The Zero program

Zero is a schoolwide antibullying program developed by the Centre for Behavioural Research at the University of Stavanger, Norway. It is based on three main principles: a zero vision of bullying, collective commitment among all employees at the school using the program, and continuing work. Based on these principles, the program aims to reduce student bullying by increasing the school's ability to uncover and stop bullying, and eventually to prevent it. The Zero program was launched in 2003, but the work that led to it goes back to the first national steps against bullying in 1983. The program extends over sixteen months as teachers develop their awareness of bullying and their competence in addressing it. Students and parents are involved in the program as well. The role of the school leadership is very important. More than 360 Norwegian schools have carried out the program.     

Teachers bullied by students: forms of bullying and perpetrator characteristics

The focus of this study is on the forms in which the bullying of school teachers by students manifests itself, the characteristics of the students who engage in the bullying, and the manner in which the students who engage in bullying behave in their own peer relationships. The data was gathered from primary and lower secondary school teachers by means of an Internet survey. The answers of 70 teachers who had experienced bullying by their students are examined. The teachers had been exposed to different forms of bullying by students. They had typically been bullied by male students. In most cases, the bullying had been perpetrated by an individual student or a small group of students. According to the teachers' assessment, the majority of the students who bullied them also bullied their fellow students.     

Educational guidance for functional visual diversity in Nicaragua. Design and evaluation of a teacher-training program

The article exposes the process of design and implementation of a training program for teachers that teach people with Visual Functional Diversity (VFD), taking into account their needs both in training and in the provision of resources in Nicaragua. To verify the effectiveness of the program, a quasi-experimental design was carried out with a non-equivalent pretest and posttest control group. The experimental group received training while the control group did not receive training. The evaluation of the results obtained after the application of the program was carried out through two instruments: an efficacy questionnaire and a satisfaction questionnaire. The results showed significant differences between the experimental and control group after the application of the program (Z = −4,383; p = 0.000) in favor of the experimental group. It is confirmed that the program is effective in training teachers on inclusive education for the visually impaired as the teachers who took part in the training program significantly increased their knowledge in that issue.     

Educational upgrading for youthful offenders

The research reported here comes from an evaluation of the short-term impact of a program called Operation IDEA. The sample includes all clients from the first eight cohorts of 259 youthful offenders. Each cohort, or group of clients, spends about two months in the program. The data used in this analysis was obtained from pre- and posttests using the Stanford Achievement Test and the Basic Skills Assessment measures for reading and math, a survey instrument, and agency records. Outcome data was collected for job placement and GED results. Of the 210 clients who completed the program 103 obtained employment with an average hourly wage of $3.63. GED data show that 109 took the examination after completing the program and 51 of these passed the exam and received their GED certificate. Findings also show significant (p < .001) differences between pre- and posttest educational scores as well as improved self-esteem.     

Teacher Engagement with Bullying: Managing an Identity within a School

Bullying is a social problem that is detrimental to a student's education. Teacher response is an important factor to reducing bullying, which is especially important at the elementary school level. While teachers show a greater understanding of the definition of bullying than students, they struggle to recognize and respond to bullying. Using 12 grade-specific focus groups of K–5th grade teachers, this study analyzed the disconnect between teachers' understanding of what bullying is and their perception of the experiences of bullying around them. Using a modified Ecological Model, examining the teacher experience, it was found that a whole-school response to bullying is needed to help teachers stem the academic definition of bullying into their workplace engagements, taking responsibility for changing the culture of bullying. Without school support, teachers sustained a more stereotypical perspective of bullying as they managed their teacher identities, struggling to avoid them being “spoiled.”     

