Journal of Global Research in Education and Social Science

Bullying in primary schools is a pervasive issue globally, including in Indonesia, where it continues to significantly impact children's psychological, academic, and social development. This narrative literature review investigates the implementation of anti-bullying programs in Indonesian primary schools, focusing on challenges and strategies for implementing anti-bullying programs. The review synthesizes findings from recent studies (2015-2025). Hundreds of articles were initially identified using the keywords “anti-bullying programme” and “primary school” within the Indonesian context. However, through a systematic filtering process, we successfully narrowed the selection down to 32 articles that were deemed relevant to the research topic. This study indicates that he primary challenges in implementing anti-bullying education in Islamic boarding schools (pesantren) include limited understanding among students and teachers, the negative influence of social media, insufficient preparedness of educational personnel, a school culture resistant to change, inadequate programme evaluation, and a weak inculcation of values related to tolerance. The strategies employed encompass the integration of anti-bullying values into the curriculum, psychological counselling interventions, educational campaigns and media, community involvement, the reinforcement of school policies, and extracurricular activities aimed at fostering students’ positive character development. This paper provides practical recommendations for policymakers, educators, and community leaders to enhance the effectiveness of anti-bullying initiatives and foster a safe and supportive educational environment. Future research should focus on field studies and longitudinal evaluations to better understand the real-world effectiveness and sustainability of these programs.