REDUCING BULLYING: MEETING THE CHALLENGE “Everyday, over 52 million children attend 114,000 schools in the United States, and when combined with the 6 million adults working in schools, almost one-fifth of the population in the U.S. are to be found in schools on any given week” (Huang et al. 2005, p.623.) INTRODUCTION Bullying in schools is a frequent and serious problem that is often a precursor of aggressive and violent behavior. Schools, in concert with parents and community members, can significantly reduce bullying behavior. This section of the Website is designed to provide practical guidelines on how to reduce and prevent bullying behaviors. The practical "how to" guidelines are presented in six dropdown MENUS. FAQ’S FREQUENTLY ASKED QESTIONS MENU I offers INFORMATION ABOUT BULLYING MENU II highlights THE CRITICAL ROLE OF THE PRINCIPAL IN BULLY REDUCTION PROGRAMS MENU III describes ASSESSMENT PROCEDURES OF BULLYING MENU IV describes SCHOOL-WIDE POLICIES AND PRACTICES MENU V considers SPECIFIC INTERVENTIONS TO REDUCE BULLYING MENU VI provides ADDITIONAL RESOURCES OF INFORMATION ABOUT BULLYING A list of Specific Topics in the form of Frequently Asked Questions are also provided, so you can immediately look up answers to specific questions. Before we consider the specific practical suggestions a brief historical perspective on bullying interventions and a consideration of the general lessons learned from these past interventions will be presented. We conclude this introduction with a checklist of the key components of a bully prevention program, so one can see where specific practical suggestions fit into the "big picture." BRIEF HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE The first major anti-bullying intervention program in schools was conducted in Bergen, Norway in 1983 by Dan Olweus. This program was introduced following three suicide deaths of boys ages 10 to 14 year-old, who had each been severely bullied by their peers. In the initial Olweus intervention program there was a reduction of up to 50% in bullying behavior. This change was maintained after two years of the intervention. There was no displacement from bullying at school to bullying on the way to and from the school. Moreover, the results revealed more positive pupil relationships and a significant drop in rates of vandalism, theft and truancy. Since 1983, bullying prevention programs have been implemented in 11 countries and on three continents. We can now ask: a) What are the lessons that have been learned from these many anti-bullying interventions that my school can benefit from? b) What are the core elements of a bullying prevention program and how can we implement and evaluate such interventions? LESSONS LEARNED FROM PREVIOUS EFFORTS TO IMPLEMENT A BULLYING PREVENTION PROGRAM Lesson 1. While there is considerable evidence of success in the actions of schools against bullying, the level of success varies greatly between schools. Those schools that did the most, achieved the most. Lesson 2. The leadership by the principal or head teacher and administrative commitment are critical to the success of a bully reduction program. Consider the following observations offered by leading researchers in anti-bullying: “A principal can influence the staff’s attitudes and behavior by putting anti-bullying work in the school’s official agenda, initiating plenary meetings with staff and parents, and providing clear guidelines about the organization of the supervisory system during break periods. It is important that the principal allocate time and financial resources to such activities” (Dan Olweus, 2004, p. 32.) “ We believe that without the commitment of the leadership and staff, the anti-bullying program would not get off the ground” (Pepler, 2004, p. 126 - leading Canadian researcher on bullying.) “A necessary prerequisite to the effective implementation of a 2 Bullying Prevention Program is the commitment of the school administrator (principal) and a majority of school staff to addressing problems associated with bullying” (Limber et al, 2004, p. 66 researcher who brought Olweus’ anti-bullying program to the U.S.) “Administrative commitment to the classroom meeting concept proved particularly crucial in our middle schools, as the principal needed to approve changes to the students’ schedules and creatively encourage teachers to hold such meetings” (Limber et al, 2004, p. 69.) “As would be expected, the principal’s involvement was pivotal to the success of the project’s implementation, particularly the whole-school activities. The promising gains in policy implementation initiatives were made in intervention schools where the principals attended the training and were actively involved in their whole-school committee” (Cross et al, 2004, p 199 – researcher