, religion, etc.: 13% of the students who reported being bullied were

ridiculed, insulted, or the target of gossip. (PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center,

2020). Bullied students suffer from low self-esteem, depression, anxiety about going to

school and even suicidal thoughts because of peer bullying (BetterHelp Editorial Team,

2023). A brochure released by United Nations Population Fund (2020) in Kazakhstan reports

that 63 percent of children in the country have witnessed violence and discrimination, 44

percent have been victims, and 24 percent have committed discrimination acts of violence

against other children in school.

In Kazakhstan, verbal bullying - insults, threats, disrespectful comments – is the most

common type of bullying (Galeyeva, 2021). In 2018, a team of scientists from National

Centre of Public Health Care of Kazakhstan surveyed 6,456 Kazakhstani schoolchildren to

examine indicators of their health and well-being. Teens were also asked how often they had

participated in or been victims of bullying/kicker-bullying at school in the past two months.

The results showed that one in five teenagers aged 11 and 13 and one in ten teenagers aged

15 were victims of school bullying at least once or more. Among boys, the rate is

significantly lower (14%) by age 15; 8.3% of children and young people have participated in

bullying at school at least 2 to 3 times a month. This behaviour is more common among 11-

year-old boys (13%), with a tendency that decreases with age; 20% of teenagers have been

involved in bullying other people at least once. The rate is higher among 11- and 13-year-old

boys than girls (National Centre of Public Health Care of the Ministry of Health of the

Republic of Kazakhstan, 2018).

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From a teacher's point of view, there's a factually noteworthy impact of bullying in

school on the school execution of the casualties. Because of verbal peer victimisation insulted

children feel perplexed and frail, and it influences students' identity and self-esteem.

Subsequently, in this case, the bullied understudy cannot assess his/her considerations and

does not need to go to school. For example, a study by Al-Raqqad et al. (2017), which aimed

to examine the impact of school bullying on students' academic performance from the

perspective of teachers in Jordanian schools, used a descriptive analysis method and its

research sample consisted of 200 teachers selected from different schools of Amman West

region in Jordan. This research found that most of the teachers believed verbal school

bullying creates negative environment and is the reason for poor exam results.

Additionally, teachers tend to react on bullying differently. It is because educators'

perceptions of bullying differ depending on education level, work experience and attitudes

towards bullying. For instance, DeOrnellas and Spurgin’s (2017) study identified that

teachers struggle to apply the criteria of bullying and use a lot of time and energy assessing

whether an incident qualifies as bullying. Furthermore, Boulton's (2011) study examined

teachers viewed a wide range of behaviours as bullying, they generally expressed negative

attitudes toward bullying and bullies and showed sympathy for victims. Although sympathy

decreased with tenure teachers were not confident in their ability to deal with bullying

regardless of tenure, and 87 percent wanted more training. Even higher percentage of

teachers felt responsible for preventing bullying in the classroom than outside the school.

From students’ perspective, both bullying victimization and bullying climate had

significant and negative relationships with students in science, math, and reading

achievement (Huang, 2022). This is because when students experience bullying on campus,

those who are known by their peers and value the group frequently receive prompt

psychological support, while the other group of students who no longer believe in and
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recognize classes and schools will experience increased isolation and loss, which will lower

their satisfaction with school life (Adams & Hannum, 2016). As a result, bullying in schools

has a statistically significant impact on the academic achievement of its victims. The more

pupils feel like they belong at their middle school, the better it will be for their learning

attitudes (Xu & Fang, 2021).

From psychologist’s point of view, not all teenagers engage in bullying for the same

reason, since this issue is complex and depends on the age of the student. They could engage

in bullying when faced with aggression in the home, including between siblings or adults

who use aggression to manage conflict (American Psychological Association, 2014).

Problems that are internal to the person, such as depression, anxiety, fear, and withdrawal

from social interactions, are examples of internalizing symptoms. Anger, aggression, conduct

issues, including a propensity for dangerous and impulsive behaviour, as well as criminal

behaviour, are examples of externalizing symptoms that indicate behaviour that is typically

directed outward against others (Sigurdson et al., 2015). For example, the study of Rueger et

al. (2011) studied the stability of peer victimization and the effects of the timing and duration

of victimization on psychological and academic results for boys and girls, by surveying 863

middle school children. The findings provided substantial evidence in favour of the onset

hypothesis as well as the concomitant impacts of maladjustment on anxiety, sadness, self-

esteem, a bad attitude toward school, GPA (grade point average), and attendance.

According to Evans et al. (2017) to deal with the stress brought on by bullying,

students employ a variety of emotion-oriented coping strategies (internal coping techniques

aimed at regulating emotions) and problem-oriented coping strategies (active behaviours

intended at minimizing or eliminating the stressor). These coping mechanisms include asking

for assistance, using physical and verbal force, defending oneself, and acting in a socially

responsible manner when bystanders. Additionally, some coping mechanisms, such as asking
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for assistance and acting aggressively both physically and verbally, are employed as both

emotional and problem-focused coping mechanisms. So, to help victims of verbal bullying

support of peers is vital, since it is valued by both mentees and mentors and is pivotal in

supporting students in promoting a sense of friendship, safety, belonging and protection,

while also building a sense of responsibility, satisfaction, and pride. Peer support has been

shown by research by Tzani-Pepelasi et al. (2019) to have a positive impact on children's

school experiences and wellbeing. To emphasize the buddy support method and shed light on

how beneficial it can be for both the young mentors and the mentees, this qualitative study set

out to collect data. In a series of semi-structured interviews, 29 participants-student mentees

(n = 19) and student mentors (n = 10) were asked open-ended questions about the success of

the "buddy method." According to the results, the buddy approach may be employed as an

intervention strategy for bullying in schools.

