Adult Bias and Bullying in Education - Coping with Both an Epidemic and a Pandemic

Oct 15, 2026

Examining adult bullying in educational workplaces, this paper links female bias to the rise of bullying behaviors observed in and around K-12 settings. Drawing on Workplace Bullying Institute survey trends from 2014 and 2017, it reviews literature on how females may perpetrate and perpetuate adult bullying. It also reports unpublished quantitative results from an Illinois 2016 study across 850 public school districts, focusing analysis on female roles, tactics, perceived targets, and victim effects, and discusses implications for school effectiveness and further research.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages13

Reading Time33 min

AccessFree to download

Review of the Related Literature

The Origins of Bias and How They Lead to Bullying

Adult Bias, Workplace Bullying, and Educational Contexts

Study Approach and Female-Focused Findings

Implications for School Effectiveness and Further Research

Adult Bias and Bullying in Education: Coping with Both an Epidemic and a Pandemic Pamela R. Rockwood Western Illinois University This paper explains the role offemale bias in the rise of adult bullying in workplaces, including those in education. The 2014 and 2017 Workplace Bullying Institute surveys show growth nationally in this phenomena with respondents becoming more aware of its occurrence (Namie, 2014; Namie, 2017). The paper specifically reviews and examines the findings in literature pertaining to females and their roles in perpetrating and perpetuating adult bullying while also including the unpublished statistical results ofa 2016 non-experimental quantitative study done in all 850 Illinois public school districts (excluding charter and private schools) for which the results are still relevant today. Via an online survey Illinois superintendents and board members were asked to provide their perceptions of any adult bullying that might be occurring in their districts, who they perceived to be the perpetrators and targets, their perceptions as to the most used tactics and the resulting effects on victims. Data was disaggregated by age groupings, role, and gender; however, the study results discussed in this paper are those relating to females. These results make a noteworthy contribution to the literature on female adult bullies in K-12 educational institutions because: 1) They provide an understanding of the potential and reality of female adult bullying in public school districts; 2) the study results pertaining to females concur with the results from other surveys and research; and 3) Sorrell (2017) found that there was a significant relationship between adult workplace bullying in schools and student bullying in schools. Sorrell’s findings (2017) and this study’s findings underline the need for further studies on this topic to ascertain what bullying behaviors are being role modeled for students from a gender perspective and the impact of those behaviors on school effectiveness. Keywords: adult bullying in K-12 education, female bullying, bias, bullying effects ICPEL Education Leadership Review, Vol. 21, No. 1– December, 2020 ISSN: 1532-0723 © 2020 International Council of Professors of Educational Leadership In medicine and popular culture, the word “epidemic” is used to describe the rapid spread or increase in the occurrence of something (e.g. disease), while the term “pandemic” is usually reserved for medicine and describes an epidemic disease that has spread over a large geographic area such as an entire country (Kelly, n.d.). An epidemic that is growing in the American workplace is that of adult bullying (Kelly, 2006) and it is becoming more and more apparent in educational settings (Mayhew and McCarthy, 2005), even in these pandemic times. This paper specifically reviews the findings in literature pertaining to bias and its relationship to adult bullying with a focused examination of females and their roles in perpetrating and perpetuating it. It includes the unpublished statistical results of a non-experimental quantitative study done in all 850 Illinois school districts in 2016 that asked superintendents and board members for their perceptions as to their awareness of any adult bullying that was taking place in their district. Study findings will focus on the female roles and actions in any perceptions of adult bullying and the results shared will note any alignment between those findings and other research findings. The outcomes of this study are important to share because there is limited research about perceived adult bullying in the specific workplace setting ofK-12 school districts, and particularly about that which is focused on females and their involvement in those settings. This is essential information to determine because according to the U. S. Department of Education, there is growing evidence that all bullying has a persistent and pervasive effect on the learning environment of

FAQs

What is the paper’s main focus regarding adult bullying in education?

The paper examines how female bias relates to the rise of adult bullying in educational workplaces, especially in K-12 contexts.

What sources of evidence does the paper use?

It draws on Workplace Bullying Institute survey findings from 2014 and 2017, reviews related literature on bias and female roles, and includes unpublished results from an Illinois 2016 quantitative study.

How does the Illinois study contribute to the paper’s conclusions?

The study gathered perceptions from Illinois superintendents and board members across 850 public school districts, then focused results on female roles, actions, and tactics, highlighting alignment with other research and pointing to effects on school climate and effectiveness.

Oct 15, 2026

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