“It’s hard to be everywhere” : teachers’ perspectives on spatiality, school design and school bullying

Abstract

In this qualitative study, we explore teachers’ perspectives on spatiality, school design and school bullying. The study is part of a larger, ongoing ethnographic research project into the relations between school bullying and the institutional context of schooling being conducted in schools in Sweden, focusing on the perspectives of teachers and students from pre-school class up to grade eight. The findings from this particular study are based on participant observations and semi-structured interviews with teachers from pre-school class to grade six (i.e. approx. ages 5-13) at three schools in Sweden. The findings demonstrate that environmental, social and structural elements of school spaces affect both social relations between students and teachers’ ability to prevent school bullying. Taken as a whole, the study highlights the importance of looking beyond the issue of supervision in schools and considering in more detail the ways in which spatiality and school design influence school bullying and preventative work in schools.