Date of Award

8-2019

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Institute on Family and Community Life

Committee Member

Susan P. Limber, Committee Chair

Committee Member

Mark Small

Committee Member

Gary B Melton

Committee Member

James R McDonell

Committee Member

Edlira Haxhiymeri

Abstract

Statistics suggest that school violence is prevalent in the Balkan region. However, the Balkan culture in general and Kosovar society in particular has paid little attention to peer victimization, bullying, school safety, and school climate considering the transitional period that society went through during the occupation and after the war. Moreover, there is no word in Albanian and Serbian language that describes bullying specifically. In order to explore the prevalence and nature of peer victimization, bullying, children's perceptions of school safety, and school climate in Kosovo, a survey with 385 participants from grades 6th through 9th will be conducted with Albanian and Serbian students.

This study used bivariate analyses to explore association between two variables (e.g., exposure to school violence and children's victimization) and analysis of variance (ANOVA) to test for group differences based on demographic items (age, gender, grade, and ethnicity) and perceptions of peer victimization, bullying, school safety, and school climate. Comparisons between Albanian and Serbian students based on age, gender, and ethnicity, and experiences of bullying were explored, while linear regression were conducted to examine the moderation in relationship between bullying and perceptions of safety and peer victimization and perceptions of safety.

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