KiVaTM Antibullying Program Christina Salmivalli and Virpi Pöyhönen University of Turku, Finland Pre-implementation training in Wales, May 2012

Today’s topics Bullying and the peer group KiVa antibullying program Overview Universal actions Indicated actions Getting started with KiVa Evidence of effectiveness

Bullying Bullying: repeated aggressive behavior against a person who finds it difficult to defend him/herself against the perpetrator(s) takes numerous forms often verbal abuse, public ridicule

Bullying Rather than consisting of single attacks, bullying represents a rather stable relationship further embedded in the larger peer setting Universal phenomenon; about 10% of children and adolescents worldwide are systematic victims WHO survey in 2010: Finland: 11/13% victims among the 11-year-old Wales: 10/10% victims among the 11-year-old

Finland: Being bullied, % Spring 2009, N > 150 000

Finland: Bullied others, % Spring 2009, N > 150 000

Teachers can do ”much” or ”very much” to decrease bullying, % respondents

Why is bullying such a persistent problem? Bullying as proactive, goal-oriented aggression What is the function of bullying?

The social architecture of bullying Bullying can be a strategy to gain status and power in the peer group... …and it is often succesful bullies are perceived as popular (Caravita, DiBlasio, & Salmivalli, 2008) bullying helps to maintain status (Juvonen & Galvan, 2008)… …and to increase status over time (Cillessen & Borch, 2004)

The social architecture of bullying By choosing victims who are submissive, insecure of themselves, physically weak and in a low-power, rejected position in the group... ... the bullies can repeatedly demonstrate their power and renew their high-status position without being confronted

The social architecture of bullying The power demonstrations need witnesses in most bullying incidents, a group of peers is present

The social architecture of bullying Participant roles in bullying (Salmivalli et al., 1996) 20% reinforcers of the bully 24% 8% bully outsiders 12% victim 17% assistants of the bully defenders of the victim 7% 12

The behavior of onlookers does matter Individual effects: short term the defended victims are better adjusted than the undefended ones (Sainio, Veenstra, Huitsing, & Salmivalli, 2010) Individual effects: long term the most negative memory related to bullying is often ”no-one cared” (Teräsahjo & Salmivalli, 2000)

The behavior of onlookers does matter Classroom level: The likelihood of victimization is higher in classrooms where reinforcing the bully is occurring at high levels (Salmivalli, Voeten & Poskiparta, 2011) Individual-level risk factors, such as anxiety, are more likely to lead to victimization in classrooms where reinforcing is common, whereas high levels of defending minimize the effects of such risk factors (Kärnä, Voeten, Poskiparta, & Salmivalli, 2010)

In order to reduce bullying... We do not necessarily need to change the victims, making them ”less vulnerable” Influencing the behavior of bystanders can reduce the rewards gained by the bullies and consequently, their motivation to bully in the first place However, the victims need to feel that they are heard and helped by the adults at school The bullies need to be confronted for their unacceptable behavior

An anti-bullying program should include... ...something for all students → universal actions ...something for bullies and victims in particular → indicated actions 16

KiVa antibullying program School-based program for bullying prevention and intervention The meaning of ”KiVa” Developed at the University of Turku with funding from the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture Program co-leaders: Professor Christina Salmivalli and PhD Elisa Poskiparta In Finland, used by 90% of schools providing comprehensive education (basic education, grades 1-9)

Goals of KiVa Preventing bullying Effective tackling of bullying coming to attention at school Minimizing the negative effects of bullying 18

KiVa program Special characteristics: Both universal and indicated actions An exceptionally large amount of materials & concrete tools (not merely a ”philosophy”) Utilizing virtual learning environments Influencing the whole group KiVa is more systematic than most existing anti-bullying programs

Precondition for implementing KiVa succesfully: School commitment Staff meeting Information to everyone Implementation plan People in charge (e.g., KiVa team)

KiVa antibullying program Universal actions Indicated actions Student lessons Computer game Parents’ guide and back-to-school night Posters, vests Annual surveys students staff Tackling the cases coming to attention KiVa team classroom teacher

Universal actions – student lessons and computer game Three units, appropriate for different grade levels/students of different ages: Unit 1, Unit 2, Unit 3 Unit 2 student lessons piloted in Wales: Ten double lessons (2x45 min) during the school year Target age group 9-11 years

The aims of stundent lessons and computer game Enhancing... awareness of the role bystanders play in the bullying process empathic understanding of the victim’s plight Providing... safe strategies to support and defend the victimized peers → self-efficacy for defending

Teacher’s manual includes three parts Key to the KiVa antibullying program Kiva in a nutshell Universal actions Overview of universal actions Student lessons Indicated actions Tackling acute cases of bullying

Teacher’s manual – student lessons

The topics of Unit 2 student lessons Grade 4 1. Respect is for everybody 2. In a group 3. Recognize bullying 4. Hidden forms of bullying 5. Consequences of bullying 6. Group involvement in bullying 7. Countering bullying as a group 8. What to do if I get bullied? 9. KiVa School – let’s do it together! 10. How are we doing?

Class KiVa rules At the end of each lesson Emphasizes the most important aspect of the lesson

Activities included in student lessons

KiVa games and KiVa Street are closely connected to student lessons Repeating & testing of what has been learnt during the lessons – ”I KNOW” Learning to take action – ”I CAN” Students go around in a virtual school and come to challenging situations (being bystanders of bullying) where they have to decide what to say and do Motivation – ”I DO” Students reflect on their own behavior (how they have done with following the KiVa rules) and get feedback

KiVa computer game; Unit 2

A recommended schedule; Unit 2 Month Student lesson Computer game August Lesson 1 September Lesson 2 October Lesson 3 Level 1 November Lesson 4 Dec Lesson 5 Level 2 Jan Lesson 6 Feb Lesson 7 Level 3 Mar Lesson 8 Level 4 Apr Lesson 9 May Lesson 10 Level 5

How to find time for student lessons? Example: Finland Discussion: Wales

Two examples Month Student lesson Computer game August Lesson 1 September Lesson 2 October Lesson 3 Level 1 (Recognize bullying) November Lesson 4 Dec Lesson 5 Level 2 Jan Lesson 6 Feb Lesson 7 Level 3 (Countering bullying as a group) Mar Lesson 8 Level 4 Apr Lesson 9 May Lesson 10 Level 5

Parents’ involvement Information leaflet for parents (kivaprogram.net/wales→material) Print and send to each home Parents’ guide (in electronic format) Back-to-school night presentation graphics available

To remind about KiVa... Posters Highly visible vests for recess supervisors (in Finland, teachers)

Getting to know the material Working in pairs/ small groups One student lesson for each group Familiarize yourselves briefly with the content of lesson Plan a lesson Which activities would you include? Pick the activity that interests you the most

Indicated actions: tackling the cases of bullying coming to attention

KiVa team Three or more adults from among the school personnel, for instance : a principal, a teacher, a school social worker 2 X teacher, a special education tacher a principal, a teacher, a school nurse

The role of the KiVa team Tackling cases of repeated bullying in collaboration with the classroom teacher Documenting bullying cases KiVa-team is NOT a solution to all problems at school !

Which cases should be directed to KiVa team? SCREENING based on the definition of bullying Cases not directed to the team (e.g., a conflict or fight between students): ”treatment as usual” Cases directed to the team A procedure with several steps

Which cases are directed to the KiVa team? Main criteria: is this offensive/abusive? is this repeated, or is there a fear of repetition? The form of bullying (whether physical, verbal, indirect, cyber) is NOT relevant for making the decision (pp.124-125 in the teachers’ manual)

Finnish evaluation of KiVa (2007-2008) SCREENING: An average of 9,24 cases/school, range 1-55 (!) 60.5% of these cases were directed to KiVa team, an average of 5,6 cases/school Other cases were typically Fight or argument 59% Misunderstanding 11% Single aggressive incident 30%