who created the Friendly Schools project in Australia.) In short, bullying prevention programs are unlikely to be effective without the commitment and investment of the principal. Lesson 3. “Successful school-based interventions for bullying depend on teachers and principals to create a climate that discourages bullying and encourages peer processes that support and include vulnerable children. Teachers should label bullying behavior, not the person. Identify the problem as bullying behavior and avoid labeling children and youth as “bullies and victims.” These labels limit how they think about themselves and how others think of them.” (Pepler et al, 2004, p.311.) Lesson 4. “Only with consistent sustained effort (at least two years of intervention) is the incidence of bullying and related behaviors likely to be reduced. It takes more than six (6) months to effect change in bullying problems in elementary schools” ( Pepler et al, 2004.) Lesson 5. Anti-bullying efforts cannot be separated from the core tasks of effective teaching. Engaging teachers with good classroom management skills have less problems with students’ bullying behaviors. Academic progress increases when schools work to improve the quality of teachers’ classroom management and positive behavior discipline techniques. High student engagement reduces bullying opportunities. Lesson 6. “It is difficult at this stage to identify the crucial elements in the anti-bullying programs or to say which programs are most effective. Most of the programs to counter bullying have resulted in a degree of success, at least on some outcome measures. This is encouraging” (Rigby, Smith & Pepler, 2004, p. 2.) Lesson 7. “There is a greater likelihood of success of anti-bullying intervention programs at younger primary grades (e.g. kindergarten to grade 4) than with older middle and secondary students. Changes in anti-bullying attitudes and group norms are more 3 common in younger students. They are more likely to respect the authority of teachers. Research on the stability of victim and bully status suggests that few pupils enter into stable roles before 8 to 9 years old.” (Rigby et al, 2004.) Lesson 8. “At this stage in the development and refinement of bullying interventions, the research is not at the point where we can reliably point to specific elements of interventions that are known to be the active and essential elements associated with change” (Pepler, 2004, p. 313.) Lesson 9. Hazler and Carney (2006) propose that effective bullying prevention programs should a) involve diverse groups in the planning and implementation of the program; b) increase initial awareness by bringing the problem of bullying to the surface and foster empathy by focusing student and staff attention on the feelings of all participants in bullying; c) implement policies that nurture pro-social behavior d) skill development in which perpertrators, victims and bystanders are targeted with a wide array of social skills training; e) continuing involvement that keeps the issues, changes, problems and necessary actions alive for ongoing discussion; f) assessment of progress and adjustment of efforts. Lesson 10. There are no "magic bullets, nor quick fixes". True success requires extensive co- ordinated and sustainable efforts. A successful anti-bullying program is an ongoing, rather than a one-time only program. With these lessons in mind, we can consider what are the core elements of any anti-bullying program. All too often bully reduction programs are implemented in a short-term fashion, with some staff members enthusiastically advocating one aspect of the intervention (e.g.; use of role- playing and videotaping of students in high risk settings, or changes in supervision patterns, or implementation of a school wide anti-bullying curriculum.) How many of the following core elements does your school implement? A CHECKLIST OF KEY COMPONENTS OF A BULLY PREVENTION PROGRAM A. At the Principal’s Administrative Level 1. Familiarize administrators and school staff with specific schools laws and school district policies relevant to school violence, bullying and sexual harassment. Enforceable legislation that clearly defines that every student has the right to a safe school environment. 2. Demonstrate leadership commitment to reduce bullying and sexual harassment as serious school violence issues by providing resources and training, as well as reducing barriers to anti-bullying interventions. 4 3. Establish a school safety committee of six to eight (6-8) key personnel (e.g., school administrators, preferably principal or assistant principal, teachers representing different grade levels, school staff such as bus drivers, recess monitors, parents and community members) who meet regularly. The committee considers ways to