Teaching Note—Preparing Doctoral Students to Confront the Grand Challenges: Strengthening Baseline Statistical Skills

We describe a statistical seminar designed to provide a common foundation in core statistical concepts among all students as they enter a social work PhD program. Student feedback surveys assessed students’ statistics preparation prior to entering the program, and pre- and posttests were compared for increases in statistical knowledge. Nearly half (42.1%) reported no prior statistics training, and exposure to IBM SPSS Statistics software was low (M=1.54 out of 5, SD=1.38). Students showed significant gains in posttest knowledge. Findings suggest substantial variability in students’ statistical preparedness, and for many, knowledge of basic concepts is rudimentary. Such a seminar may allow programs to begin with more advanced quantitative course work and move to increasingly more complex topics over time (e.g., multilevel modeling).     

Do bullied children have poor relationships with their parents and teachers? A cross-sectional study of Swedish children

Parents and teachers play an important role in helping victims of bullying to prevent, cope with and end bullying. Despite that, victims' relationships with adults have often been overlooked in previous research. The aim of this study was to investigate bullied and not bullied children's perception of the quality of their relationship with teachers and parents and to examine if there were any differences in the perception associated with bullying frequency or type of victimization. Data came from the Swedish Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey from 2013/14, which included 7867 students aged 11, 13 and 15. A multi-level multinomial logistic regression model was created to estimate association between the type of bullying victimization and the quality of relationships with parents and teachers. The result showed that bullied children had poorer relationships with parents and teachers than nonvictims. Victims had higher odds of finding it difficult to talk to parents about things bothering them, of feeling that the family was not listening to what they had to say, and of having low confidence in their teacher. Frequent cyber victims had the highest AdjOR (2.09–3.37) compared with non-victims to have poor quality relationships with teachers and parents.     

An illustration of item homogeneity scaling and multilevel analysis techniques in the evaluation of drug prevention programs

Many reports of successful school-based intervention programs can be criticized for their choice of a unit of analysis and for the neglect of measurement errors. This article is an illustration of how different conclusions can be reached from different choices of units of analyses and/or of different treatment of the data. This is done by a reanalysis of a well-reported data set. The data is thoroughly taken apart, using different statistical techniques. The result of the analyses shows that earlier reported effects of a normative school-based drug prevention program were not found. The subsequent search for moderator effects of the same program, such as a lowering effect on the relationship between the pre- and posttest or on the relationship between respondents' use and the use of their friends, was not successful either. It is concluded that the null hypothesis of zero effects should be retained. More successful was a search for individual characteristics that show significant relationships with respondents' alcohol use. Among them was the abuse of alcohol by adults in respondents' direct social environment and the use of friends.     

Bullying behaviour in secondary schools: what roles do teachers play?

Teachers have an important role to play in the management and prevention of bullying. Although many anti‐bullying programmes advocate a ‘whole school approach’, they tend to focus on student‐student behaviours and rarely examine the nature of other relationships which exist in the school. This study examines bullying between students and teachers at two time points. Thirty per cent of students said they were bullied by teachers at both times. Numbers reporting they bullied teachers were 28 per cent and 16 per cent, respectively. The paper explores the important role that teachers play in dealing with bullying in a school setting by modelling appropriate behaviours and dealing with it effectively. If teachers are victimised by or engage in bullying students this has implications for the ethos within the school and may also impact on the success of anti‐bullying programmes. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evaluation of a comprehensive elementary school curriculum-based drug education program

This study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of a province-wide chemical abuse prevention education program for grades two through six. Two separate studies were conducted. Study 1 measured pre- and post-scores on a test with 1101 experimental and 991 control subjects in a quasi-experimental design. Study 2 surveyed 500 elementary school teachers on their opinions and practices regarding drug education, and on the prevalence of the program in schools. The study found that: 1) students had a high initial knowledge level; 2) students showed modest but statistically significant knowledge gains for urban schools and grades three, four, and five of rural schools; 3) the program was most effective with students with a low base knowledge; 4) an estimated 20 to 30 percent of Manitoba elementary teachers had been in-serviced and/or were using the program across the province; and 5) the program was received well among teachers.     

