Elementary Education Online, 9(2), 576–586, 2010. Đlköğretim Online, 9(2), 576"586, 2010. [Online]: http://ilkogretim"online.org.tr Peer Bullying in Primary Schools in Low SocioEconomic Level Yasemin ÖZKAN 1 Elif Gökçearslan ÇĐFCĐ 2 ABSTRACT. Acts of violence have been increasing in recent years in the world and in Turkey. Reflections of these events are seen in schools. One of the most pervasive forms of school violence is bullying. The evidence indicates that school bullying has a variety of negative consequences for both bullies and victims. The purpose of this study was to investigate the frequencies and the types of bullying; the gender of the bullies; the places of the bullying and the individuals whom the victims talk about the bullying in peer groups with low socio economic status. During the study 295 pupils had been reached. According to the results of the study, there is a significant difference in some types of bullying in terms of gender. In addition that bullying exists in schools at low socio"economic status and it is important that the Ministry of National Education should consider school bullying as a serious problem, and that it has negative consequences on pupils’ physical, social and emotional damage in terms of the victim. It means continuous and repetitive exposure to bullying behavior harms these children's psycho"social development, and therefore their well"being or life quality. Hence, effective bullying prevention and intervention training programs are needed. Key words: School bullying, peer violence, victim, pupil. SUMMARY    The purpose of this study was to investigate the frequencies and the types of bullying; the gender of the bullies; the places of the bullying and the individuals whom the victims talk about the bullying.  The study presented used a total sample of 295 participants, (153 females and 142 males) primary school pupils attending 4th grade and 5th grade of the Aydınlıkevler and Mamak located in Ankara. The classification made by the State Institute of Statistics was used for the definition of the district at lower socio" economic level and the primary schools were selected by a simple random sampling method from public schools under the Ministry of National Education. Data were collected between December 2008 and January 2009. The questionnaire used in the study is composed of three parts. In the first part, students’ socio" demographic characteristics, in the second part Questionnaire for the Type of Bullying Exposed, in the third part The Peer Interactions in Primary School Questionnaire (PIPS).  A total of 295 Turkish primary school pupils (153 girls and 142 boys) participated in the study. They were attending 4th (144) and 5th (151) grades in primary school in Ankara. At the time of the study, the mean age of the sample was 10.5 years (range: 9–13). 34.8% of their mothers’ educational level was illiterate. More than half of their father’s educational level was primary and secondary school. More than half of pupils’ families (52.2%) were comprised of between two and four people. 55.9% of pupils have one"two siblings. According to the results of the study, there is a significant difference in some types of bullying in terms of gender. Of the 295 pupils, 33.9% having been bullied verbally, 32.9% were bullied physically, 29.2% were bullied emotionally, and 16.9% were bullied sexually, at least once during the academic year. Another result indicated that boys bully and they become bullied more than girls. Bullying takes place in school garden and the classroom most often. Victims declared that they generally talk about the bullying to teacher. Victim talk latest with counselor services.    Bullying is a serious problem in schools and is a matter of recent concern. At the present there is no policy at the central level to deal with bullying. In school, counselor services in sufficient. In addition there aren’t social workers in school. It is expected that the results of this study will raise the awareness of students, teachers, school principals, and educational managers and parents to the problem. 1 Associate Prof., University of Ankara, Department of Social Work, Faculty of Health Sciences, Irfan Bastug cad. No.9 06130, Aydinlikevler" Ankara, Turkey, ymozkan@gmail.com 2 Lecterer Dr. Associate Prof., University of Ankara, Department of Social Work, Faculty of Health Sciences, Irfan Bastug cad. No.9 06130, Aydinlikevler"Ankara, Turkey, elifgokcearslan@gmail.com brought to you by CORE View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk