Bullying and Victimization among Students in Special Education and General Education Curricula

Overview & Synopsis

International research established over a decade ago that students who are enrolled in special education curricula are victimized and perpetrate more bullying than their general education peers. However, few empirical studies have examined bullying rates among American schoolchildren who receive special education services. In the current study, a sample of middle school students (n = 1009) enrolled in general and special education programs completed the University of Illinois bullying, fighting, and victimization scales. As hypothesized, students with disabilities reported higher rates of victimization and fighting behaviours than students without disabilities. Conversely, students with disabilities and their general education peers reported similar rates of bully perpetration. (Contains 3 tables.)