Carrie Connolly Pat Crane Gail Moskowitz Candy Weems EDLP 704- Spring 2014

Introduction Article- What is bullying? – Specific form of aggressive behavior characterized by Intention to harm Repeated occurrence Imbalance of power between bully and victim – Physical, verbal, cyber-bullying Candy

Article Summary The study is on perspectives of a random sampling of 213 school psychologists on anti- bullying policies in American schools. The study focused on bullying prevention strategies in five categories: – Systems-level interventions – School staff and parent involvement – Educational approaches with students – Student involvement – Interventions with bullies and victims – Candy

Research The survey instrument was developed based on existing theoretical and empirical information about school-based bullying and prevention. 500 surveys were sent and asked the following questions – What anti-bullying strategies are most/least implemented in US schools? – What anti-bullying strategies do school psychologists perceive as most effective? – What areas do school psychologists perceive need improvement? – What barriers make the improvement difficult? – 213 returned and interpretable

Research Results Most frequently used strategies – Talking with bullies after bullying incidents – disciplinary consequences for bullies – increased adult supervision Peer juries/court Least frequently used – an anti-bullying committee – peer counselors

Research Results Anti-bullying strategy perceived most effective – school-wide positive behavior support plan – Modifying space and schedule – Immediate responses Perceived least effective – Avoid contact between bully and victim – Zero tolerance – Written anti-bullying policy – parent involvement bullying preventions strategy Findings of the study consistent with previous findings and literature – School wide positive behavior support plan – Rigor of research???

What type of policy? School-wide positive behavior support plan – Includes school or entire district establishing behavioral guidelines to reinforce pro-social behavior and empathy Regulatory policy – Codify and prescribe how school personnel would be required teach positive behavior.

What type of policy? Modified space and schedule for less structured activities – Identify the areas and activities not currently well supervised by adults and then school personnel would be dispatched Redistributive policy – Human resource would need to be reallocated or monies apportioned for extra personnel

What type of policy? Immediate responses to bullying incidents – Clear guidelines to address both the perpetrator and the victim of bullying as a critical incident in need of immediate response Regulatory policy – Codify and prescribe how school personnel would intervene after an incident of bullying

Strategies Used to Promote Policy Focused on multiple targets Research studies on effectiveness – Create buy in with community – Communication/dissemination of research to all stakeholders Public Forums – Town Hall Meetings Articles in local paper/newsletter Direct mailings Use of social media

Benefits Create a welcoming safe environment Several strategies – Allow schools to select policy that best fits their population Training fosters consistency – Staff able to handle more situations – Provides structure in reporting Raise awareness, changes attitudes and educate

Disadvantages Zero tolerance – Does not address issue Peer mediations – Balance of power? Parent involvement – 2 nd most implemented strategy What is bullying? – Personal growth and development

Challenges Buy in from the staff – Survey indicated higher priorities over bullying – Lack of time for training and handling situations Need additional staffing – Supervision in unstructured areas – Reporting structure – Training staff – Do more with less” Survey results – Barriers – time and priorities

Improving Anti-bullying policy Areas of improvement indicated by survey results – Staff training – Community involvement – Reporting structure for bullying policies

Application to Workplace and Leadership Need to consider all stakeholders – Staff involvement Train staff, increased supervision in areas, committees – Parent involvement Conference Day, newsletter, etc. Communication strategies for policy implementation – How to communicate policy with students Educational approaches – Time constraints Will staff have time for trainings or additional required meetings?