From school’s side, they can encourage educators to work with understudies at the

lesson level to create rules against bullying. Lock in understudies in an arrangement of formal

role-playing works out and related assignments and/or exercises. According to Perkins (2022)

these seem to incorporate appearing bullies' elective strategies of interaction or executing

agreeable learning exercises to decrease social separation. Expanding grown-up supervision

at key times (such as break or lunch) is another procedure.

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AIMS

The purposes of the research project are to examine the impact of school bullying

among teenagers and lack of intervention by teachers on victims’ academic performance in

Kazakhstan and identify the ways to help victims of this situation.

Therefore, in this research project researcher will focus on questions:

1.How verbal bullying among teenagers affects the academic performance of victim-

students in Kazakhstan?

2.What kind of support can be offered from teachers and psychologists to the victims of

verbal school bullying in Kazakhstan?

3.What kind of support can be offered from peers to the victims of verbal school

bullying in Kazakhstan?

As a result, impact of school bullying among teenagers and lack of intervention by

teachers on victims’ academic performance in Kazakhstan will be studied and the ways to

help victims of this situation will be identified. Also, a way of preventing school bullying will

be offered.
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METHODS

The influence of verbal school bullying among teenagers and teachers' lack of

action on victims' academic performance was studied in Kazakhstan using a variety of

approaches, including primary and secondary sources of data.

In terms of primary research, it was decided to use the qualitative research method to

focus on participants’ perceptions and experiences. According to Creswell (2014), qualitative

research enables the exploration and understanding of the interpretations and attributions of

significance that individuals or groups assign to social or human circumstances. Qualitative

research focuses on the process that is occurring as well as the product or outcome (Creswell,

2014), so the researcher was particularly interested in understanding verbal school bullying

and the lack of teachers’ intervention impact on the academic performance of the victims.

It was decided to conduct semi-structured and face-to-face interviews to gather some

qualitative data. Since bullying is a very sensitive topic for everyone, and in particular for

victims of bullying, it was crucial to conduct personal interviews with each of the participants

to maintain confidentiality and create a comfortable atmosphere between the interviewer and

interviewee. What is more, the semi-structured interview's main advantage is that it allows

for interviews to be directed while yet allowing the researcher latitude to explore relevant

ideas that may arise throughout the interview, which can further improve comprehension of

the pharmacy service being evaluated (Adeoye-Olatunde & Olenik, 2021). Overall, it has

been discovered that interviews help gain a wider understanding of how and why certain

things happen as well as what the opinions, motivations, interests, and emotions of the people

involved are. Conversations provided a quicker and less expensive means of gathering data.

The interviews provided an in-depth understanding of the research subject (Jain, 2021).
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The interview was conducted among two Kazakhstani students who have suffered

from verbal school bullying, two Kazakhstani teachers who have witnessed verbal school

bullying among teenagers, and one Kazakhstani school psychologist who works on stopping

and preventing (verbal) school bullying among teenagers. With the qualitative sampling

strategy known as "purposive sampling," researchers select participants and study sites with

an explicit goal of learning more or better comprehending the main phenomenon (Creswell,

2014). All interview participants were specially selected, as each of them had to meet certain

conditions. Victim students were chosen to get practical data about the impact of verbal

school bullying among teenagers on victims’ academic performance in Kazakhstan, as well

as the necessary support for victims. Teachers were chosen to get significant information on

the effect of teachers' need of mediation in verbal episodes of school bullying among youths

on victims’ scholastic execution. The psychologist was chosen to get useful data about

intervening in verbal school bullying among teenagers and the impact of it on the mental

condition of victim-students. In general, the interview consisted of 7-9 questions based on the

topic of verbal school bullying and was made in the most accurate way to get appropriate and

useful responses from the interviewees (see Appendix 1, 2, 3, 4, 5). The questions mainly

focused on:

 The prevalence of verbal school bullying among teenagers in Kazakhstan

 Impact of verbal school bullying on the Victim's academic performance

 Impact of verbal school bullying on the Victim's mental health

 Necessary support for the victim of verbal school bullying from classmates and

teachers

Each interview took approximately 7–10 minutes (see Appendix 1, 2, 3, 4, 5).

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Making an inviting environment and conducting interviews remained difficult. Not all

victims of bullying were willing to openly share their experiences, concerns, and challenges

because bullying is a very morally delicate and sensitive subject.

The interviews were recorded via audio, and the participants were informed that these

materials would be used for a class assignment, so it is impossible to ensure the

confidentiality of the recorded materials. However, with the help of the Informed Consent

Form the participants were assured that the audio recordings would not be used or disclosed

anywhere other than the GPPW class, which helped resolve privacy issues (see Appendix 1,

2, 3, 4, 5). Moreover, thanks to the Informed Consent Form (see Appendix 1, 2, 3, 4, 5),

interviewees were able to learn about their participant’s rights and were assured that they

could withdraw their consent or stop participating at any time without penalty, so they had

the right to refuse to answer certain questions.

