It sounds a long way. The young people spill out of the classrooms. They shout, hoot and laugh. Some go out into the schoolyard, others hang around in the corridors, and several go straight to Nasser Dagnew. In the office, he has a toaster, a well-used sofa and a playstation. He is an environmental therapist at Jordal School in Oslo. The door to Nasser’s office is usually open. Photo: Alf Simensen / news 10-15 young people squeeze into the small office. One gets hold of the playstation console, another tries to pull it out of his hands. There are many who want to catch a round of Fifa. Nasser calmly sits down on the sofa and starts chatting with those less interested in football. His job is to make sure the students have a good time. In recent years, the school has worked hard to reduce bullying figures, and it is no easy job. A review of the Student Survey for 2023, which NTNU has carried out, shows grim figures: Every tenth student in Norwegian schools is bullied. The office feels a bit like entering big brother’s room. Photo: Alf Simensen / news Against the flow In Jordal, the development is different. Around ten years ago, the school was above the average for students who said they were bullied in the Student Survey. Now they are far below, with 6.8 percent. The goal is zero. Teaching inspector Pleurat Haklaj believes there are several reasons why the school has seen such good results. They have invested in environmental workers, have frequent student talks and use what they call “dialogic teaching”. – Teaching must be characterized by cooperation, dialogue and that students solve problems together. That the teachers are not concerned with right and wrong answers, but make the students think. – I actually usually play in the corridors, but I come here to watch the boys play Fifa sometimes, says Ali Ajmi (in the middle) Photo: Alf Simensen / news In parallel with the falling number of bullies, Haklaj says that they see that the children are performing better. – We see that when students are doing well at school, they learn more. – A tutor and friend Ali Ajmi (13) is in the eighth grade, and occasionally pops into Nasser’s office to chat, or watch the others play Fifa. – You can ask where the science room is, or where the maths room is, or where the music room is. Actually, he is a supervisor and a friend, he says. Nasser has advice for winning in Fifa, or coping with life’s challenges. Photo: Alf Simensen / news Sima Abdullah (13) agrees. She likes meeting the environmental workers at school. – They usually come and talk to you at the start of the day and ask if things are going well and stuff like that. So that’s nice. And they are not teachers, and they are not students either. Matilda Caspersen describes Nasser as a cool friend, who is a little older. Ali Ajmi (13), Matilda Caspersen (13) and Sima Abdullah (13) all appreciate Nasser, they say that it is nice to have some adults who are not teachers at school. Photo: Alf Simensen / news – It’s very good to have someone who actually cares about you, and wants you to do well at school, she says. That is precisely the point of Nasser and the other environmental workers. Although he thinks it is nice to hear what the young people say, it is something Nasser reacts to. – I was a little surprised that no one said I was strict. That’s what I usually hear. I try to have a balance between making some demands, and at the same time being available and giving some love. The Fifa console is put to good use during free time. Photo: Alf Simensen / news Doubling of bullying figures in two years The figures on students reporting being bullied are not good reading. Researcher Christian Wendelborg is the author of the bullying report, which is based on the student survey. He says the bullying figures were stable until 2021. But then something happened. It is not always easy to share. But the students usually solve it well on their own. Photo: Alf Simensen / news – In the last two years, we have seen a doubling in the number of people who report bullying. Now one in ten pupils between the fifth grade and third grade report that they are bullied. – This is disturbing. That is a fairly significant increase. But what lies behind the development, the researcher does not have the answer to. – Has the pandemic had an impact? – It is difficult to say, but there is reason to believe so. In the pandemic, we saw that those who had the greatest negative consequences were children and young girls. The students are happy to discuss football and other interests out loud. Photo: Alf Simensen / news Bullying at school In 2023, 10 percent experienced being bullied All forms of bullying increase Bullying from fellow students decreases with age Girls experience more bullying in primary school than boys School measures often do not help In the last two years, researchers have seen an increase In 2021 the average was 5.9 In 2022 the average was 7.3 In 2023 the average was 10 Source: Report on bullying at school/NTNU Bullying is changing form Before it was mostly boys who were bullied. Now most girls in primary school say they experience bullying. Wendelberg is surprised by that. – You might think of bullying as physical aggression. But now we perhaps also understand bullying as exclusion and spreading rumours. Because at the same time as the numbers are increasing, the bullying is also changing. There is a clear increase in online bullying, but Wendelberg says you also see that young people are inspired by what they see. – Behavior on social media may have spread to the school yard. There is a lot of “pranks” and “roasting”, which are often humorous, but which the recipient does not see the humor in. At Jordal school, they notice that better well-being leads to better learning. Photo: Alf Simensen / news At Jordal school, recess is over and the FIFA match must end. Nasser has to nag a bit, but eventually all the students disappear out of the office and back into the classrooms. If someone needs it, they can stay, or pop in later for a one-on-one chat. Nasser Dagnew is a trained environmental therapist and wants to teach students to solve their own problems. He will give them some tools that they can use later in life. Photo: Alf Simensen / news This is exactly what Nasser believes is crucial to overcoming bullying. You must have time to be with the young people, and see what is going on outside during their free time. The teachers often have enough to do in the classroom and then it is nice for the students to have more people they can go to. – There may also be some things that you don’t want to bring up with your teacher, but that you need to talk to an adult about.
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Bullying numbers are increasing – at this school the trend is the opposite – news Norway – Overview of news from various parts of the country
