Bullying is a model of social behaviour that develops and escalates if not limited in time. Bullying can be verbal, physical, or cyberbullying. The causes of bullying and violence in schools are peers' physical deficiencies, gender, social inequality, ethnic, linguistic and cultural diversity, gender identity (UNESCO, 2019). When analysing bullying situations in schools, the social context must be taken into account. Attention should be shifted from perceiving bullying as a relationship between two persons (perpetrator and victim) to perceiving bullying as a process involving and affecting bystanders - students who are present in bullying situations (Monks et al., 2009; Salimi et al., 2020; Padgett&Notar, 2013). The actions, behaviour and attitudes of bystanders can both increase and decrease the level of bullying. Research suggests that empowering bystanders, developing the necessary tools and encouraging them to step in and become upstanders - students who engage in bullying situations in order to reduce or prevent them – should become an integral part of bullying prevention programs (Cornu et al., 2022).

The current study aims to analyse how to enable and encourage bystanders to become upstanders. The research question would be: How upstanders' behavior is promoted to prevent bullying at school? In the literature we can find several theorethical approaches or models that explain what actions should be taken for bystanders to become upstanders. The bystanders’ intervention model (BIM) created by Latané and Darley (1970), which has been applied mostly to situations of safety and health issues, generally focuses on the bystanders' capability to interpret the situation, select a strategy, and take action accordingly (Nickerson et al., 2014). The model proposed by Dunn (2010) stresses more pedagogical aspects of intervention and highlights an essential component of intervention—empathy, which should be raised along with the necessary skills for intervention and assistance to victims (Barnett et al., 2019). Several programs focusing on the promotion of positive group dynamics and students' wellbeing have been successfully implemented in Latvia, for example  "Promotion of Positive Behaviour in Children with Institutional Care Experience" and "Social Emotional Development," both created by the University of Latvia (Daniela, Nimante, Martinsone, 2018). However, there is still a need to emphasize more individual responsibility of each student for creating an inclusive environment and acting as an upstander in cases where there are signals of aggressive peer behaviors that could easily transform into bullying, and research analyzing the transformation from bystanders to upstanders could be very helpful in filling gaps in awareness toward bullying and the roles that students take in bullying situations. 

The study uses a quantitative approach. The questionnaire, consisting of 21 items, was developed by the research authors, based on the theoretical model developed by Dunn (2010), what steps should be taken for an upstander to intervene. As suggested by Dunn (2010), they must: (a) notice the incident; (b) define it as an emergency; (c) assume personal responsibility to help; (d) feel competent enough to help; and (e) help (Dunn, 2010). The questionnaire consisted of three main question blocks: demographic questions, questions that represented the Dunn (2010) model and the open-ended questions. Participants (school administration, school teachers) will be asked to rate each question on a 5-point Likert scale, where 1 = Completely disagree, 2 = Mostly disagree, 3 = Can't say / Not applicable, 4 = Mostly agree, and 5 = Completely agree. All ethical research standards under the General Data Protection Regulation were implemented in the survey. The questionnaire received approval from the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Latvia. The same institution is going to disseminate the questionnaires to schools in Latvia. This study uses the principles of probability sampling, which is the easiest method for collecting data quickly and efficiently, to provide an insight into the school experience.

The questionnaire will be disseminated to Latvia’s school during the February 2023. The results of the data will be analysed in March, 2023.

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