This created a comfortable environment during the interview and at times when

victim-students found it difficult to answer, the interviewee took a short break to rest. In

addition, the researcher contacted at least 10 victims of bullying who were their former

classmates, but only two of them consented to be interviewed. They were unable to meet due

to studies and schedule differences, so the interview was conducted through Instagram, and

the victim students left voicemails with their responses. Additionally, because so many

teachers were unavailable due to class, it was difficult to locate those who would agree to be

interviewed, but the researcher was able to find two teachers by contacting them and finding

a time that is convenient for everyone and meet at the appointed time to conduct an interview.

The researcher encountered certain challenges and constraints when looking up

information online, which prolonged the process of acquiring relevant data. Since the

research covers mostly Kazakhstani students’, and teachers’ experiences, there is not so much
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information about the impact of school bullying on students’ academic performance. So,

finding accurate and dependable sources on the research topic among students was quite

problematic. To avoid difficulties and limitations, the data was taken from reliable websites

and databases. For example, a strongly reliable source — American Psychological

Association’s official website — was used where the researcher found an opinion of Dorothy

Espelage (Ph.D., a professor of child development in the Department of Educational

Psychology at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign) on the topic of bullying

prevention. So, the researcher searched for well-known and reliable websites where the

authors of the articles are able to know what they are talking about, for other types of data

like scientific research, Google Scholar was used since this web search engine is regarded as

a good additional source of proof (Gusenbauer & Haddaway, 2020), so academic sources

taken from there is considered as reliable.

The information gathered from the interviews, which served as the main information

source, was crucial in examining the effects of teen bullying at school and the absence of

teacher intervention on victims' academic success in Kazakhstan and determining how to

assist those affected. In the conversations, solutions for preventing bullying at school were

also provided. For around two months, as a secondary source, scientific articles on the

internet about the effects of teen bullying at school and the lack of teacher intervention on

victims' academic performance, as well as earlier research on the prevalence of teen bullying

in Kazakhstan, were examined. It offered dependable, current, and accurate information

about the subject. Five days were spent conducting interviews to gather qualitative data for

the primary research.

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RESULTS

The researcher conducted 5 interviews with 2 victim-students, 2 teachers, and 1

psychologist on the topic of the impact of verbal school bullying among teenagers on victims’

academic performance in Kazakhstan. All the interviewees agreed that verbal bullying is a

very serious problem. For example, as victim-student 1 says, “As a rule, I believe that at least

one-tenth of all students are victims of bullying”. Moreover, victim-student 2’s opinion is

similar, as they say, “There is a lot of malice in today's children”. These results correspond to

Galeyeva’s (2021) finding that in Kazakhstan, verbal bullying – insults, threats, and

disrespectful comments – is the most common type of bullying.

From the primary research, it was found that verbal bullying has negative effects on

the mental health and academic performance of the victims since they often receive unfair

treatment and bad grades from teachers. For example, as victim-student 1 says, “If it wasn't

for the contemptuous attitude of my classmates towards me, I would not have had bad grades,

which in other circumstances could easily have been A's”. Furthermore, as victim-student 2

says, “All my thoughts during school time were mostly fixated on bullying, which hindered

my growth and academic success”. Teachers also agree with this, as their opinions sound like

this: “We do a lot of group work and pair work at the school and students may not work with

others, they may not cooperate. Their grades can go down if they don’t feel comfortable with

other people they have to work with” and “When a person is in a state of discomfort when

they are oppressed and insulted, they hardly think much about how successful they are in

school, they care very little about that. Because a teenager in these circumstances also needs

to survive”. This finding supports the results of Al-Raqqad et al.’s (2017) study, which found

that most of the teachers believed verbal school bullying creates a negative environment and

is the reason for poor exam results. The lack of emotional support and understanding from

both teachers and peers can also have a significant impact on the well-being and academic
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success of students who experience verbal school bullying. This finding supports the results

of Huang’s (2022) study which has shown that both bullying victimization and bullying

climate had significant and negative relationships with students in science, math, and reading

achievement. In addition, Adams, and Hannum’s (2016) research reinforces the findings of

the researcher since they found that bullied students experience increased isolation and loss,

which lowers their satisfaction with school life.

It was found from primary research that teachers have a crucial role in preventing and

addressing bullying, and they should take an active role in interrupting the bullying process

and trying to bring the participants to a compromise. As how psychologist says, “When the

teacher is not involved in the bullying process, the victim may feel lonely, the child may have

a feeling of hopelessness”, non-interference from teachers can have a severe impact on the

victim's mental state, leading to insecurity and affecting academic performance. Interestingly,

victim-student 1 mentioned, that: “Usually, the objects of bullying are appointed by the

teachers themselves, and not by children or teenagers. In bullying, I think it is the teachers

who are most to blame, because, as it seems to me, they support bullying the most”. Teachers

should support the victim by showing them that they are protected and explaining what steps

will be taken. As victim-student 2 thinks, “I would like to receive such support from teachers,

when they just pat on the head and say: “Everything will be fine in the future, don't worry,

let's talk to you about this topic, let's discuss this problem with your classmates,” so that they

hold a certain session with my classmates, and they understand that it is at least disrespectful

to bully others”. They should also set clear rules for respect and provide support to victims,

such as anonymity and access to psychological services. For example, as teacher 1 thinks,

