Teacher Opinions on Peer Bullying During the Preschool Period

The purpose of this research is to examine preschool teachers’ opinions on peer bullying. The study group consists of 18 preschool teachers working in preschool institutions. According to the findings, it is evident that teachers have various experiences regarding both bullying behaviors and the consequences of bullying. There are points in teachers’ knowledge about peer bullying that overlap and do not overlap with the literature. In general, no opinions were observed where the answers differed completely from the literature. It is important to increase teachers’ conceptual knowledge about peer bullying and to have knowledge of the details of the concept. Teachers did not mention their own roles when evaluating the causes of peer bullying. These findings reveal the need for teachers to have information about where they stand in peer bullying, what they should do in which situation, and their active roles. While teachers’ application of different strategies against bullying can be evaluated as a multifaceted perspective, it can also be evaluated as teachers not having clear knowledge of this subject. As a matter of fact, it is evident that strategies that are sometimes ineffective, that can continue peer bullying in the background, and that can negatively affect the relationships of bullies and victim children are described “with the claim that they are useful.” When the overall answers are evaluated, it is considered that the conceptual deficiency regarding the concept of peer bullying may be reflected in the actions taken against bullying an even in the advice given to avoid encountering bullying. As a matter of fact, while a significant portion of teachers think that they can prevent peer bullying through families, one teacher stated that there cannot be a clear recommendation since bullying cannot be prevented. Cite this article as: Gülay Ogelman, H., Koyutürk Koçer, N., & Öndersev, B. (2025). Teacher opinions on peer bullying duringthe preschool period. HAYEF: Journal of Education, 22, 0