“My Core Is Cracked”—Bullying in Higher Education as a Traumatic Process

Margaret Hodgins (), Declan Fahie, Sarah MacCurtain, Rhona Kane and Patricia Mannix McNamara
Additional contact information
Margaret Hodgins: Health Promotion Research Centre, University of Galway, H91TK33 Galway, Ireland
Declan Fahie: School of Education, University College Dublin, DO4C7X2 Dublin, Ireland
Sarah MacCurtain: School of Education, University of Limerick, V94T9PX Limerick, Ireland
Rhona Kane: Health Promotion Research Centre, University of Galway, H91TK33 Galway, Ireland
Patricia Mannix McNamara: School of Education, University of Limerick, V94T9PX Limerick, Ireland

IJERPH, 2024, vol. 21, issue 11, 1-18

Abstract: Sectoral and institutional context[s] are critical to understanding how workplace toxicity manifests and how it might best be addressed. The education sector, specifically higher education, is the focus of this study, drawing on qualitative data collected from Irish Higher Education Institutions [HEIs]. Underpinned by a multi-faceted conceptualisation of bullying, the study explores how it is experienced by university staff and how institutional or contextual factors impinge on that experience. The study employed a qualitative interpretive methodology involving one-to-one semi-structured interviews with self-selecting participants. Persons who currently work or have recently worked in higher education institutions were recruited into the study. A generic thematic approach resulted in five intersecting themes, converging on one overarching organising construct, i.e., bullying in higher education as a traumatic process. The data displayed relationality, institutionalisation and unethicality, which are underlying features of a multi-faceted conceptualisation of bullying. It was concluded that the processes and procedures in place to address bullying and provide redress do not appear to be sufficiently nuanced to accommodate the complex behaviours and power plays involved in bullying in Higher Education, assuming a rationality stripped of power dynamics, which risks aggravating the damage already inflicted by bullying. The findings suggest that the institutional response, or lack thereof, can sometimes be more traumatising than the bullying itself. Individual cases often reflect a wider organisational culture that tolerates bullying and victimisation. Institutional responses will need to tackle the entire HEI ecosystem, requiring and a more nuanced understanding of the power dynamics and organisational context.

Keywords: workplace bullying; higher education; traumatic process (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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