Left Off the Route: A Qualitative Examination of Urban Bus Drivers Wanting to be Players in the Bully Prevention Solution

Abstract

Every school day millions of children board the bus from home and school oftentimes with 90 others including a bus driver. Perhaps not found in a bus drivers’ job description are the details to monitor and respond to all suspected bullying behaviors. Being bullied can have long-term negative consequences for both bullies and victims. The school bus has been identified as a potential hot spot for student bullying, wherein bus drivers may see, hear, and respond to several types of bullying on a daily basis that often require support from school officials. However, a bus driver’s ability to intercede effectively in cases of school bus bullying may be limited. This qualitative study used a nonprobability, purposeful sample to examine 18 urban African American school bus drivers’ and bus attendants’experiences in addressing school bus bullying within the context of their riders and school officials. Using focus groups, a definition of school bullying was read aloud to provide context to six questions from a semistructured interview guide that related bus drivers’ experiences in responding to acts of bullying. An interpretive phenomenology method was used throughout the data analysis process. Several key themes and practices emerged. Results suggest bus drivers’ reports were mostly passified and not taken seriously. Furthermore, these bus drivers’ experiences overwhelmingly reflected a lack of both being taken seriously and being included in decision making. This led to a key stakeholder: bus drivers, being left out of the process. From these drivers’ interviews, a model was developed to illustrate their lived experiences from behind the wheel to working with the school in responding to bullying.