“Every teacher needs to know the school’s algorithm and school’s policies and procedures. A

teacher is irresponsible if they don’t know who the student’s curator is, or we have

psychologists if they don’t know that we have other people who can help students. A
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teacher’s answer can never be: “I don’t know what to do” because there are documents that

tell the teacher what to do”. Teachers recommend that schools have policies and

consequences for bullies, involve parents in discussions, and address cyberbullying. As

teacher 1 mentioned, “If someone is a bully, the school has to have consequences that go up

to being removed from school. There has to be some type of cooperation at home, you [a

teacher] have to have some connections with parents, or relatives to discuss. We shouldn’t let

teenagers bully other teenagers online”. Moreover, they need to carry out activities aimed at

strengthening student relationships in the classroom and contact the curator in case of

bullying. This finding supports the result of Boulton's (2011) study which examined that

approximately 90 percent of teachers felt responsible for preventing bullying in the classroom

than outside the school. Moreover, the Perkins study (2022) also confirms the above

conclusions, as it found that teachers should work with students at the lesson level to create

rules prohibiting bullying and involving students in organizing formal role-playing games

and related tasks and/or exercises, as they appear to be related with the strategies of

interaction chosen by bullies or performing pleasant training exercises to reduce social

division.

The researcher’s primary research has shown that to prevent and interrupt verbal

school bullying, retaliatory pressure on aggressors and a shift in cultural attitudes towards

bullying are necessary. For instance, as victim-student 1 thinks, “Verbal bullying in schools

can only be prevented by retaliatory pressure on aggressors. We need to show these teenagers

what it's like to be in the shoes of a victim. This needs to be done on an adequate scale so that

these jokes do not switch to reverse bullying”. The research findings suggest that a lack of

emotional support and understanding from both teachers and peers can have a significant

impact on the well-being and academic success of students who experience verbal school

bullying. As teacher 2 says, “All problems are truly solved when they are solved together;
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adults, teenagers, victims, aggressors — they should work altogether”. In this case,

psychologists should conduct preventive work against bullying with students, defining the

roles of bullying and its consequences, and what kind of help a victim of bullying can get

from psychologists.

It was also found from primary research that non-bully classmates have a

responsibility to take the correct and honest decision of stopping the bullying rather than

ignoring it. As a psychologist says, “Classmates need to psychologically help the victim. That

is, to express sympathy and support”. Moreover, as victim-student 1 mentions “I would like

to get just protection from them”. This finding supports the inference of Evans et. al.’s (2017)

study which revealed that the support of peers is vital for victims of verbal bullying, since it

promotes a sense of friendship, safety, belonging, and protection, while also building a sense

of responsibility, satisfaction, and pride. It was also discovered that students of the class must

learn to take care of each other and show their feelings, and the curator should hold events

that will strengthen the relationship between the students of the class. For example, as a

psychologist says, “On the part of the curator, it is necessary to hold events that will

strengthen the relationship between the students of this class. Go somewhere with the class,

spend time together outside of school, and play games”.

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CONCLUSION

In terms of the impact of verbal school bullying among teenagers on the academic

performance of victim students in Kazakhstan, this study suggests that teenage verbal school

bullying significantly lowers the academic achievement of victim students in Kazakhstan.

Teachers frequently treat victims unfairly and give them low ratings, which hinders their

academic achievement. When a student is being bullied, learners may find it difficult to

cooperate and work well in groups. Furthermore, a decline in well-being and academic

achievement might result from a lack of emotional support and understanding from both

teachers and peers. Bullying victimization and atmosphere have a large and unfavorable

impact on students' performance in science, math, and reading. Bullying can also worsen

feelings of loss and loneliness, which lowers pupils' contentment with school.

In terms of support that can be offered by teachers and psychologists to the victims of

verbal school bullying in Kazakhstan, this study suggests that teachers and psychologists can

offer various kinds of support to victim students. Firstly, teachers should take an active role

in interrupting the bullying process and trying to bring the participants to a compromise.

They should also set clear rules for respect and provide support to victims, such as anonymity

and access to psychological services. Teachers recommend that schools have policies and

consequences for bullies, involve parents in discussions, and address cyberbullying.

Moreover, educators need to carry out activities aimed at strengthening student relationships

in the classroom and contact the tutor in case of bullying. Psychologists should conduct

preventive work against bullying with students, defining the roles of bullying and its

consequences and offering help to victims.

In terms of support that can be offered by peers to the victims of verbal school bullying

in Kazakhstan, this study suggests that peers can offer emotional support to victims by
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expressing sympathy and support. Non-bully classmates should take the responsibility of

stopping the bullying and not ignore it. Support from peers promotes a sense of friendship,

safety, belonging, and protection, while also building a sense of responsibility, satisfaction,

and pride. Students in the class need to learn how to look out for one another and express

their emotions, and the tutor should host activities that will improve the relationships among

the students. Tutors can organize activities that will allow the class to socialize and play

games together outside of the classroom, which can improve the mood of the group.

To conclude, the answer to the main research question “How have verbal school

bullying among teenagers and lack of intervention by teachers affected victims’ academic

performance in Kazakhstan? What kind of support do victims need?” is the academic

performance of victims of verbal bullying at school is significantly impacted in Kazakhstan,

and the issue is made worse by teachers' lack of intervention. To solve the issue, victims need

active teacher intervention, unambiguous respect guidelines, access to psychological

therapies, parental involvement, and peer support.

