The results of a study conducted by the Community Mental Health Research Group (RoCMHI), Faculty of Psychology (FPsi), Universitas Indonesia (UI), in 2023 at a school in Banyuwangi Regency, East Java, revealed findings of a high level of bullying, namely 44% in grade 8 students and 37% in grade 9 students. The UI Community Service (Pengmas) Team through RoCMHI saw the urgency of this case, so they initiated the implementation of Pelatihan Keterampilan Welas Asih (Compassion Skills Training) for teachers at SMPN 4 Muncar Satu Atap, Banyuwangi, on August 23-24, 2024. The purpose of this training is to develop teacher competency to overcome bullying.
“Compassion is an emotional feeling that someone has when they know another individual is suffering so that they are motivated to help that individual. By becoming a compassionate teacher and promoting this value in schools, teachers can encourage the creation of a child-friendly educational environment, thereby reducing the number of bullying cases,” said Fauzan Abdullah, Head of the UI Pengmas Team.
He added that this can be realized more optimally if compassion becomes a value implemented by all stakeholders of the school. Some of them are fellow students, teachers, administrative staff, canteen administrators, cleaning staff, and the community around the school.
“The concept of a compassionate system in the educational environment is what we emphasize in this training. All components of the school, from students, and teachers, to guardians, need to work together and build reciprocal relationships to create an environment free from violence. I hope that with this training, teachers will become aware of the importance of building compassion in schools so that violence can be reduced at SMPN 4 Muncar,” said Fauzan
This training involved 15 teachers from SMPN 4 Muncar Satu Atap. The series of activities consisted of a reflection session on teaching experiences, presentation of material regarding compassion, and activities to implement compassion in the form of games that were packaged interactively and interestingly. Teachers were also asked to plan a follow-up plan regarding what they would do to be able to implement compassion at school after this training.
According to Fauzan, the enthusiasm of the participants was very visible during the training process. Moreover, because the activities were designed to be interactive and fun. The participants felt inspired and had new enthusiasm to create a better learning environment for their students. Based on their confessions, teachers often feel overwhelmed and run out of ideas for dealing with bullying and other behavioral problems that occur in schools.
“The two-day training was extraordinary, we gained knowledge that we have applied, but with this training, we have become more confident in dealing with problematic children,” said Oktafa, a Mathematics Teacher at SMPN 4 Muncar Satu Atap.
Meanwhile, Imam Najeh, the principal of SMPN 4 Muncar Satu Atap, said, “I am very happy to welcome back colleagues from the Faculty of Psychology UI in this training, especially since this training is a collaboration that was carried out based on the results of last year’s research.”
The UI Community Service Team consists of Siti Wikan Widya Dhana Eileen Truda, Ganisa Kayla Aghna Fitri, Muhammad Faris Fathi Farhat, Laraszahra Kemalasari Erlambang, Danishara Raputri Priyono, Jovinka Maulina Raharjo, Marwa Aliifah Muthmainnah, and Sherly Saragih Turnip, Ph.D., Psychologist., as the field supervisor.
