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Online study explores how UK teachers differentiate and manage banter and bullying, suggesting improvements in approach.
Banter represents a common interactional style, but when used inappropriately a fine and subjective line exists between banter and aggressive behaviors. This online study explored 873 UK teachers’ perceptions and management of banter and bullying. Participants provided definitions of banter and bullying, rated the characteristics of banter, and provided information about the management of, and training on, banter. Banter was regarded as jokes exchanged between friends without harm. Bullying was characterized as repeated one-sided behaviors intended to harm. Offline banter was rated as more serious than online banter while offline bullying was regarded as less serious than online bullying. The findings have implications for how teachers manage, and support engagement in appropriate banter that promotes positive relationships.
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Betts et al. (2026) studied this question.
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