It is important to note that the findings of this research cannot be generalized due to

the small sample size of only 5 people being interviewed. To improve the research, it would

be beneficial to conduct a larger-scale study involving a larger sample size of students,

teachers, psychologists, and other stakeholders. This would provide a more comprehensive

understanding of the impact of verbal school bullying on academic performance in

Kazakhstan and the effectiveness of interventions. Additionally, using mixed methods, such

as surveys and observations, could provide a more in-depth and holistic perspective on the

issue. Moreover, including diverse perspectives, such as those of parents, school

administrators, and policymakers, would provide a more comprehensive picture of the

situation and potential solutions.

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Adeoye-Olatunde, O. A., & Olenik, N. L. (2021). Research and scholarly methods: Semi‐

structured interviews. JACCP: Journal of the American College of Clinical

Pharmacy, 4(10), 1358–1367. https://doi.org/10.1002/jac5.1441

Al-Raqqad, H. K., Al-Bourini, E. S., Al Talahin, F. M., & Aranki, R. M. E. (2017). The

Impact of School Bullying on Students' Academic Achievement from Teachers Point

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on Gender, Gang and Family. Jurnal Ners, 12(1), 126–132.

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and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 34(6), 543–555. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-

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26

APPENDIX 1

Interview Protocol Form

Date: 02.03.2023

Time: 19/10

Location: Aktobe, Kazakhstan.

Interviewer: Koptleuova Dana

Interviewee: Victim-student 1

Notes to interviewee:

• Thank you for your participation. I believe your input will be valuable to this research.

• The interview will be audio recorded. The interview took about 15 minutes; 6 major

questions were asked.

Transcript

Q: How common is verbal school bullying among secondary school students?

A: In every class there is a person who is bullied. As a rule, I believe that at least one tenth of

all students are victims of bullying. This problem concerns not only schools, but also all

educational institutions where children and adolescents are located. But schools are more

hamstrung by this because students spend most of their day there. Usually, the objects of

bullying are appointed by the teachers themselves, and not by children or teenagers. In

bullying, I think it is the teachers who are most to blame, because, as it seems to me, they

support bullying the most.

Q: Have verbal bullying affected your mental condition (self-esteem, etc.)?

27

A: Yes, it did. For example, I have dermatilomania and an eating disorder appeared precisely

because of bullying. ED is, it seems to me, the most common thing that occurs among the

victims of bullying. By the way, experts call dermatillomania obsessive behavior directed at

the skin: scratching wounds, squeezing out inflammation, combing skin irregularities, tearing

off burrs, biting lips and cheeks from the inside.

Q: Have verbal school bullying affected your academic performance?

A: It affected my academic performance, because, at least, I skipped lessons in the 11th grade

for at least six months because I was sitting next to the person who bullied me the most.

Moreover, even if I and other students had the same answers in homework, they wrote

"wrong" in my notebook, since I was a kind of whipping toy. That is, the teachers in the

classroom supported this general bullying in my direction and were ready to turn a blind eye

to such dubious moments when, with a perfectly completed task, only because of the

exclamations of my classmates, they gave me "unsatisfactory" even, in principle, without

understanding whether this was really the case. And so, once I had seven bad grades at the

end of the quarter, which is why I was given a "three" in the certificate. My other points of

view in my essays were ridiculed, it was so that my essays were regularly read by teachers in

front of the whole class to stupidly scold along with the students. If it wasn't for the

contemptuous attitude of my classmates towards me, I would not have had bad grades, which

in other circumstances could easily have been A's.

Q: What kind of support did you want to receive from teachers?

A: At that point, I just wanted the teachers to treat me the same way they treated other

students. That is, if I came to school in a black shirt, the teachers kicked me out of class

immediately, although 10 more girls with loose hair and jeans were sitting in the classroom. I

was constantly being picked on. Therefore, for me, the word teacher and support are simply
28

incompatible - I can't even imagine them supporting me. But let me imagine my friend from

another class, who was also a victim of bullying, getting support from teachers. In this case, I

probably would like teachers to put their abusers in their place, because in this way they

could regulate bullying in the classroom.

Q: What kind of support did you want to receive from your non-bully classmates?

A: I would like to get just protection from them. For example, when I was insulted for my

weight, I would like my classmates to respond to my abuser, something like: "hey, man, have

you even seen yourself in the mirror? You're twice as fat as she is. who would talk about

weight here."

Q: How can verbal school bullying among teenagers be prevented?

A: Verbal bullying in schools can only be prevented by retaliatory pressure on aggressors.

We need to show these teenagers what it's like to be in the shoes of a victim. It is necessary to

make a fashion for jokes, that is, to start ridiculing the aggressors, so that everyone

understands that being an aggressor is not cool at all, but on the contrary, it is even shameful.
29

But of course, this needs to be done on an adequate scale so that these jokes do not switch to

reverse bullying.

APPENDIX 2

Interview Protocol Form

Research Question: How have verbal school bullying among teenagers and lack of

intervention by teachers affected victims’ academic performance in Kazakhstan? What kind

of support do victims need?

Date: 27.02.2023

Time: 15/40

Location: Aktobe, Kazakhstan.

