Date of Award
2012
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Abraham S. Fischler College of Education
Advisor
John Travers
Committee Member
Susanne Flannelly
Committee Member
Ronald Kern
Keywords
aggression, bullying, bullying prevention, middle schools, peer harassment, process evaluation, program evaluation, safe-school initiatives, school climate, student behavior
Abstract
This applied dissertation was designed to evaluate the Bully Proofing Your School curriculum and safe-school initiatives, at the researcher’s school site. School bullying is an international problem that can have negative social, emotional, and academic consequences in the life of a child. The writer developed a logic model, as an analytical framework, for evaluating the bullying prevention curriculum. The objective of the study was to develop a process evaluation, utilizing the model to review staff training, student behavior initiatives, survey results, and security measures.
An analysis of the data included survey results from 2003 in comparison to student survey results from 2008, using the chi-square fit test, and an independent t test. A review of the archival survey data indicated how the school’s bullying program influenced student perceptions of the school climate. The context, input, process, and product evaluation model guided the program evaluation. The focus group provided anecdotal information on the bullying curriculum and the impact on student and teacher behavior. Staff members responsible for presenting the curriculum and developing school policies provided personal insight to the effectiveness of the program.
The process evaluation data indicated that the school was making strides toward a caring majority. There was an increase in reports of physical bullying and a decrease in verbal bullying. With the rise of technology, there was a significant change in student reports of notes written about them filled with rumors or sexual comments. Nearly two-thirds of students were reporting offenses as taught in the curriculum. Students (80%) reported feeling safe in the classroom, while more than half felt comfortable on campus, at lunch, and in the school restrooms. The impact of the faculty and administration in creating a caring community was positively recorded through qualitative data from the focus group and logic model, but the quantitative data indicated that there is more work to do toward students reporting and embracing the caring community.