Narratives of bullying: Schooling experiences of eight twice exceptional students
Educators are increasingly attuned to the relationship between behavioural and academic outcomes recognising that to be successful at school students benefit from a safe and supportive environment. A specific concern is the connection between being bullied and negative effects on educational outcomes for students. The literature reveals the apparent increasing incidence of bullying in schools. There is also evidence that bullying occurs as a result of being perceived as different, with some children such as those with giftedness and disability (twice exceptional students) possibly being more vulnerable. Furthermore, recent research suggests that students who have a disability are overrepresented in bullying statistics. Hence, it might be predicted that being both gifted and having a disability might position twice exceptional students as being particularly vulnerable to bullying. Bullying is known to be prevalent across many social settings for children, particularly for those who have disability, and intermittently gifted students. What remains relatively under researched is the phenomenon of bullying in the lives of twice exceptional children. This presentation reports on findings about the bullying experiences of eight twice exceptional children aged 9 16 years from a narrative study that explored the lived experiences of these children. Their narratives describe the pervasiveness of bullying; the six themes that emerged from the data about bullying experiences were: (a) bullying by peers; (b) bullying by teachers; (c) teachers' and adults responses to bullying; (d) social isolation and bullying; (e) the emotional effects of being bullied; and, (f) protective factors. The contribution to the field of inclusive education along with the children's experiences and consequences of being bullied are discussed. This presentation concludes with recommendations for practice and further research.