Interviewer: Koptleuova Dana

Interviewee: Victim-student 2

Notes to interviewee:

• Thank you for your participation. I believe your input will be valuable to this research.

• The interview will be audio recorded. The interview took about 15 minutes; 6 major

questions were asked.

Transcript

Q: How common is verbal school bullying among secondary school students?

A: I believe that very much. Especially here in Kazakhstan. Of course, I cannot speak for

other countries, as I have no experience of studying there. There is a lot of malice in today's

children.
30

Q: Have verbal bullying affected your mental condition (self-esteem, etc.)?

A: Yes, very much. When I was in high school, I weighed 80 kilograms and there were

pimples on my face, so I was bullied very much, the teenagers around me told me: "you don't

suit us, we don't want to communicate with you, because you look like this." I have heard this

from both girls and boys, and it has greatly affected my self-esteem, my perception and

acceptance of myself, and my love for myself. I didn't accept myself for a very long time and

because of this it was difficult psychologically.

Q: Have verbal school bullying affected your academic performance?

A: All my thoughts during school time were mostly fixated on bullying, which hindered my

growth and academic success. I just couldn't concentrate on my studies and the teachers were

unhappy with my absent-mindedness.

Q: What kind of support did you want to receive from teachers?

A: I would like to receive such support from teachers, well, you know, as if support from my

mother. So that they just pat on the head and say: "everything will be fine in the future, don't

worry, let's talk to you about this topic, let's discuss this problem with your classmates," so

that they hold a certain session with my classmates, and they understand that it is at least

disrespectful to bully others.

Q: What kind of support did you want to receive from your non-bully classmates?

A: I would like my classmates to just ask me, "How are you? How is your condition? What

happened to you?" so that they would cheer me up. It's just that a little child support would

have really saved me a few years ago in moral terms.

Q: How verbal school bullying among teenagers can be prevented?

31

A: It is just necessary for adults to communicate more with students, to be interested in their

affairs. Teenagers themselves are very closed, for example, my younger sister is also a

teenager, and it is sometimes quite problematic to find out how she is doing, but when she

starts talking, everything just pours out of her, and she sincerely shares her problems. At such

moments, it is important to make sure that the teenager knows that you can help them solve

these problems. To do this, you just need to ask: "Do you need help? How can I help you?".

Adults need to take the first steps, because it's all about understatement. People hurt each

other for a reason, right? It would also be cool to take classes like "an hour with a

psychologist" to schools, where students together can discuss collective problems that arise in

their classroom together with a psychologist and teacher or conduct such classes individually

with each student at least once every two weeks so that any teenager knows that they can get

help from a professional.

32

APPENDIX 3

Interview Protocol Form

Research Question: How have verbal school bullying among teenagers and lack of

intervention by teachers affected victims’ academic performance in Kazakhstan? What kind

of support do victims need?

Date: 27.02.2023

Time: 14/25

Location: Aktobe, Kazakhstan.

Interviewer: Koptleuova Dana

Interviewee: Teacher 1

Notes to interviewee:

• Thank you for your participation. I believe your input will be valuable to this research.

• The interview will be audio recorded. The interview took about 10 minutes; 7 major

questions were asked.

Transcript

Q: How often do you witness verbal school bullying among teenagers? Is it a serious

problem in Kazakhstan?

A: At my school, I don’t see a lot in a very what I call direct manner but like any place

teenagers maybe make fun of each other or laugh at each other so a lot of it is determined by

your definition of bullying so I would say in my school it’s not a very big problem, I think
33

with teenagers it always exists. I think it’s a serious problem in Kazakhstan and around the

world because it does affect the emotional health of children.

Q: What measures have you taken to interrupt the bullying process?

A: I think it comes from my classroom teaching. Right at the beginning of every class, I will

tell students that the number one rule is to respect each other. For example, if students are

presenting something or giving a speech, or giving a talk, my rule is don’t talk when other

people are talking and don’t laugh at someone when they make mistake. So, it’s not so much

as interrupting the process it’s that from the beginning I let students know that laughing at

each other or making fun of each other is not acceptable.

Q: In your point of view, how a teacher's lack of intervention in the bullying process can

affect the victim's mental condition?

A: That’s a great question. Very seriously I think if a student feels that they are in an

environment where there’s no control, where there’s nobody who’s going to control the

atmosphere and they think that they’re helpless it could have negative serious negative

effects on their mentality they can lose sleep it can worsen their grades but most important is

that they spend 8-9 hours at school so they can feel almost like the place they go every day is

very scary so teachers not controlling the environment can be devastating to children

Q: What is your opinion on the impact of verbal school bullying on the academic

performance of victim-students?

A: I think it can affect people very badly. One of the things we see is we do a lot of group

work and pair work at the school and students may not work with others they may not

cooperate. So absolutely their grades can go down if they don’t feel comfortable with other

people they have to work with.

34

Q: What kind of support can be provided to victims of verbal school bullying from

teachers?

A: Every teacher needs to know the school’s algorithm and school’s policies and procedures.

For example, at my school, we have a very long policy of 56 pages about child protection and

there is an exact system of support. So, the first thing is the teacher must know who is in the

building. For example, a teacher is irresponsible if they don’t know who student’s curator is,

or we have psychologists if they don’t know that we have other people who can help

students. So as a professional every teacher must know their school policy, they must read

their school policy. A teacher’s answer can never be: “I don’t know what to do” because

there are documents, that tell the teacher what to do.

