Eine Untersuchung der Beziehung von Bullying, schulleistungsbezogener Wettbewerbsorientierung und leistungsorientierter Lehrkraftpräferenz: Eine Untersuchung der Beziehung von Bullying, schulleistungsbezogener Wettbewerbsorientierung und leistungsorientierter Lehrkraftpräferenz (Unterrichtswissenschaft, (2025), 53, 4, (527-549), 10.1007/s42010-025-00231-x)

Studies on the development and underlying factors of bullying indicate that it can be characterized as instrumental behavior used to gain advantages in competitive contexts. Schools and classrooms provide a framework in which learners may experience varying degrees of competition, depending on lesson design and teacher behavior. This article addresses these considerations by examining the relationships between bullying, performance-related competitiveness, and the perception of a performance-oriented teacher preference. The hypothesis posits that bullying is directly related to the perception of a performance-oriented teacher preference, and that this relationship is partially mediated by an individual performance-related competitiveness. To test these hypotheses, data from N = 541 students across 38 classes in grades seven to ten were analyzed within a multilevel structural equation model. The results suggest that performance-related competitiveness is associated with bullying at both the individual level (level 1) and the class level (level 2). Connections between the perception of a performance-oriented teacher preference and both performance-related competitiveness and bullying behavior are observed only at the individual level.