Relationships - Discuss effectiveness of two strategies for reducing violence

Question 1

anti-violence strategies

Answer 1

• Olweus Bullying Prevention Programme (OBPP)

- Metropolitan Area Child Study (MACS)

Question 2

Olweus Bullying Prevention Programme (OBPP)

Answer 2

• programme includes everyone involved in the school system (parents, teachers, students, etc)
• aims to change the school environment as a whole, while specifically targeting individual students
• teachers are trained by the program to recognize and deal with bullying as well as implement cooperative learning strategies in the classroom
• students’ playgrounds and lunchroom are supervised
• aims to identify specific people (the bullies) and help them and their victims
• adults act as positive role models

studies: Olweus (1993), Black (2007)

Question 3

Olweus (1993)

Answer 3

• longitudinal study in Norway
• sample was made up of students in grades 5-8
• data was collected via observations and questionnaires
• after 2 years, 50% reduction in selfƒ-reported bullying incidents and general improvement toƒ the social climate ofƒ the classes
• student selfƒ-reports showed higher satisfƒaction with school life, improved order and discipline, more positive social relationships, and a more positive attitude towards the school
• indicates high level of effectiveness

Question 4

Black (2007)

Answer 4

• 13 inner city schools participated in a 4-year OBPP but only 9 schools actually completed it
• noted that not all schools followed the programme as intended (average fidelity was only 48%)
• observed bullying decreased 25%
• may be due to the increased supervision recommended by OBPP
• strangely,‚ selfƒ-reported bullying incidents increased over the course of the programme
• Black (2007) argues that the mixed results could be due to less rigorous implementation, lack ofƒ resources, and cultural differences between Norway and USA
• Norway prizes social responsibility
• whereas American culture prizesƒ individual independence.

Question 5

Metropolitan Area Child Study (MACS)

Answer 5

consists of:

• classroom programme: focuses on empathy training and social problem-solving skills
• training in social skills: small group sessions where students meet and discuss peer relations and social problem-solving strategies
• family counselling: meeting with multiple families that start with lessons and then ƒproceed to discussions about family-specific problems

Studies: MACS group (2002), Guerra et al. (2006)

Question 6

MACS group (2002)

Answer 6

MACS Research Group (2002)
- longitudinal , quasi-experimental field study on elementary school students in USA
- most participants were ethnic minorities and and many were poor
- schools were divided into 4 conditions:
 1 . control group (no intervention)
 2 . ƒfull programme
 3. only classroom programme
 4. the classroom programme and social skills training
- found that the programme had negligible effect on levels of aggression in most cases
- positive effect: some students who had participated in the full programme showed less aggression compared to control group
- negative effect: students whose schools didn’t do the full program actually showed a higher level of aggression after the programme compared to the control group

Question 7

evaluation of MACS group (2002)

Answer 7

Guerra et al. (2006):

• noted that students of selected schools were unusually high-risk in terms of aggression, and the students’ social hierarchy had been largely decided violently
• the hierarchy was ingrained to such an extent that the culture of violence would be difficult to address – intervention programs would not have had much effect

Question 8

are school bullying intervention programs effective?

Answer 8

• appears that school-based strategies to reduce violence are not always very effective
• possibly because violence i s a complex phenomenon that must be addressed at social, cultural, individual, and
  socioeconomic levels
• Guerra et al (2006): different approaches may need to be used for different target groups
• Ferguson et al. (2007) performed a meta-analysis of effectiveness of school-based anti-bullying programmes
  and found that overall they were not very effective
• should be noted that the younger the target groups, the more impact the programmes had