Q: What kind of support do the victims need to receive from their non-bully

classmates?

A: First, anonymity. What I mean is that, if a student reports an incident, then they need to

know that if they don’t want that told to other students it has to be kept secret. Now as

someone under 18 legally the school should tell their parents, but it wouldn’t be a situation if

one student reports to me that they don’t feel safe I can’t go to class and stand and say: “hey,

she doesn’t feel safe!”. You know, that’s going to be ridiculous and unprofessional! So, the

main support they need will be anonymity if they want. So, anything they say is kept

confidential and followed by professional standards. The second support is a school

psychologist and psychological support. The school must also make connections with

community providers. So, say if what we have at school is not enough, we need to know who

we can call or refer the student to give further help.

Q: How verbal school bullying among teenagers can be prevented?

35

A: I think it’s 3 rules: 1) school has to have policy and procedures. If someone is a bully, the

school has to have consequences that go up to being removed from school. So there has to be

punishment for bullies. Second, there must be some type of cooperation at home, because

usually, if you find students that are bullies, they may have a problem at home. So, you must

have some connections with parents, or relatives to discuss. Third, we usually don’t think

about this: cyberbullying. We have to adapt to the 21st century and shouldn’t let teenagers

learn about these bullying methods via social media and bully other teenagers online.
36

APPENDIX 4

Interview Protocol Form

Research Question: How have verbal school bullying among teenagers and lack of

intervention by teachers affected victims’ academic performance in Kazakhstan? What kind

of support do victims need?

Date: 28.02.2023

Time: 14/10

Location: Aktobe, Kazakhstan.

Interviewer: Koptleuova Dana

Interviewee: Teacher 2

Notes to interviewee:

• Thank you for your participation. I believe your input will be valuable to this research.

• The interview will be audio recorded. The interview took about 10 minutes; 7 major

questions were asked.

Transcript

Q: How often do you witness verbal school bullying among teenagers? Is it a serious

problem in Kazakhstan?

A: I will start from the end of the question, I think that in Kazakhstan, as in many countries,

this is a serious problem. By a happy coincidence, there is less of this in our school, but by

communicating with colleagues working in secondary schools, I know that this is a very

serious problem. Well, my experience of previous work in various educational institutions

suggests that verbal bullying takes place in a variety of manifestations. There is no bullying
37

in our school, although I said earlier that this kind of bullying cannot always be expressed

even in words and sometimes in some looks, smirks, and glances. A person can feel such

serious pressure even under such techniques. I believe that girls can do it in class. I think that

of course, bullying is present.

Q: What measures have you taken to interrupt the bullying process?

A: First, let's start with the fact that there is, unfortunately, a category of people who are very

active in this regard, and there is a category among adults, let's say, less active.

Unfortunately, I observe cases when bovver takes place at school, even all kinds of obscene

language coming up from mouths of teenagers or something else, elderly people just don't

want to waste their time, energy, and nerves and sometimes try to avoid the situation

pretending that this is not happening. This is happening, and if you constantly turn a blind eye

to it, it will progress more and more. Therefore, regarding bullying, we have not had to

observe such situations in our school recently, but when such cases occurred, of course, I

suspended them very actively. As a rule, in this case, it is necessary not just to disperse the

participants, but to try to bring them together to some kind of compromise. Somehow try to

solve this situation without letting it develop further.

Q: In your point of view, how a teacher's lack of intervention in the bullying process can

affect the victim's mental condition?

A: Just now I said, this is the teacher's non-interference, there is an expression: "all the most

heinous things are done with something tacit consent." Bullying is one of the most heinous

phenomena in school life in general. And if the teacher shows non-interference, I believe that

this is even more of a crime than bullying itself. Well, this can affect the further fate of the

student in any way. If the teacher sees and does not solve this situation in any way, the

victim, as we call it, gradually develops a feeling of absolute insecurity. Because any student
38

still hopes that an adult who is present will support him, and he will receive at least some

protection. And non-interference, for me, will further aggravate this situation with bullying.

Q: What is your opinion on the impact of verbal school bullying on the academic

performance of victim-students?

A: Of course, this has a huge impact because when a person is in a state of moral discomfort,

when they are oppressed and insulted, or they simply tolerate all kinds of manifestations of

verbal bullying, they hardly think much about how successful they are in school, they care

very little about that. Because a teenager in these circumstances also needs to survive.

Therefore, it has the maximum effect on the academic performance of the victim.

Q: What kind of support can be provided to victims of verbal school bullying from

teachers?

A: The teacher must show the student that they are protected. Here it is important to morally

support the victims of bullying, maybe even hug them, pat on kids’ head so that the student

begins to feel comfortable and gently explain to them what will happen next. That is, to tell

them a kind of plan: to discuss this incident in class, then call parents to school, talk to a

psychologist. The teacher must mentally prepare the student for what they will have to face

later.

Q: What kind of support do the victims need to receive from their non-bully

classmates?

A: If there is such a thing as bullying in the classroom, there are some teenagers who do not

participate in it, right? Here they can choose one out of two positions. The first is to "pretend

that nothing is happening because it is not my business", the second, more human, more

correct, and honest decision is to try to stop this bullying. Always, after all, the person who is

the aggressor is not the strongest or smartest person in the classroom team. That is, well,
39

there is always a person in the class who is morally stronger, physically stronger, in the end.