Reports to schools every month; most of them in September-October When reported to school personnel Frequency Percent Valid% Cumulative% August 15 2.8 3.1 3.1 September 117 21.9 24.2 27.3 October 85 15.9 17.6 44.9 November 4 84 15.7 17.4 62.3 December 5 27 5.1 5.6 67.9 January 42 7.9 8.7 76.6 February 7 30 5.6 6.2 82.8 March 36 6.7 7.5 90.3 April 29 5.4 6.0 96.3 May 18 3.4 3.7 100.0 Total 483 90.4 100.0

The procedure for tackling the cases of bullying coming to attention 39,5% 60,5% The procedure for tackling the cases of bullying coming to attention (p. 135 in Teacher’s manual)

Case John: screening The mother of 11-yearl-old John calls the classroom teacher: Two boys from the same class have been calling John names and pushing him around, mainly during recess time but also in way to and from school. Last week the boys had taken John’s shoes after the PE class – he had finally found them in the trash bin. John told the mother that this treatment has been going on since the beginning of school year (2 months) and even yesterday the boys had been calling him with nasty names. The teacher tells that this sounds as systematic bullying which will be tackled by the school’s KiVa team. During /after the phone call the teacher fills in the screening form (Form 1).

1. Meeting with John One KiVa team member and John

Important: - Support for John!! - Concrete information of what has happened, when, where, by whom - Some kids who have not been involved

2. Classroom teacher meets 2-3 classmates During/after the meeting with John, the team member fills in the form 2 and informs the classroom teacher about the meeting and about the kids John has mentioned as nice / not involved in bullying him

”John is having a difficult time” I believe you might be able to support him”

3. KiVa team meets the perpetrator(s) of bullying Two different approaches: Confronting ”You have been bullying John and that has to stop” Nonconfronting ”John seems to be having a hard time at school, he must be feeling bad”

Confronting and nonconfronting approaches E.g., Olweus’ view about intervening in bullying Making it clear that the child has misbehaved – need to change Nonconfronting Pikas: The method of shared concern; Maines & Robinson: No blame approach Creating a ”shared concern” of the child who has been bullied; blaming the bully/ies not necessary

Confronting approach (C) ” We know that you have been involved in bullying John for quite some time. He has been called nasty names and pushed around, and his belongings have been taken. This must stop immediately. GOAL 1: To make it clear that adults know about the bullying and do not tolerate it. ”What are you going to do about this?” GOAL 2: To make the child committed to changing his/her behavior ”Okay, this sounds good. We’ll meet again next week and see how it has been going” GOAL 3: To make it clear that the situation is being followed

Nonconfronting approach (NC) ”We are really concerned about your classmate John who has been bullied. He has been called nasty names and pushed around, and his belongings have been taken. He must feel bad don’t you think?” GOAL 1: Shared understanding that John is not feeling well ”Is there anything you could do about it?” GOAL 2: To make the child suggest some way(s) to make John feel better ”Okay that sounds great. Try that, and we’ll meet again in a week and hear how it has been going” GOAL 3: To make it clear that the situation is being followed

Confronting and nonconfronting approaches Common to both: Discussions are short Stick to the point – remember the main goals!

Case John: Meeting with the perpetrators of bullying (confronting)

Goals, ”C”: 1.To make it clear that adults know about the bullying and do not tolerate it. 2. To make the child committed to changing his/her behavior 3. To make it clear that the situation is being followed

Case John: Meeting with the perpetrators of bullying (nonconfronting)

Goals, ”NC”: GOAL 1: Shared understanding that John is not feeling well 2. To make the child suggest some way(s) to make John feel better 3. To make it clear that the situation is being followed

Case John: Follow-up with John

Case John: Follow-up with the perpetrators of bullying In the Finnish evaluation study, the bullied student participated in the meeting in 30% of the cases

Which approach to choose? Confronting or nonconfronting? Which one is closer to my previous approach? Which one feels better at the moment?

