A study of changes in behavior and attitudes with regard to bullying through the development and implementation of a bully-proofing program

Abstract

Bullying is not a new problem in schools. It is a problem that has long-term and short-term effects and bullying can impede the right of each student to a safe and meaningful education. Research has shown that implementation of a bully-proofing program in schools can have a positive effect in reducing victim/bully problems and anti-social behavior in schools. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the changes in the behavior and attitudes of 6th grade students through the implementation of a bully-proofing program. This program is a proactive effort to prevent violence and to make the school environment safer for children. A pre-test survey and a post-test survey was administered and used as the means for evaluation. In the introduction, bullying was defined. Following this, the scope of bullying, including the characteristics of the victims and the bullies and the effects that bullying has on students was explored. There was a discussion of the program curriculum that was used in this study. There was an examination of the results of the statistical analysis on the pre-test and post-test survey. Information gathered from the evaluation of this program provided the basis for recommending that the bully-proofing program be continued with some modifications.