A person who can say his weighty word, say: "stop, don't do it"; just shame, or stop more

harshly. Non—interference on the part of classmates is even worse than bullying because

bullying is always not the smartest, he is asserting himself at the expense of others, and this is

already a sign of carelessness. And those who agree with him, at least in not opposing it, are

even more stupid people. These are not stupid, but rather dishonest people.

Q: How verbal school bullying among teenagers can be prevented?

A: It's such a complicated thing, but it can be suspended. I know only one thing, a ll problems

are truly solved when they are solved together; adults, teenagers, victims, aggressors — they should

work altogether If someone is alone, if this victim is trying to change something herself,

nothing will work. It is only important not to agree with bullying. Do not accept this at the

level of the entire school community. After all, we are human beings. You can always talk,

but another thing is how much people hear each other. This is necessary, as they say, by daily

work on yourself, on your environment. Only work, work, and work again can help.
40

APPENDIX 5

Interview Protocol Form

Research Question: How have verbal school bullying among teenagers and lack of

intervention by teachers affected victims’ academic performance in Kazakhstan? What kind

of support do victims need?

Date: 28.02.2023

Time: 21/20

Location: Aktobe, Kazakhstan.

Interviewer: Koptleuova Dana

Interviewee: Psychologist

Notes to interviewee:

• Thank you for your participation. I believe your input will be valuable to this research.

• The interview will be audio recorded. The interview took about 30 minutes; 8 major

questions were asked.

Transcript

Q: What is verbal school bullying?

A: Overall, I think your topic is very relevant. In our society, the problem of bullying takes

on a very broad picture. That is, a group of people does bad things to one person. There are

many types of bullying, for example, verbal bullying is abusing a person by raising his voice,

saying bad things that humiliate his dignity, spreading false gossip from the outside, and

saying rude things.

41

Q: How common is verbal school bullying among secondary school students?

A: Verbal bullying among schoolchildren and adolescents is very common and in a complex

form. For example, sometimes it can be done by a directly oriented society, or there is an

ironic principle of “jokes” that exists among teenagers. Even though it seems to people that

they do not cause harm, some consequences can lead to mental trauma. Sometimes some

students turn others into victims of verbal bullying. There are many reasons, and each

teenager has different ones. It may be based on the situation, it may be related to the social

environment, it may be related to family relationships, it may be related to the predominance

of aggressive qualities in the child, and if you continue, there are many reasons. Teenagers do

not know how to build relationships, so young people cannot properly show leadership and

empathize with and support each other. In addition, when a child who was previously in the

role of a victim moves to another school, in a new environment, they can become an

aggressor there.

Q: What are the mental consequences of verbal bullying for the victim?

A: There are a lot of consequences. Firstly, a student may not want to go to school, because a

person can tolerate such pressure from aggressors. Secondly, the child may not be interested

in anything and does not want to talk to anyone. Third, psychosomatic diseases may cause

headaches, etc. Sometimes students may not go to school under the pretext that they are sick.

That is, it may be because he does not want to show his weakness. The victim's self-

confidence is lost, and she may begin to blame herself: “I don't need society.”

Q: What measures have you taken to interrupt the bullying process?

A: Psychologists carry out preventive work against bullying with grades 7–9, we explain the

differences between conflict and bullying, define the roles in bullying and its consequences,

tell what kind of help a victim of bullying can get from psychologists, and what responsibility
42

bullying aggressors will be brought. We work based on demand, we discuss the issue together

with all members of the bullying process, and parents of students, if a request is received

from a teacher, a student, a class, or a curator about a bullying problem. We also have a trust

box at the school, students can ask for help by leaving letters to psychologists, both

anonymously and not anonymously.

Q: In your point of view, how can a teacher's lack of intervention in the bullying process

affect the victim?

A: In the process of bullying, the participation of adults is necessary since it will not resolve

itself. When the teacher is not involved in the bullying process, the victim may feel lonely,

the child may have a feeling of hopelessness. Because the teacher does not interfere in this

process, the student begins to blame himself, feeling unprotected: “I am to blame for being in

such a situation, I could not protect myself.”

Q: What kind of support do the victims need to receive from teachers?

A: I believe that the teacher needs to carry out activities aimed at strengthening student

relationships in the classroom. In case of bullying, a teacher needs to contact the curator and

explain everything. And the bullying that occurred during the lesson, the teacher should be

able to stop. Because if the teacher turns a blind eye to such a problem, it can lead to a

broader problem.

Q: What kind of support do the victims need to receive from classmates?

A: Classmates need to psychologically help the victim. That is, to express sympathy and

support. In addition, in general, the bullying process in the classroom should be stopped.

Because the voice of one will not be heard, and when classmates are all against it, we can be

sure that this issue will not only be resolved but will not happen in the future.
43

Q: How can verbal school bullying among teenagers be prevented?

A: General bullying cannot be avoided. Since we live in a society, such things have existed,

exist, and will happen in the future. But there are ways to stop bullying. First, the students of

the class must learn to take care of each other, to show their feelings. If the aggressor is

restrained by the students of the class, he will not be able to act alone. On the part of the

curator, it is necessary to hold events that will strengthen the relationship between the

students of this class. Go somewhere with the class, spend time together outside of school,

and play games.