Eureka! Institutional Repository

In modern Greek school teachers are asked to address various problems both in the learning process and the integration process of students in the class. An educational institution should not only provide a high level of knowledge but should also aim at the establishment of a peaceful and safe environment for everyone involved. Problems that concern psychological, behavioral and emotional disorders, as well as, neglect and child abuse are challenges for every teacher who wants to ensure an appropriate atmosphere for students to assimilate new knowledge, and also to be integrated in the school environment. Regarding child abuse, one of its forms is bullying in schools. To deal with this sensitive issue teachers are asked, among others, to cooperate with the parents whose children were bullied. The present thesis investigates the opinions of teachers in secondary education about their cooperation with families whose children have been bullied by other children, in order to handle the situation. The research documented teachers’ opinions from all types of secondary education, regarding the issue of bullying, the way they cooperate with parents, their opinions about this cooperation and the goals that it might have. To attain the goals of the present thesis, first a qualitative research was conducted through six interviews and then, a quantitative research through a structured questionnaire. The teachers who took part worked in public secondary schools the school year 2018-2019. The basic findings of the research showed that improving relationships with teachers, enhancing student self-esteem and enhancing their autonomy are the benefits of their parents' collaboration with teachers. In addition, the first objective of the cooperation is to help the child, the second to increase the self-esteem, the child's self-perception and the third to stop bullying. Concerning the factors affecting cooperation between school and parents, it has been identified that the major difficulties are the lack of time of parents due to workload and the socio-educational level of the parents. The parents of the children are following the advice they are given by the school while they are reluctant to talk about their children's problems. In fact, parents of children who are bullied are firstly informed for the problem by school. Finally, it was found that the type of school in which a teacher works does not differentiate the goals of the cooperation, while in the middle of his working life he is strongly convinced that cooperation helps stopping bullying.