Anti-Bullying Act of 2013 and Holistic Development of Secondary Students in term of Emotional Development, Mental Development, and Social Development

Abstract

This study aimed to address the issues of bullying by determining the students’ level of awareness, the level of implementation of the Anti-Bullying Act of 2013, and the secondary students’ holistic development. The survey was conducted among randomly selected Grade 7–12 students to gather relevant data for this study. We employed a self-made questionnaire that was validated using Aiken's V formula. The results were analyzed and interpreted using descriptive statistics. The total mean of the student’s level of awareness is extremely high. The level of implementation at Sultan Kudarat State University is only observable. The students are concerned with all three aspects of holistic development and are influenced by the Anti-Bullying Act of 2013. Social development gained the highest mean, followed by mental and emotional development. A low positive correlation was found between the two. As a result, the null hypothesis was rejected. Moreover, the three main concerns of the students regarding the implementation are the implementation's lack of consistency, the bullying that comes from teachers, and others having connections within the school, resulting in a fear of reporting them.  It is recommended that the Department of Education further strengthen its security and rules for the schools by making sure that those involved in bullying cases do not get away from their wrongdoings just because they are teachers by profession or they have inside connections within the schools.