Bullying Behavior at Post-Secondary Institutions in Canada and China

Bullying has been a topical issue worldwide for years, impacting many people regardless of their backgrounds. The consequences of bullying incidents can be severe and even reach a criminal level. In general terms, bullying behaviors have been officially classified from different perspectives, and various policies and regulations have been issued at educational institutions against bullying in many countries. However, the rate of bullying incidents still remains high, even though schools and enforcement officers are highly concerned and put effort into managing bullying issues. There are considerable studies on bullying behavior of students and employees at K-12 schools, but little research has been focused on bullying at post-secondary and higher educational institutions. This thesis sheds light on the origins, causes, and frequency of bullying incidents at universities in British Columbia (B.C.) Canada, and Tianjin and Beijing, China. A total of 130 enrolled university students participated anonymously in a quantitative survey. These students shared their knowledge and experiences regarding traditional bullying and cyberbullying incidents at university by responding to the survey questions. The study found that over half of the participants experienced and/or witnessed bullying incidents at universities, and a considerable number of students either did not know or could not rely on the current university anti-bullying policies and procedures to protect them from bullying incidents or in solving such problems. Moreover, the possible factors that led to bullying incidents were blended. Some of the factors, such as school performance and sex/gender identity, were prevalent in these locations of both countries; but for some others, like avocation and nationality, the responses were significantly different. Furthermore, during the COVID-19 pandemic, when university students in both countries attended school virtually, the chance of in-person bullying incidents at universities decreased, but cyberbullying cases maintained a similar rate as pre-pandemic levels. Finally, more than half of the participants wanted to seek revenge after experiencing bullying incidents.