The two approaches IN PRIMARY SCHOOL GRADES, NONCONFRONTING CONFRONTING Bullying Stopped 74.9% Decreased 22.3% Remained the same 2.2% Increased 0.6% Bullying Stopped 83.5% Decreased 14.9% Remained the same 1.5% Increased 0% IN PRIMARY SCHOOL GRADES, NO DIFFERENCE IN EFFECTIVENESS

Comparing the two approaches: The proportion of cases in which bullying had stopped completely

”Virtual mailbox” in the KiVa computer game Making reporting more likely School must activate the mailbox E-mail addresses of KiVa team members

Mailbox in the KiVa computer game

Getting started with KiVa

Getting started with KiVa Registration (until end of May, 2012) Staff meeting Information for everyone Implementation plan People in charge (e.g., KiVa team members) Student survey (June 2012) Kick-off for the students (beginning of school year in the fall) Collaboration with parents information leaflets (fall 2012) back-to-school night (fall 2012)

Registration Go to website kivaprogram.net/wales/registration/ Fill in the registration form and submit it Only one registration per school!!! You get an e-mail confirmation of the school’s registration

Web-based material Once registered, each school gets (in the confirmation e-mail) school username and staff password In addition, each school gets a student password for the student survey & computer game

Annual survey To be filled in during June 2012 (and again in June 2013) www.kivaprogram.net/wales/ On the left: surveys Students log in with the school username and student password All students in the school can respond Bullying others and being bullied; bullying-related attitudes; school liking; perception of teachers Automatic feedback to each school

Other web-based material kivaprogram.net/wales/ ”open” and ”restricted” areas access to the restricted area only for registered schools (click the ”login” button) You need school username and staff password to log in

Restricted area in the website Presentation graphics for... student lessons staff meeting back-to-school night All materials short films information leaflet for parents parents’ guide (in electronic format) Forms to document bullying cases

Staff meeting To be remembered: A common definition of bullying KiVa program Choosing the KiVa team Screening & directing cases to the KiVa team Collaboration with parents ”kick-off” for students

”KICK-OFF” All students are informed about KiVa right in the beginning of the school year Main message: Our school is a KiVa school where bullying is not tolerated Lessons for grade X students KiVa team

Informing the parents Information leaflets (kivaprogram.net/wales/)→ material Send to each home in the beginning of the school year Parents’ guide (electronic format) Back-to-school night Presentation graphics: www.kivaprogram.net/wales Home-school collaboration Results from the school’s student survey

Evidence of effectiveness

Evaluation of KiVa The effects of KiVa have been tested under the evaluation period (> 30 000 students from 234 schools) Bullying, being bullied Self- and peer-reports, dyadic data Participant role behaviors Attitudes,empathy, self-efficacy School adjustment under large-scale diffusion (> 150 000 students) Basic variables, e.g. bullying, being bullied

Changes in being bullied by different forms during one school year: RCT, grades 4 to 6

Changes 2009-2012; primary schools

Changes 2009-2012; secondary schools

Conclusion KiVa is effective in reducing bullying and victimization The effects vary across grade levels, being strongest in grade four (10-11 years)

Besides the effects on bullying and victimization... Decreases in reinforcing the bully Increases in empathy toward victimized peers & self-efficacy to support them Increases in school liking and academic motivation Decreases in depression, anxiety, and negative peer perceptions Among teachers, increased efficacy to reduce bullying

Comparison of two approcahes to tackle bullying ”No Blame” vs. ”Confronting” approach During the evaluation study of KiVa, half of the intervention schools were instructed to use C while the other half got instructions to use NC when discussing with the bully(-ies)

Effectiveness of the indicated actions The proportion of cases handled by the school team in which bullying... Stopped completely 79.4% Decreased 18.5% Remained the same 1.9% Increased 0.3% IN PRIMARY SCHOOL GRADES, NO DIFFERENCE IN EFFECTIVENESS