CONTENTS

About This Course

Table of Contents

1. School Bullying: What It Is and Why It Hurts
2. The Role of Bullies, Victims, and Witnesses
3. Factors Contributing to Bullying and Violence
4. Screening and Assessment
5. Treatment For Children and Adolescents
6. Prevention and Intervention
7. Legal and Ethical Issues

Supplements
Case Studies
Fact Sheets
References
Resources

The ABCs of Bullying
Addressing, Blocking, and Curbing School Aggression

Module Content Objectives Prevention Is Everybody's Business Comprehensive Prevention Strategies What Can Schools/Administrators Do? -- Antibullying Policies What About Teachers? What Can Social Workers and School Counselors Do? -- Emotional Health Education What Can Parents Do? -- For the Child Being Bullied -- For the Child Who Bullies What Can Students Do? -- For Children who Bully Prevention Programs That Work Summary Quiz

Prevention Programs That Work

Research indicates schools that emphasize enforcement and punishment measures to respond to aggression and violence are ineffective. A joint study by the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice found that the student reports of bullying were the same regardless of the presence of security guards, hallway monitors, and metal detectors.ref

Compared with 20 years ago, researchers today have a clearer understanding of what approaches work best within the school setting and are able to identify "best practices" and model programs. Some of the information is coming from students themselves.

Many prevention programs have been developed to address the issues related to school violence and bullying. No one prevention program is appropriate for every school. Each school has unique needs. Educators and administrators must assess programs to find a good fit with their school. Among those that have been proven promising are the following, which are listed alphabetically.

The Olweus Bullying Prevention Program

Dan Olweus, considered by most to be the pioneer in bullying research, developed the first research study in Norway in 1970, which served as the basis for this prevention program. He has continued to refine and expand his contribution to research on bullying. In the 1990s, he began working with two professors at Clemson University who conducted the first evaluation study of his prevention program in the United States. The Bullying Prevention Program has been identified as a Model Program by SAMHSA and by the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention and by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence (CSPV), University of Colorado. Details of this program can also be found at SAMHSA's Model Programs Web site.

Bully Proofing Your School

The Bully Proofing Your School Program was developed in Colorado in 1996. It is designed to work in elementary and middle school settings. The program is a comprehensive school climate program designed to create a safe and caring school community by shifting the power away from bullies and into the hands of the caring majority of students.

BullySafe USA

BullySafe USA is a comprehensive program that offers common terminology, concepts, and strategies for bullying prevention and intervention for students, educators, parents, and community leaders.

The Don't Laugh at Me Program (DLAM)

DLAM is a program out of Operation Respect, Inc., that is working to transform schools into more compassionate, safe, and respectful places. The program was founded by Peter Yarrow of the music group Peter, Paul and Mary in collaboration with Educators for a Social Responsibility. It is designed to reduce the emotional and physical cruelty children can inflict on one another, often in the form of ridicule, bullying, and sometimes violence.

Peaceful Schools Project/Menninger Clinic

The Peaceful Schools Project, created and run by the Menninger Foundation's Child and Family Center in Houston, Texas, focuses only on the elementary level grades (K-5). The program also includes a research component that is examining the results of antibullying efforts.

Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS)

This curriculum is a comprehensive program for promoting emotional and social competencies and reducing aggression in elementary school-age children. The program is designed to be used in a multiyear format by teachers and counselors.

Safe Culture Project

This bullying prevention program is originally from Iowa, but has been implemented in States from Maine to California.

Steps To Respect Program

The Steps To Respect Program is a bullying prevention curriculum designed to decrease bullying at a school and help students build more supportive relationships with one another. The program's dual focus is based on the research showing that friendships help protect children from the harm of bullying.