Abstract:
Currently, few studies address what kindergarten children think about bullying
behaviour and explore whether or not they perceive bullying as a prevalent concern in
their day-to-day school activities. This study described 15 Canadian kindergarten
students' graphic and narrative representations (drawings and stories) of their bullying
experiences. The content of students' drawings and stories were analyzed to explore how
kindergarten children perceived bullying within the context of their lives. Coding
categories were developed to analyze the kindergartners' perceptions, and emerging
themes were also explored. In general, findings showed that kindergartners perceive
bullying situations as occurring during one-to-one peer interaction and not within social
group situations. Results are discussed in relation to educational implications.
