Although physical education provides significant opportunities to promote physical
activity, the nature of movement-performance-based, multidimensional classroom dynamics
can make students primary targets for bullying, particularly in areas such as gymnasiums
or even changing rooms. Therefore, teachers' interventions and awareness are critical.
To create effective anti-bullying programs for teacher candidates, this study examined
the impact of personal responsibility (PR) and social responsibility (SR) on attitudes
towards bullying. It also highlights the possible effects of gender, year of study,
and teaching experience. A total of 164 Hungarian physical education teacher candidates
(PETCS) studying in the 3rd to 5th years completed questionnaires. The majority of
PETCs had a high level of positive bullying attitudes, PR, and SR. While there were
significant differences in bullying attitudes at gender and year of study, no differences
were found in teaching experience. A significantly strong relationship was found between
SR and various attitude sub-dimensions. Analyses showed a predictive effect of SR,
gender, and year of study on several bullying attitudes, while PR did not show any
significant effect. Since attitudes are an important factor in creating a safe classroom
environment, the focus of preventive and educational programs against bullying should
include developing SR.
