Bullying Prevention Programs From Around the World: Lessons to Be Learned

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Bullying Prevention Programs From Around the
World Lessons to Be Learned

• Debra Pepler
• Scientific Co-Director, PREVNet
• York University HSC
• www.prevnet.ca

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Imagine a world without bullying
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Where going to school, or to the playground is
always treasured, never feared.
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Where all children have safe and healthy
relationships.
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Its happening because we are working
together!
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Lessons Learned from International Bullying
Prevention

• Developmental perspective differences, timing,
• Systemic teachers and principals, peer
  processes, parents, community
• Intervention strategies with children who bully,
  children who are victimized, in classrooms, with
  bystanders, school level, community level
• Policy Kandersteg Declaration

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Lessons Learned from Colleagues around the World
Available through www.prevnet.ca Amazon.com
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An Ecological Perspective on Bullying Prevention
Binocular Vision
YOUTHS RELATIONSHIPS
YOUTHS STRENGTHS AND CHALLENGES
SYSTEMIC
DEVELOPMENTAL
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DevelopmentalFocus on Individual Students

• Different developmental capacities, motivations,
  and vulnerabilities
• Different peer group susceptibility at different
  ages
• Effective prevention/intervention must be
  long-term (throughout school years) and tailored

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Our Own Lessons on Bullying Prevention

• Who Benefits?

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School Differences in Treatment Effects
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Treatment Effects of Probability of High Bullying
On average involvement in bullying changes from 1
in 17 to 1 in 30 students
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Treatment Effects of Probability of High
Victimization
On average victimization changes from 1 in 9 to 1
in 25 students
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Our Lessons Learned

• The odds of bullying increase significantly
  without the intervention program.
• Different schools have different immediate
  responses to the intervention program.
• Individual students have different responses to
  the intervention, depending on the level of risk.
  
• To decrease the odds of high bullying
  significantly, need an enhanced intervention
  program that focus on the high-risk students.

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Lesson Students involved in high and prolonged
bullying and victimization need intensive support

• The most highly involved students have
  psychosocial needs that may be beyond the scope
  of the school in addressing.
• Programs, such as by Koivisto in Finland and
  Limber in US established links with professionals
  and community agencies for additional support.
• In Australia, the Friendly Schools Friendly
  Families program reaches out to train community
  professionals and seeks assistance from them for
  families needing additional support.

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What Can We Do with Youth Who Bully?

• Identify bullying early to prevent later problems
• Respond consistently when bullying is observed
  (teaching moment)
• Build skills, awareness, empathy insights
• Provide alternatives to gaining power though
  bullying
• Promote healthy relationships by finding positive
  contexts for troubled youth.

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What Can We Do InSevere Cases?

• It is important to support chronically involved
  youth in controlling their anger, developing
  social understanding, and solving social problems
  in adaptive ways.
• These youth may need to be referred through
  student services, special education and/or the
  mental health system.
• These youth require intensive clinical and
  moment-to-moment support tailored to their needs
  until they learn the skills and orientations
  necessary for healthy relationships and civil
  behaviour.

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What We Can Do to Protect and Support
Victimized Youth

• Clear policies on bullying consistently applied
• When policies exist, but are not acted upon, the
  consequences, severity and frequency of bullying
  is actually far worse.
• Safety and intervention plans
• Many schools struggle with how to intervene
• If policy is not enforced, youth get the message
  that there are no consistent consequences.
• Communication with victimized youth and family is
  important.
• Trusted adult
• Encourage victimized youth to identify a trusted
  adult in the school or community setting.
• Ensure that the adult has the skills to develop a
  plan to end the bullying and to ensure that the
  youth is protected.

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Lesson Bullying changes with age so programs
need to be tailored

• Early intervention programs, such as Alsakers
  kindergarten program in Switzerland and OMoores
  primary school program in Ireland may prevent
  children from falling onto stable bullying and/or
  victimization pathways.
• Stronger effects in primary compared to secondary
  schools in many countries perhaps due to stage
  and structure of school (fewer connections
  between adults and students).

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Lesson Bullying prevention needs to be timed to
precede problem

• Need prevention programs in middle school, before
  adolescent forms of bullying arise.
• Lessons on respectful relationships and social
  responsibility are required throughout high
  school.
• US Expect Respect - Barri Rosenbluth , Nan Stein
  sexual harassment
• Canada Fourth R David Wolfe for peer and
  dating violence, healthy sexuality, and substance
  use.

