A first of its kind of study by researcher at Victoria University, found 94 per cent of school staff in New Zealand have witnessed bullying in their schools. Dr Vanessa Green, Head of Victoria's School of Educational Psychology and Pedagogy, who conducted the study says, bullying is a national problem that must be addressed.

Under the study, Dr. Green surveyed teachers and senior staff from primary, intermediate and secondary schools levels around New Zealand with the objective to understand their experiences, perceptions and attitudes towards bullying.

"The majority of teachers and senior school management personnel are concerned, and there is a general feeling that we need to do something about it," says Dr. Green. Nearly half of those who participated in the survey said, instances of verbal bullying, is brought to their attention every week. Dr. Green says the study shows that bullying is a national problem that must be addressed. Bullying has become so common that it is almost seen as a normal part of growing up, she says.

"But it doesn't have to be that way. We can change attitudes," Dr. Green adds. She says a major hindrance in dealing with bullying was the sense of disconnect between schools and families about how bullying was to be tackled.

"I think society, in general, has high and possibly unrealistic expectations that it is up to schools to recognise and deal with the issue," Dr. Green says.

The study finds that although programmes to deal with bullying are widely available, they are being used by less than a third of the schools. "This suggests that the programmes are not giving school staff the tools they need to combat bullying," feels Dr. Green. Further, the study finds that growth of the Internet has made bullying a more complex phenomenon, with cyber-bullying increasingly becoming a major concern.

"The internet has made bullying a more complex issue than it was 20 years ago and, as a result, it requires a more sophisticated response. The old methods may not be as effective as they were. We need to be thinking in a more creative way about how to address bullying," Dr. Green says.

With the survey finding that majority (68 per cent) believing that bullying begins between the pre-school year and the age of seven or eight, a good place for schools to start is to put a greater emphasis on the professional development of staff for bullying prevention, adds Dr. Green.