Zimbabwean Children’s Literature and the Challenge of Bullying in Schools: Kudakwashe Muzira’s Farai and the School Gangsters

Abstract

Bullying in schools is a universal phenomenon. It takes many forms, which are both physical and psychological. In many schools in different parts of the world, bullies have tormented their victims and have become a huge menace to school systems, and indeed to the health of a society, considering how the effects of bullying extend beyond the classroom. There are many factors associated with bullying, and to better appreciate some of these, this paper utilises Farai and the School Gangsters (Muzira, 2015) to examine the extent to which children’s literature provides an opportunity for opening discussions around bullying in schools, its (possible) causes, and to offer avenues for lasting and sustainable solutions. Part of the challenge lies in broaching the issue thus, the paper considers whether (and how) the issue of bullying is tabled for discussion and how different stakeholders at school (students, teachers, 
administrators, support staff, and parents) contribute towards resolving this major impediment to the health and well-being of victims. By engaging the theory of moral disengagement by Bandura, Barbaranelli, Caprara, & Pastorelli (1996), the paper thus analyses how utilising children’s literature can offer a holistic, engaging and creative way of addressing bullying. Of importance, therefore, is how textual analysis affords an entry point for effective and sustainable interventions to address bullying in schools. Further, since boys tend to dominate the category of the bullies, an effort will be made to reflect on new models of masculinity that emerge from engaging with some of the creative works.