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SystemicFocus on Relationships

• The most successful bullying prevention programs
  had
• Leadership from principal and teachers
• Inclusion of all students in learning about and
  responding to bullying
• Focus on peers as part of the problem and
  solution
• Involvement of parents and community

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Lesson Leadership from Principal and Teachers
is Key

• Training for school staff is essential
• Smith (England) success of program depends on
  leadership of principal
• Olweus (Norway) teachers were key agents of
  change for implementation of program
• Salmivalli (Finland) the more teachers
  implemented the program, the more bullying
  problems improved
• Alsaker (Switzerland) teachers who participated
  felt more confident in dealing with bullying,
  were more supportive of victimized students, and
  more willing to speak with parent

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Lesson Focus on peers as part of the problem and
solution

• Cross (Australia) Use peer group to provide
  support for students who are bullied and use
  positive peer pressure to discourage bullying
• Salmivalli (Finland) Work with teachers to
  provide students with skills and courage to
  intervene discourage students from joining in.
• Menesini (Italy) Focus on sense of
  responsibility and respect of others peer
  support models such as befriending and peer
  mediation. Peers viewed as a school resource for
  bullying prevention. Peer approaches alone are
  less effective than whole school programs.
• OMoore (Ireland) Whenever possible, use
  restorative approaches when dealing with
  aggressive behaviour

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What We Can Do AboutPeer Pressure

• Reduce associations among troubled peers and find
  situations that will help keep bullying in check.
• Encourage youth to recognize and resist peer
  pressure to bully
• Help youth plan, finding excuses to walk away
  from situations where they might bully.
• Help youth understand that just because others
  watch and laugh, it doesnt mean they like
  bullying.
• Encourage youth to talk to someone they trust,
  like their parents, a friend, a teacher, a
  counselor for help finding ways of getting along
  with others.

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Lesson Involvement of parents

• Cross (Australia) Friendly Schools, Friendly
  Families Program close cooperation between
  staff and parents many channels of
  communication develop positive strategies to
  deal with bullying increase awareness of signs
  and symptoms of bullying and follow-up
• OMoore (Ireland) Training to encourage parents
• to contact school if suspected their or another
  child being bullied
• challenge their own childrens unacceptable
  behaviour

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Lesson Involvement of community

• Cross (Australia) Friendly Schools, Friendly
  Families Program professional development for
  community, community links for professional help
• Ortega (Spain) program based on Convivencia
  living together in harmony (opposite of
  violence) Spanish society views school violence
  as a lack of education for convivencia and
  tolerance. Involvement of many facets of the
  community (police, recreation, community
  leaders).
• Leadbeater (Canada) WITS and WITS LEADS programs
  for Grades K to 5 developed in partnership with
  police.
• Lessons five times per year with visits from
  police, firefighters, paramedics, athletes.
  Positive effects, manuals free online!
  www.rocksolid.bc.ca

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International Collaborationto Create a World
without Bullying

• Kandersteg Declaration

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www.kanderstegdeclaration.org

• Kandersteg Declaration Against Victimization in
  Children and Youth

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Kandersteg DeclarationMoving towards Global
Understanding and Action
We the participants at the Joint Efforts Against
Bullying Conference in Kandersteg in June 8th to
10th, 2007 pledge our long term commitment and
determination to promote healthy relationships
and prevent bullying and victimization in
children and youth.
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Kandersteg Declaration

• Today, an estimated 200 million children and
  youth around the world are being abused by their
  peers.
• Every child and youth has the right to be
  respected and safe. Bullying is a violation of
  this basic human right.
• It is the moral responsibility of adults to
  ensure these rights are honored and that healthy
  development and citizenship are promoted. Many
  adults want more understanding and strategies to
  address bullying problems effectively.

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Kandersteg Declaration

• Bullying is a form of aggression, involving the
  abuse of power in relationships. It is recognized
  globally as a complex and serious problem. It has
  many faces, including the use of emerging
  technologies, and varies by age, gender, and
  culture.
• Children and youth involved in bullying suffer.
  Bullying and victimization problems begin early
  in life and for some last a lifetime.

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Kandersteg Declaration

• Many risk and protective factors associated with
  bullying are known and prevention programs are
  being implemented in several countries with
  encouraging results.
• The mental and physical health, social, and
  academic consequences of bullying have an
  enormous impact on human and social capital. The
  costs of bullying burden our education, health
  care, social services, and criminal justice
  systems, as well as work force productivity and
  innovation.
• Bullying concerns and affects us all.

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To endorse the Kandersteg Declaration visit the
website

• www.kanderstegdeclaration.org

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Creating a world without bullying starts with
each of us Thank you for your contribution!