Intellectual Bullying among University Teachers: Motives and Reactions

Abstract

It seems, at first glance, that the term bullying has to do with reckless, grumpy, young, disrespectful persons who want to tease and mock others who are weak or unsecure. However, there is another insidious type of bullying which is called intellectual bullying; it occurs among intellects that are knowledgeable, smart, and successful in specific field. The worst is that such bullying is perpetrated with colleagues and friends. Though intellects represent the cornerstone in a various political, social, economic, religious, and academic realms, they are not active any more. The present paper is done at Mila University Centre; it seeks to collect data about teachers’ perspectives about bullying behavior among them, its motives, and how should the bullying intellects react towards such harassment? A teachers’ questionnaire is the means used for collecting data. The data are analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively, implications of findings about bullying in academic settings are drawn, and suggestions for further research are provided.