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A Cross-National Investigation of Teacher Responses to Bullying: Influence of Endorsed Cultural Values


Research Team

Name

Principal Investigator: Jared Noetzel

Co-Principal Investigators: Susan Swearer

Funding Information

Funding Agency: Society for the Study of School Psychology

Award Date: Jul 1, 2025

End Date: Dec 31, 2025

Abstract

Bullying is an international social determinant of health that impacts around 32% of adolescents globally, according to recent studies, and has a major impact on well-being, health and quality of life. 

Because teachers interact daily with their students and have great power to directly reduce bullying and foster a more positive school climate, researching factors that precede teacher response is a crucial to inform teacher training to combat bullying.

While individual-level factors related to teacher response have been widely studied, studies on culture are limited. International variability in teacher responses has been identified, but specific mechanisms behind this variability are unknown. 

This dissertation study is designed to help reduce bullying in schools by evidence-based, culturally responsive teacher training The immediate purpose of this study is to elucidate the influence of self-construal on specific teacher responses in two countries: the U.S. and South Korea. 

The study sample will include primary and secondary in-service teachers in the United States and South Korea, with a target sample size of 1,900, including equal amounts of teachers across the two countries and school levels. Researchers will consider cultural contexts and individual-level cultural factors on teacher responses. 

Findings will clarify how national context and self-construal affect a teacher's decision to intervene in bullying. 


Social, Emotional and Behavioral Well-being