Perceived self-efficacy in dealing with bullying : the case of Lebanese school counselors -

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to examine the counselors’ self-efficacy in handling bullying at schools. In other words, the study reviews how confident counselors are in their ability and knowledge to deal with bullying. Twenty counselors participated in the study from ten Lebanese private English-speaking schools. The study is a correlational study that adopts a mixed method approach; quantitative and qualitative approaches. Two instruments (COSE and CSBI) were used in the study and interviews were conducted for the collection of data. Data analysis was done through SPSS and interpreted using descriptive statistics. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, examined for recurrent themes, coded and interpreted. Results showed that Lebanese counselors are effective in their general counseling skills as measured by the COSE instrument. Participants reported the highest self-efficacy beliefs for the microskills dimension and the lowest for the awareness of values dimension. Similar conclusions in confidence were made when Lebanese counselors were measured for dealing with bullying using the CSBI instrument. Years of experience and professional development were found to affect the counselors’ self-efficacy while training in a graduate program did not.