Policies against Bullying and Cyberbullying in Spanish autonomic laws. A comparative study

Abstract

Two reports of the Spanish Ombudsman warn of the need to adopt measures to control bullying among schoolchildren and improve coexistence in the classroom. Their recommendations were taken up by the Autonomous Communities (AA.CC.) and reflected in their own regulations. This article reflects on policies taken as standards of coexistence by public government, for schools supported with public funds. A comparative study was carried out on the regulations related to bullying and cyberbullying in eight Spanish regions, randomly selected. The main objective is to know how this issue is addressed and compare protocols proposed action and the nature of the intervention measures provided for in each AA.CC. Results show that most policies specifically refer to bullying, and one in four mentioned cyberbullying, also found that half of the protocols proposed measures performance against school violence. As for the nature of the measures, the analysis shows that they are directed, almost exclusively, to the assailant students and, in most cases, are corrective / disciplinary nature. Among the findings it highlighted that every policy scarcely indicated educational measures, leaving unanswered the proposal of the Ombudsman that emphasized that educational measures.