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Anti-Bullying Resource Library - Respect U.

School Anti-Bullying Program Yields Quick Results

The pro-social, anti-bullying program introduced at Wampus School has already had dramatic results, a survey has revealed. There is less bullying, fewer bullies, and more children are prepared to take action to help someone who is being bullied.

The Bully Coach School Program aims to change the overall school climate through education and training of all staff, students, and parents on bullying behavior and the role of the bystander.

The program included lessons on effective coping methods to deal with bullying issues, conflict resolution skills, and actions to take to stop a bullying episode. Similarly, students who exhibited bullying behavior were taught alternative skills.

Research data was obtained anonymously and randomly at the beginning of the school year and was followed up by data gathering from the same students at the completion of the program.

The research revealed that the number of victims of physical bullying dropped from 47 to 35 percent, and those report only "now and then" incidences. No student reported daily or "a lot" of bullying - a report that compares well to the national average of 10 percent - and reflects a drop at Wampus from 7 percent at the beginning of the school year.

The number of students who, at the beginning of the year, admitted to bullying (24 percent) dropped by 10 percentage points and students willing to help another student who was bullied increased from 35 percent to 61 percent. Initially, 13 percent of students said they couldn't do anything (such as intervene or tell an adult) when a peer was bullied. By the year's end only 2 percent felt they couldn't help in any way.

Dr. Haber, the Program originator and director reported "the results show the effectiveness of a school-based and community program aimed at teaching children skills to help each other when bullying occurs. The concept of using "bystander training", which allows all students who observe bullying to get involved and stop the problem is an important character education issue. Children who are taught friendship, caring, cooperation and conflict resolution skills can truly make a difference. The results of the study reveal that children can be helped to feel safe and secure when we all work together and look out for one another."

Success was also reported in improving the quality of the children's school environment by making bullying opportunities less available through increased monitoring by teachers and aides: In the children's opinions, bullying in hallways was cut by more than half and in the cafeteria it was almost eliminated. In the playground, 27 percent of students said it still happened (down from 76 percent) and in restrooms the percentage dropped from 17 to three.

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