Making bullying prevention a priority in Finnish schools: the KiVa antibullying program

The KiVa antibullying program has been widely implemented in Finnish comprehensive schools since 2009. The program is predicated on the idea that a positive change in the behaviors of classmates can reduce the rewards gained by the perpetrators of bullying and consequently their motivation to bully in the first place. KiVa involves both universal and bullying specific actions to prevent the emergence of new cases of bullying, stop ongoing bullying, and reduce the negative consequences of victimization. The program has been evaluated in a randomized controlled trial involving 234 Finnish schools and during broad dissemination across Finnish schools (the evaluation involving almost one thousand schools) with positive findings. The program content and the implementation model are presented in this article, and the findings from the evaluation studies are summarized.     

Evaluation of the energize your life! Social marketing campaign pilot study to increase fruit intake among community college students

In this study, the authors evaluated the effectiveness of the Energize Your Life! social-marketing campaign pilot study to improve knowledge, attitudes, and fruit intake among community college students. The authors used a cross-sectional, quasi-experimental, pre- and posttest design. They randomly selected community college students (N = 1,367) and exposed the intervention campus to fruit fairs to distribute fresh fruit, 100% fruit juice, and fruit smoothie samples and information about fruit to students. The authors also addressed policy change to increase the accessibility of fruit on campus. There was a significant increase in fruit intake between pre- and posttest at the intervention campus. Although students had positive attitudes toward intake, most did not achieve the minimum recommended daily 2 servings of fruit. Approximately 25% of the students had insufficient funds, which affected their food intake. Longer-term social marketing interventions may be an effective means of improving the dietary quality of community college students.     

An ergonomic study on the biomechanical consequences in children, generated by the use of computers at school

This research deals with the influence of the computer use in schools related to the children posture, in an ergonomic point of view. The research tries to identify probable causes for the children early postural constraints, relating it to the sedentary behavior and the lack of an ergonomic project in schools. The survey involved 186 children, between 8 and 12 years old, students of a private school in Rio de Janeiro-Brasil. An historical and theoretical school furniture research was conducted as well as a survey with the students and teachers, computer postural evaluation, ergonomic evaluation (RULA method), and observations in the computer classroom. The research dealt with the student's perception with respect to the furniture utilized by him in the classroom during the use of the computer, his body complaint, the time he spent working on the school computer and the possibility of the existence of sedentariness. Also deals with the teachers' perception and knowledge regarding ergonomics with reference to schoolroom furniture and its Regulatory Norms (RN). The purpose of the research work is to highlight the importance of this knowledge, having in view the possibility of the teachers' collaboration in the ergonomic adaptation of the classroom environment and in their conscientious opinion during the purchasing of this furniture. A questionnaire was utilized and its results showed some discontent on the part of the teachers with relation to the schoolroom furniture as well as the teachers' scant knowledge of Ergonomics.We conclude with a survey that despite the children had constraints in postural assessments and school furniture needs a major ergonomic action, the time that children use the computer at school is small compared with the time of use at home and therefore insufficient to be the main cause of quantified commitments, thus the study of computer use at home as a development and continuity of this research.     

ViSC Social Competence Program

The ViSC Social Competence Program has been implemented in Austrian schools within the scope of a national strategy plan, Together Against Violence. The program is a primary preventive program designed for grades 5 to 8. The prevention of aggression and bullying is defined as a school development task, and the initial implementation of the program lasts one school year. The program consists of universal and specific actions that are implemented through in-school teacher training and a class project for students. The program was evaluated with a randomized intervention control group design. Data were collected from teachers and students. Results suggest that the program reduces aggression in schools.     

