Best practices in school-based bullying prevention programs: What works? (original) (raw)

Characteristics of effective anti-bullying interventions: What research says

2005

School bullying has been universally recognised as damaging psychological, social, academic and even physical development of children (Marsh, Parada, Craven & Finger, 2004; Pellegrini, 2004). A well-designed anti-bully program that tackles school bullying is therefore an important mission for establishing desirable educational environments and positive pathways to self-reliance for children. The purpose of this paper is to review the extant anti-bullying research to identify salient features of successful interventions and identify directions for future research. Findings indicate effective intervention programs have some common features in that they: (1) are theoretical grounded; (2) gain commitment from the school and research team; (3) adopt a whole-school approach impacting on the school ethos, assisting teachers, informing parents and educating students; (4) use robust measures and analysis; (5) create safe and supportive school environments; (6) provide specialised formal teacher training showing teachers how to actively manage bullying behaviours; (7) use intervention strategies at individual and peer levels, as well as integrating cognitive-behavioural strategies to maintain long-term change; and (8) gain support from parents. Further, while some intervention programs considered in this review meet some of these criteria (e.g., Olweus, 1997; Rigby & Slee, 1993), their effectiveness has not been adequately determined by state-of-the art research methodology. To address the latter suggested strategies for strengthening anti-bullying intervention research are presented.

School-based interventions to address bullying

Eesti Haridusteaduste Ajakiri. Estonian Journal of Education

Following some background studies on the nature of school bullying, its prevalence, and the negative consequences it can have, this article reviews the history of anti-bullying interventions over the last 30 years. It considers several major programmes in detail, such as the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program, KiVa, Steps to Respect, and Friendly Schools. The nature and evaluation of the interventions is discussed, followed by a review of meta-analyses of the programmes effectiveness. Issues considered are the effect at different ages; components of interventions; work with peers; disciplinary methods, non-punitive and restorative approaches; challenges regarding cyberbullying; the role of parents; the role of teachers and teacher training; set menu versus à la carte approaches; sustainability of interventions and societal context. Conclusions show that interventions have had some success, with traditional bullying. However, further progress is needed in strengthening theoretical un...

School-Wide Bullying Prevention Program for Elementary Students

Journal of Emotional Abuse, 2007

Bullying is a serious problem affecting students nationwide with up to 15% reporting regular bullying. This article discusses the characteristics of bullies and the impact of bullying on victims. "No Bullying Allowed Here" is a school-wide program for elementary schools. Lesson plans cover characteristics of bullies and victims, responding techniques, problem solving, perspective taking, and empathy. Students completed surveys prior to instruction and at the end of the year. Chi-square analysis shows significant changes in the reported frequency of bullying and associated behaviors. Changes in frequencies across all categories are distributed in a manner that is significantly different from what would be expected in the population. Students reported far less bullying and fear about being bullied after instruction in prevention techniques.

The Effectiveness of School-Based Anti-Bullying Programs

Criminal Justice Review, 2007

Youth violence, including bullying and other serious violent behaviors, has received increased political and scientific attention over the past several decades. Although violent behavior among youth and in the schools has declined over the past decade, the victimization of children by other children in school settings remains a major issue of concern. In response, a number of prevention and intervention programs have been developed to reduce the incidence of bullying and violence in schools. This meta-analysis attempted to examine the effect of school-based anti-bullying programs. Results suggested a significant effect for anti-bullying programs ( r = .12). However, this result seemed to be slightly influenced by publication bias and did not meet the adopted threshold for “practical significance.” The effect for programs targeted specifically at at-risk youth was slightly better, but overall, anti-bullying programs produce little discernible effect on youth participants. Reasons tha...

Interventions to Reduce School Bullying

2003

B ullying is a form of aggressive behaviour characterized by repeated acts against victims who cannot easily defend themselves (1,2). It can have severe negative consequences, especially for those victimized over a period of time. In the last 2 decades, research and action on school bullying have expanded worldwide (3); there has been widespread circulation of antibullying materials, and some countries legally require schools to have an antibullying policy (4). We review first a range of school-based intervention components to reduce school bullying. Second, we review the outcomes of large-scale intervention projects.

Effective Bullying Prevention and Intervention Strategies for School Professionals

2020

This article examines state-level school laws that emerged over the last decade with regard to bully prevention. The purpose is to determine, among states that legally mandate public schools to address bullying, how extensively they have incorporated language representing the primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention levels. State bully laws were coded into a classification scheme representing three levels of prevention constructs and language from OIweus' Bullying Prevention Program. Findings include discussions of both the thematic review of the qualitative data and frequencies generated from data reduction. Findings revealed that 38 states wrote school laws that required bullying policies. Among these states, half (50%) had laws that addressed both primary and tertiary prevention levels, while only 10 states (26%) included secondary prevention in its laws. The discussion includes suggestions for expanding state bully laws to incorporate secondary prevention. Also, the discussion moves beyond what states currently require their school districts to do, to draw conclusions regarding alignment ofbest practices and school bully laws and policies. Health educators can be involved in lobbying for school bully prevention policy and laws at the state level.

A whole school approach to preventing and managing bullying

2021

How to use this policy Four decades of research have demonstrated that whole school anti-bullying programs are effective in reducing school bullying and the negative health and wellbeing outcomes associated with victimisation (Farrington & Ttofi, 2009; Gaffney et al., 2019; Menesini & Salmivalli, 2017). Effective whole school programs are long-lasting and intensive. They incorporate multilevel strategies to address bullying at the individual student level, as well as preventative strategies targeted at the teacher/classroom level and at the broad level of parents/school community (Ttofi & Farrington, 2011, Wurf, 2012). Whole school anti-bullying interventions are underpinned by strong school policies that ensure bullying incidents are managed by restorative approaches (