Bullying in the Context of Politics, Pedagogy and Power

In this qualitative research study, the causes of bullying between professors in faculties of education in Canada, the U.S., Europe, and Australia are investigated. The study shows how what was thought to be the unique burden of school children appears to also be a menace to academics; more specifically, this menace is found in the area of Pedagogy, the field that provides anti-bullying programs and policies. After an overview of the literature covering aspects of workplace bullying, the researcher concluded that little research has focused on this group, and that within the literature studied, most researchers were not interested in the causes of bullying. Eight professors were interviewed, and the study recorded many painful and costly effects of bullying. Through an interpretive qualitative study, the researcher sought explanations for the phenomenon, which may be found in an overly competitive culture, and in the politics and leadership resulting from this culture. Faculty who are forced to struggle for their place in the academy and have sacrificed to get there, have become fierce competitors who may lose their values.