Teachers' delivery skills and substance use prevention program outcomes: the moderating role of students' need for cognition and impulse decision making

The purpose of this study was to extend the literature in both substance use implementation and persuasive health communication by examining the extent to which students' need for cognition and impulsive decision-making moderated the relationship between teachers' classroom communication behavior and program outcomes in an evidence-based middle school substance use prevention curriculum. Participants included 48 teachers and their respective 7th grade students who participated in a randomized trial testing the effectiveness of personal coaching as a means to improve the quality with which teachers implemented the All Stars curriculum. Need for cognition and impulse decision-making were both associated with positive changes in lifestyle incongruence and commitments to not use substances for students whose teachers displayed greater interactive teaching. Further, need for cognition was associated with lower alcohol use rates while impulse decision making related to lower rates of marijuana use in classes with interactive teaching.     

Research‐based teacher education for multicultural contexts

Graduate programs in education face the challenge of preparing teachers and specialists in education to work with English Language Learners (ELLs). Programs must be culturally responsive, while at the same time respecting state and federal standards for scientifically based practice according to best evidence. The focus of the present study is a graduate program in education that sought to prepare graduate students to address the needs of ELL students. Among the articulated goals of the program grant were that teachers enrolled would be able to: (1) use effective English for Speakers of Other Languages and bilingual educational strategies and methods; (2) use findings from testing, assessment and research functionally; and (3) promote multilingualism, and, in a broader sense, respect and equitable treatment of the heritages of home languages. The extent to which graduates of the master’s program who were working as teachers and administrators at the time of the study were able to make culturally competent connections with ELL students and to establish a repertoire of scientific evidence, based on research findings that they could then use to support their teaching theory and practice, is discussed. Findings reflecting the responses of 57 graduates of the program were as follows: (a) the training provided by the master’s program was rated as more useful than the in‐service provided by the state because its emphasis on research allowed graduates to judge the merits of proposed educational reforms and to clarify their own pedagogy; (b) the ability to cite research reports enabled graduates to be heard by colleagues and to depoliticize discussions regarding curricular reforms; (c) in developing their ‘communities of practice’, graduates made connections with others who had been trained in the use of scientific research in education. The study illustrates how a graduate education program focused on transformation and the encouragement of home language use can prepare teachers to work effectively in a political context of ‘evidence‐based practice’.     

Capitalizing on the human-animal bond to teach ethics to youth

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a livestock ethics curriculum developed for high school students in agricultural education classes. The curriculum was developed in response to numerous unethical occurrences at major livestock shows in recent years. These have included drug violations, physical alteration of animals, and excessive involvement of professional livestock handlers. The curriculum was taught to 305 students enrolled in eight Indiana high school agriculture programs. Data were collected using a pretest and posttest. Eighty-six percent of participants improved their score from the pretest to the posttest. Participants increased their awareness and knowledge of the overall principles involved in making ethical choices when faced with decisions in youth livestock programs. Students improved their understanding of the consequences associated with making unethical choices when faced with decisions in the youth livestock program. Participants were more likely to make an ethical choice when faced with a scenario featuring an ethical dilemma. Participants who had previously been enrolled in 4-H, Future Farmers of America, or an animal project had higher scores than those who had not been previously enrolled, but the amount of change from pre- to posttest was similar for those with and without such prior exposure. Future research should examine whether mastery of this kind of ethics curriculum will lead to better ethical choices in real-life situations.     

Analyzing sub-population profiles and risk factors for school bullying

Drawing from a local sample of 1822 7th and 8th grade students, this study used Latent Class Analysis (LCA) and Latent Class Regression Analysis (LCRA) to identify sub-population profiles and risk factors for school bullying. Four sub-population profiles of school bullying risk were yielded from this approach. These profiles included students who presented little need for formal services as well as students who manifested needs for wrap-around support. Importantly, additional regression analyses related student membership in particular risk profile groups to the support they receive from peers, teachers, and parents. Several significant practice implications for bullying prevention and Response-to-Intervention (RTI) frameworks accompany the findings. Above all, school bullying interventions should be implemented with prudence because even the best intended ones carry the potential for harm.