| Puerto Rico's citizens often endure violence, maltreatment, drug dealing, and illegal arms trading in their daily lives. Youth are the most affected by violence. Bullying, one manifestation of this ubiquitous violence, is a concern among students on the island. The local newspapers report bullying incidents regularly, and students see themselves as bullies. Teachers could be useful resources to mediate in bullying incidents among students, but in-service and preservice teachers lack the knowledge to intervene effectively in bullying events. Lack of intervention by teachers increases the likelihood of students feeling depressed, scared, and helpless. Because bullying can increase the risk of youth engaging in criminal behaviors later in life, it is essential that teacher preparation programs in Puerto Rico help preservice teachers to become more knowledgeable about bullying and ways to prevent or intervene in bullying incidents. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to investigate the knowledge of preservice teachers from a university at a northeastern part of the island about bullying and ways to prevent and intervene in bullying incidents in Puerto Rico's school system. Results suggested a lack of knowledge of bullying in terms of definition, the seriousness of bullying, and intervention strategies. Results also suggested that the preservice program did not prepare teachers to deal with bullying. However, despite this lack of preparation, the teachers in the study had a positive attitude to intervene in all bullying modalities. Implications for the future of training in the preservice teacher program related to bullying are discussed. Future studies to understand the experiences with bullying of Puerto Rican preservice teachers and their intervention rate, among others, are suggested. |
