Factors Influencing Teacher Identification of Peer Bullies and Victims

Multiple student and teacher characteristics were examined to evaluate whether they influence teacher identification of peer bullies and victims. Participants were 61 teachers and 1,139 students in grades 3 through 6 attending six public elementary schools and two middle schools in a small southern city. Teachers more accurately identified bullies and victims who were in elementary school than those who were in middle school. Using multiple teacher nominators (general education teachers and related arts teachers) allowed better identification than using only general education teacher nominators. When considering several teacher and student factors simultaneously, the reports by multiple teachers enhanced general education teachers' reports of bullying considerably more than other student and teacher characteristics such as student gender, student socioeconomic status, and teacher-student ethnicity. Implications for the development of brief, yet accurate, teacher nomination procedures and the role that school psychologists can assume in this endeavor are discussed.