Essi-Lotta Tenhunen
Transferring a victim of school bullying to a new school is often a debated practice in public discourse, raising questions such as, “Why should the victim have to switch schools?” and “Shouldn’t the bully be required to change schools?”
Although these are reasonable questions, the simple answer is that, in most cases, the decision to transfer is made by the victim’s parents. Since parents naturally prioritize their child’s safety and well-being, moving their child to a new school can sometimes be seen as the quickest or most straightforward solution to a difficult situation.
Given that changing schools is a common, though controversial, solution to end persistent bullying victimization, we sought to evaluate its effectiveness based on statistical evidence.
“Should They Stay or Should They Go?” – What Does Prior Research Suggest?
Since previous research on the subject is quite mixed, it was difficult to hypothesize how transferring to a new school would affect bullied children.
Based on previous studies, we know that peer victimization often remains relatively stable from one peer group to another (Salmivalli, 1998), suggesting that changing schools does not actually stop the bullying. In addition to this, our recent study revealed that newcomers report slightly higher rates of victimization after changing classrooms or schools compared to established (i.e., pre-existing) students (Tenhunen et al., 2024), which raises doubts about the effectiveness of school changes in stopping bullying.
On the other hand, according to gradual cognitive changes – a phenomenon where classmates’ perceptions of the victim evolve over time, potentially leading to sustained or intensified bullying – victimization may continue or even worsen if the context remains the same (e.g., Olweus, 1978); this suggests that changing schools might benefit victims of peer bullying by disrupting these entrenched negative perceptions and dynamics. In the best-case scenario, a student could escape victimization and start fresh in a new peer group, one that fosters a new perception of the student and reduces the likelihood of continued victimization.
Can Changing Schools Help Peer Victimized Students Escape Their Plight?
In our study, we exploratorily investigated this issue using a large dataset of 58,700 Finnish school students from grades 4th to 9th.
The results showed that the link between changing schools and peer victimization in new school depends on the student’s peer victimization history (i.e., how often they were bullied at their previous school).
Newcomers who experienced the most persistent bullying, ones with a “constant” peer victimization history, at their previous school reported less victimization compared to students who had been similarly bullied but stayed in the same classroom. Although the moderation was found in both age groups, it was stronger among elementary school students.
The trend was consistently found among “almost constantly” victimized students in elementary school sample, while in middle school sample, the peer victimization level remained the same whether they had switched to a new school or not.
| Elementary school sample n=33,377 |
| Middle school sample n=25,323 |
Conclusions
The findings of our study suggest that changing schools can be a valid option for students who have experienced persistent peer victimization. However, it should not be considered the primary solution for addressing bullying.
The most effective way to address bullying is to intervene immediately at its onset (Salmivalli, 2003), aiming to resolve the situation within the school where it first emerged. Changing schools should only be considered if local interventions fail, particularly in cases where victimization has been constant or almost constant among elementary school students.
Further research is needed to evaluate whether changing schools benefits former victims in the long run and to assess the potential risks if victimization continues in the new classroom. For example, future studies should evaluate whether being victimized by different peers in a new school could be more harmful than facing victimization from the same peers in one school?
Essi-Lotta Tenhunen is a doctoral researcher in the INVEST Research Flagship Centre.
Blog is based on a study:
Tenhunen, E. L., Kuusiaho, I. L., & Salmivalli, C. (in press). Can Changing Schools Help Victimized Students Escape Their Plight? A Mixed Methods Study. International Journal of Behavioral Development.
References:
Olweus, D. (1978). Aggression in the schools: Bullies and whipping boys. Hemisphere.
Salmivalli, C. (2003) Koulukiusaamiseen puuttuminen. Kohti tehokkaita toimintamalleja. Jyväskylä: PS-kustannus.
Salmivalli, C., Lappalainen, M., & Lagerspetz, K. (1998). Stability and change of behavior in connection with bullying in schools: A two-year follow-up. Aggressive Behavior, 24(3), 205–218.
Tenhunen, E. L., Kuusiaho, I. L., & Salmivalli, C. (in press). Can Changing Schools Help Victimized Students Escape Their Plight? A Mixed Methods Study. International Journal of Behavioral Development.
Tenhunen, E. L., Malamut, S., McMullin, P., Turunen, T., Yanagida, T., & Salmivalli, C. (2024). Entering the Classroom: Do Newcomers Experience More Peer Victimization than Their Established Peers? Research on child and adolescent psychopathology, 10.1007/s10802-024-01225-6. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-024-01225-6
