Date of Award
2003
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Programs for Higher Education
Advisor
John-Michael Bodi
Committee Member
Raymond Froling
Committee Member
Barbara Packer
Keywords
adults, behavior, bullying, culture, discipline reports, empathy, interviews, intervention, Middle Schools, Olweus, Olweus Bullying Prevention Program, perceptions, prevention, program effectiveness, referrals, research literature, school administration, school community, school safety, student surveys, students, support for victims, sympathy, Hopewell Memorial Junior High, victim support, weeks of implementation
Abstract
This study suggested a means for a school community to take a stand against student bullying. Many schools exist in the quagmire of disrespect and bullying. A school such as Hopewell Memorial Junior High is a typical example. In the 2000-2001 school year, there were 412 reported acts of student bullying to school administration. Of these discipline reports (referrals), 412 out of 785 total (52%) involved bullying. In the 2001-2002 school year, there were 306 reported acts of student bullying, which was 34% of the 877 total reports.
Through thoughtful analysis of this problem and consideration of the research literature, an intervention was suggested to shift the support to the victims of bullying, thereby changing the culture of a school. The Olweus Bullying Prevention Program (Olweus & Elliot, 2001) was implemented in the school for a period of 36 weeks.
An analysis of the data identified 2 positive indicators that the bullying program was effective and 1 indicator that bullying was still a problem. First, discipline reports were reduced by 44%. Second, individual student interviews were more supportive of the program than the student surveys. Third, 6 different summaries of the Olweus (2001) survey presented data that indicate the program has not made a change in the students’ perception of the problems, students’ efforts to stop the problem, or even their sympathy for the victims. Moreover, the students did not report any real change in the adults’ behavior or any perceived improvement in the school’s efforts to counteract the problem. In short, more time appeared necessary for the program to take hold in the mind and hearts of the Hopewell population.