The project “Stiries for the Power of Difference” is implemented with the support of Sofia Municipality, Europe 2022 Programme by Reflective Learning Bulgaria Association in the period August – November 2022. See more about the project here. In the framework of the project we conducted a survey among the students from the fifth, sixth and seventh grades of the three schools in the capital (31. SUCHEM “Ivan Vazov”, 97. SU “Brothers Miladinov” and 145. OU “Simeon Radev”) to find out more about how they deal with aggression at school and in life and what are the topics they want to talk about with friends and classmates.

We asked them:

Where do they most often encounter aggression and violence?

The results show that children most often encounter aggression at school, on social networks and in places around school where assaults and aggressive acts happen most often:

“There is aggression everywhere. A lot of people are affected by it and it’s one of the big problems in society.”

“In school, in the corridors.”

“In school and the internet.”

“Mostly it’s psychological and physical. It occurs in school, in more private places, etc.”

“At school or on lonely streets.”

What are the topics related to aggression and violence that are important and interesting for children to learn more about and talk about with friends and classmates?

The results show that children are interested in what the mechanisms of aggression are, why aggression occurs and how to prevent it:

“About violence against children who do not respond and do not behave in a disrespectful manner.”

“That there should be no violence because there are people who are bullied but keep quiet and keeping quiet is not good.”

“To understand why those who are violent do it? Why is it that when a child has a health problem, others make fun of them – why is that, because of family or because of bad company? About online bullying, about the bad language and insults and sometimes physical aggression.”

“I would like to know how to respond in bullying situations.”

“Why do we have to resort to violence when there are more normal ways to solve problems. What is the cause of violence?”

“We all know there is aggression in school, but no one teaches us how to deal with it.”

What are some topics that are important and interesting to learn more about and talk about with friends and classmates?

The results show that children want to talk about topics concerning acceptance and respect. They also mentioned topics related to human rights and, of course, music, films and friendship. And last but not least, children need school to be a place where they not only gain knowledge in subjects, but can also discuss and better understand life and the world, how to be active and successful without being bullied for it.

“About friendship, about relationships with teachers, about respect and mutual help.”

“Why is difference not accepted (by teachers and students alike)?”

“For human rights.”

“How do we feel? When are we happy? When are we unhappy? How do we do self-assessment? How do we have self-esteem?”

“How to protect the environment at school and how to learn life lessons at school besides those in the textbooks.”

What did we learn from the children?

First of all, that violence is a topic that affects them. They experience it personally, either through their friends or when they simply witness it in their relationships at school.Secondly, that they need to talk about it with adults and with each other. In the questionnaires they talk about forms of violence in their relationships with each other – insults, humiliation, non-acceptance and rejection, self-seeking. They ask why people are violent and what motivates such behaviour. The topic is important to them at a tender stage in their lives when they are searching for their identity, looking for ways to express themselves and be accepted by their peers.   Relationships with friends and classmates are extremely important because they help the growing person to understand about themselves, from the way others accept them, how they reflect them and whether they approve of them. The survey shows that aggression and violence are part of these relationships and they are most often manifested in school relationships. That is why they are so important to them and there is a need for a space where they can share and talk about them. Aggression also finds expression outside school – in the hidden alleys, in social networks, where it does not have the framework that the school institution sets and where there is still containment of aggression through rules and adult intervention. In the questionnaire they raise the issue of the need to learn to cope, to react against aggression and this is a very important issue that is often underestimated. Therefore, the project “Narratives on the Power of Difference” aims to open up opportunities in the school to talk more about the topics of aggression and violence, with young people freely using their own language to do so on difficult but topical issues, topics that are vital but taboo. Discussing and analysing topics important to young people related to gender-based violence and other types of violence is a way to overcome prejudice and stereotypical thinking and behaviour.

The project has created three student debate and storytelling clubs, in which students from fifth, seventh and especially sixth grade participate to learn and develop skills on how to express, argue and defend their thesis. Both methods develop extremely useful skills in children that they can transfer to their relationships with each other. Students and teachers participate in a podcast and talk about the topic of aggression and violence in school, parts of which will be broadcast at the final event of the project. It will take place on 11.11.2022 in 145. The event will take place on the 11th of 2022 at the Simeon Radev Primary School in Sofia.

We are pleased to partner with outstanding teams from all three schools who are dedicated to the work of the clubs. We would like to thank all of the participants, their teachers, psychologists, and school administrators for partnering with us on this important topic.