Advocate for Policy: Education

Bullying is becoming a significant issue that should be addressed especially in schools. To implement an anti-bullying policy in her schools, there are several aspects that Amy needs to consider. The purpose of the anti-bullying policy is to create a respectful and safe environment in school and address all types of bullying (Gower, Cousin & Borowsky, 2017). The policy should clearly outline the steps that will be taken when the school administration is informed about bullying activities in school, effective strategies for dealing with the behavior, and the support that will be provided by the school to all involved students. The policy should also be implemented in consultation with the community around the school, should be effectively communicated and frequently reviewed. While developing the policy, Amy should ensure that it includes a nationally agreed meaning of bullying. Information on how the school is actively working to prevent bullying and how it builds a positive culture should be included in the policy (Salimi et al., 2021). Along with the school coordination, the local government, and other students, Amy should ensure that the policy includes the provision of counseling, mediation, and peer support for victims of bullying and bullies in school. With all these aspects in place, the school administration can implement the policy and communicate to every school member.

One practice skill that the social worker could use to help Amy is advocacy. Advocacy is critical to Amy’s antibullying efforts in her school, the community around her, and the entire nation (Gower, Cousin & Borowsky, 2017). The social worker should participate in the efforts of tightening Amy’s proposed antibullying policy. She can create physical resources such as commercials, posters, pamphlets, and radio ads to create awareness concerning bullying. The social worker should advocate Amy’s policy to the state government as a way of seeking support for the implementation of the policy. She can also help in promoting antibullying initiatives and raise awareness concerning the policy.

While trying to implement the anti-bullying policy, Amy might encounter some problems. One of the major problems she might encounter is the limits to the implementation of the policy by the school administration. The school curriculum demands to limit time to provide training, prompt responses, and implementation of anti-bullying policies (Salimi et al., 2021). Also, she might encounter a lack of support from some school administrators, ambivalent colleagues, uncooperative teachers, and a lack of enough evidence. New initiatives in the school may also implement the policy challenge. Dealing with bullying especially with less training and limited time can significantly compromise the implementation process and increase emotional exhaustion.

What Amy can do to deal with these limitations is to modify the antibullying policy and implement the critical components of the policy as curriculum and time demand allow her. School administrators and the local government seek more than basic information concerning the policy before approving implementation. Providing enough information concerning the policy will behoove the local government and the school administration to allow for the implementation of the policy (Gower, Cousin & Borowsky, 2017). Also, Amy should improve her relationship with her colleagues and use persuasion to gain support from other students. The policy should have prevention and intervention strategies that focus on non-threatening confrontation and a better teacher-student relationship. This will help in developing an open environment for communication about the policy.

References

Gower, A. L., Cousin, M., & Borowsky, I. W. (2017). A multilevel, statewide investigation of school district Anti‐Bullying policy quality and student bullying involvement. Journal of school health, 87(3), 174-181.

Salimi, N., Karimi-Shahanjarin, A., Rezapur-Shahkolai, F., Hamzeh, B., Roshanaei, G., & Babamiri, M. (2021). Use of a Mixed-Methods Approach to Evaluate the Implementation of Violence and Bullying Prevention Programs in Schools. Education and Urban Society, 53(6), 607-628.