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The Perceived Impact on Bullying of the Second Step Program at a Kindergarten–8Th Grade School: a Program Evaluation

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The Perceived Impact on Bullying of the Second Step Program at a Kindergarten–8Th Grade School: a Program Evaluation National Louis University Digital Commons@NLU Dissertations 8-2016 The eP rceived Impact on Bullying of the Second Step Program at a Kindergarten-8th Grade School: A Program Evaluation Adam J. Thorns National Louis University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss Part of the Educational Leadership Commons, and the Elementary and Middle and Secondary Education Administration Commons Recommended Citation Thorns, Adam J., "The eP rceived Impact on Bullying of the Second Step Program at a Kindergarten-8th Grade School: A Program Evaluation" (2016). Dissertations. 189. https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/189 This Dissertation - Public Access is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons@NLU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons@NLU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE PERCEIVED IMPACT ON BULLYING OF THE SECOND STEP PROGRAM AT A KINDERGARTEN–8TH GRADE SCHOOL: A PROGRAM EVALUATION Adam J. Thorns Educational Leadership Doctoral Program Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of Doctor of Education in the Foster G. McGaw Graduate School National College of Education National Louis University August 2016 Copyright by Adam J. Thorns, 2016 All rights reserved Dissertation Origination Statement Digital Commons @ NLU This document was created as one part of the three-part dissertation requirement of the National Louis University (NLU) Educational Leadership (EDL) Doctoral Program. The National Louis Educational Leadership EdD is a professional practice degree program (Shulman et al., 2006). For the dissertation requirement, doctoral candidates are required to plan, research, and implement three major projects, one each year, within their school or district with a focus on professional practice. The three projects are: Program Evaluation Change Leadership Plan Policy Advocacy Document For the Program Evaluation candidates are required to identify and evaluate a program or practice within their school or district. The “program” can be a current initiative; a grant project; a common practice; or a movement. Focused on utilization, the evaluation can be formative, summative, or developmental (Patton, 2008). The candidate must demonstrate how the evaluation directly relates to student learning. In the Change Leadership Plan candidates develop a plan that considers organizational possibilities for renewal. The plan for organizational change may be at the building or district level. It must be related to an area in need of improvement, and have a clear target in mind. The candidate must be able to identify noticeable and feasible differences that should exist as a result of the change plan (Wagner et al., 2006). In the Policy Advocacy Document candidates develop and advocate for a policy at the local, state or national level using reflective practice and research as a means for supporting and promoting reforms in education. Policy advocacy dissertations use critical theory to address moral and ethical issues of policy formation and administrative decision making (i.e., what ought to be). The purpose is to develop reflective, humane and social critics, moral leaders, and competent professionals, guided by a critical practical rational model (Browder, 1995). Works Cited Browder, L.H. (1995). An alternative to the doctoral dissertation: The policy advocacy concept and the policy document. Journal of School Leadership, 5, 40-69. Patton, M. Q. (2008). Utilization-focused evaluation (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Shulman, L.S., Golde, C.M., Bueschel, A.C., & Garabedian, K.J. (2006). Reclaiming education’s doctorates: A critique and a proposal. Educational Researcher, 35(3), 25-32. Wagner, T., et al. (2006). Change leadership: A practical guide to transforming our schools. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 7.08.16 Preface: Leadership Lessons Throughout the Program Evaluation I learned the value of assessing all aspects of the school system. It is imperative that leaders monitor what is going on throughout their school. I believe that if our district leaders had done an evaluation of the Second Step program at an earlier date we would have noticed that due to a lack of fidelity in presenting the program the students were not engaged and the lessons were not having the intended impact. Realizing that something needed to change at that point may have prevented the apathy that seems to permeate a program that teaches our students respect and empathy for others. It also became apparent that members of the school community had very different views concerning the perceived effectiveness of the program. As a leader, I must be able to listen to each of the differing views held and reconcile them into one message for the school wide community. ii Abstract This program evaluation examines the Second Step program at Baker School, a Kindergarten through 8th grade building located in Hillsborough, Illinois. The purpose of this evaluation is to determine the perceptions of impact the Second Step program has had on bullying at the school. The study employs a mixed-methods approach involving surveys and interviews with students, educators, and parents. This researcher determined that although bullying does not appear to be prevalent at Baker School, there is inconclusive evidence regarding the impact of the Second Step program. Major themes that emerged from this evaluation were a wide range of student experiences with bullying, students on both sides of bullying, and a lack of fidelity in the teaching of the Second Step Program. It is this researcher’s opinion that the school should continue to use Second Step but that educators, parents, and community members should collaborate to ensure even implementation of the program throughout the district. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page PREFACE: LEADERSHIP LESSONS ............................................................... ii ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................... iii LIST OF TABLES .............................................................................................. viii LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................ ix Section ONE INTRODUCTION ......................................................................... 1 Statement of the Problem ............................................................. 1 Purpose of the Study .................................................................... 2 Rationale ...................................................................................... 2 Goals ............................................................................................ 2 Research Questions ...................................................................... 3 Definitions of Bullying ................................................................ 3 Types of Bullying ........................................................................ 4 Verbal Bullying ............................................................................ 4 Physical Bullying ......................................................................... 45 Relational Bullying ...................................................................... 5 Cyberbullying .............................................................................. 5 Bullying Roles ............................................................................. 6 Bullies .......................................................................................... 6 Victims/Targets ............................................................................ 8 Provocative Victims ..................................................................... 9 iv Bystanders .................................................................................... 10 Second Step Program ................................................................... 10 History of Second Step ................................................................ 11 Baker School and Bullying .......................................................... 12 TWO REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ................................................ 14 Introduction .................................................................................. 14 History of Bullying Research and Legislation ............................. 14 Cyberbullying .............................................................................. 17 Effect of Bullying on Student Achievement ................................ 19 Anti-Bullying Programs ............................................................... 20 Implementing the Second Step Program...................................... 21 THREE METHODOLOGY......................................................................... 24 Research Design............................................................................ 24 Participants .................................................................................... 24 Data Gathering Techniques ........................................................... 25 Quantitative Research ................................................................... 26 Qualitative Research ...................................................................... 27 Data Analysis Techniques.............................................................. 29 FOUR FINDINGS AND INTERPRETATIONS ............................................ 31 Findings...........................................................................................
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