Sheffield Bullying Observatory
The Sheffield Bullying Observatory is a collaborator with the UK Observatory for the Promotion of Non-violence founded by Professor Helen Cowie in 2003 at the University of Surrey, UK.
These observatories are part of an international network of centres concerned with bullying, interpersonal violence, conflict and reconciliation, and mental health led by the European Observatory of Violence in Schools founded in 1998 by Professor Eric Debarbieux and Dr Catherine Blaya, University of Bordeaux 2, France. So far, and in addition to the UK Observatory for the Promotion of Non-violence and the Sheffield Bullying Observatory, the other centre involved in this work is the Canadian Network for the Prevention of School Violence founded in 2003 and directed by Professor Egide Royer, Laval University, Quebec, Canada.
Taken together, these centres represent a growing worldwide federation of researchers and practitioners from many fields, including sociology, criminology, education, psychology, psychiatry, social policy, politics and psychotherapy.
Sheffield research
The Sheffield Bullying Observatory, coordinated by Dr Paul Naylor, is currently involved in research into the benefits of teaching adolescents about mental health, the use of peer supporting as a way of dealing with school bullying, the bullying and other abuse of siblings, and the impact of bullying on the inclusion of pupils with Asperger syndrome/high functioning autism (AS/HFA) in mainstream secondary schools. Other Observatory staff involved in this research programme are Professors Emmy van Deurzen and Digby Tantam, and Dr Myles Balfe and Chris Blackmore.
During 2005, the Observatory hosted three Visiting Scholars, all from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain), who are collaborators in the comparative study of the bullying of secondary school pupils with AS/HFA in Spain and the UK. These Scholars are:
Laura Granizo; Juana Hernández; and, Dr Kevin van der Meulen.
During March and April 2006, Paul led 15 second year University of Sheffield medical students on a project designed to find out how mainstream secondary school pupils with Asperger syndrome compared with other pupils, socially spend their school day. If this study is successfully completed we believe that it will be the first of its kind.
Recent publications
Cowie, H., Naylor, P., Smith, P.K., Rivers, I., & Pereira, B. (2002). Measuring workplace bullying. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 7, 33-51.
Cowie, H., Naylor, P., Talamelli, L., Smith, P.K., & Chauhan, P. (2002). Knowledge, use of and attitudes towards peer support: a two year follow-up to the Prince's Trust survey. Journal of Adolescence, 25, 5, 453-467, October.
Naylor, P. (In press, 2005). Safeguarding children: Current policies and practices in the United Kingdom. Chapter for Deutsches Jugensinstitut, München, Deutschland.
Naylor, P. (2000). Elliott Durham School's Anti-bullying Peer Support System: A case study of good practice in a secondary school. In H. Cowie & P. Wallace, Peer Support in Action. London: Sage Publications, pages 36-48.
Naylor, P. & Cowie, H. (2000). The role of peer support systems in education for citizenship. The School Field, XI, 1/2, 131-142.
Naylor, P. & Cowie, H. (2000). Learning the communication skills and social practices of peer support: A case study of good practice. In H. Cowie & D. van der Aalsvoort (eds.), Social Interaction in Learning and Instruction: the meaning of discourse for the construction of knowledge. Pergamon in cooperation with the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI), pages 93-103.
Naylor, P., Cowie, H., Cossins, F., de Bettencourt, R., & Lemme, F. (In press, 2005). Teachers´ and pupils´ definitions of bullying. British Journal of Educational Psychology.
Naylor, P., Cowie, H., & del Rey, R. (2001). Coping Strategies of Secondary School Children in Response to Being Bullied. Child Psychology and Psychiatry Review, 6, 3, 114-120.
Smith, P.K., Talamelli, L., Cowie, H., Naylor, P., & Chauhan, P. (2004). Profiles of Non-Victims, Escaped Victims, Continuing Victims and New Victims of School Bullying. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 74, 565–581.