A Look into the New TIMSS Data on Bullying and Learning

In this blog, we draw on the 2023 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS)—released in February this year—to take a closer look at the links between bullying and learning. Using data from 21 middle-income countries, we highlight four key findings. First, lots of children experience bullying. Second, bullying is on the rise almost everywhere. Third, bullying is bad for learning (as other studies have shown). Fourth, most head teachers don’t take bullying seriously. This last finding underscores the need for interventions that engage the school staff to raise awareness about school-based violence and its consequences (as implemented in countries such as Peru, Mozambique, and Uganda.