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Guide
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STEPS TO RESPECT BULLYING PREVENTION PROGRAM
OVERVIEW
The Steps to Respect bullying prevention program is designed to decrease bullying problems by increasing bullying awareness in both school staff as well as students. The program involves training for school staff to improve awareness and responsiveness to bullying problems and a classroom curriculum designed to provide students with the social skills to successfully mediate conflict in bullying situations. Six schools were randomly assigned in an evaluation of the Steps to Respect program. The evaluation found that the program was effective in increasing agreeable social interactions, students’ feelings of responsibility in bullying situations involving peers, and students’ perceptions of school staff’s responsiveness to bullying. The program was also found to decrease bullying behavior and acceptance of bullying behavior.
The program is based on the education of both school staff and students in the hopes that increased awareness and responsiveness to bullying will decrease bullying problems. School counselors, administrators, and teachers attend two training sessions which focus on responding to bullying reports and helping students who are victims of bullying. Students in the program attend weekly 1 hour sessions for 12-14 weeks. These sessions focus on the difference between bullying reporting and tattling, joining groups, and being a responsible bystander.
Frey, K. S., Hirschstein, M. K., Snell, J. L., Edstrom, L. V. S., MacKenzie, E. P., & Broderick, C. J. (2005). Reducing playground bullying and supporting beliefs: An experimental trial of the Steps to Respect program. Developmental Psychology, 41(3), 479-491.
Evaluated population: 1,126 students in grades 3-6 attending six elementary schools in the northwest. Students in the study were 9% African-American, 12.7% Asian, 7% Hispanic, 1.3% Native American, and 70% Caucasian. 11.5% of students were in ESL programs and 21-60% of students were receiving free or reduced-price lunches.
Approach: Six elementary schools were matched for background variables and then schools in each pair were randomly assigned to either a Step to Respect treatment intervention or a control group waiting condition. In the treatment condition, school staffs were trained in the bullying prevention program and, later that same year, students attended 12-14 weeks of classroom lessons. Students in the control condition followed regular school curriculum and received no additional treatments. Students in grades 3 and 4 received the Level I version of the program while students in grades 5 and 6 received program Levels II and III. There were 36 experimental and 36 control classrooms in total. The program included a training manual and detailed curriculum as well as scripted information and letters for parents.
Results: Students in the Steps to Respect treatment condition were found to be less accepting of bullying than students in control groups. Students in treatment conditions also felt more responsibility to help others with bullying problems and believed that school staff were more responsive to bullying problems. Students in the control condition were more likely to report bullying other students compared to students in the treatment condition. Reductions in bullying were concentrated among students who bullied at the time of the pre-test. A similar but non-significant pattern was found wherein bystander encouragement of bullying declined among those who encouraged bullying during a pre-test observation. However, no differences were found in victimization by bullying. Finally, students in the treatment condition were observed by two trained coders to have more agreeable social interactions and fewer argumentative social interactions with peers compared with students in the control condition.
Link to program curriculum: http://www.cfchildren.org/programs/str/overview/
Frey, K. S., Hirschstein, M. K., Snell, J. L., Edstrom, L. V. S., MacKenzie, E. P., & Broderick, C. J. (2005). Reducing playground bullying and supporting beliefs: An experimental trial of the Steps to Respect program. Developmental Psychology, 41(3), 479-491.
Program categorized in this guide according to the following:
Evaluated participant ages: grades 3-6 / Program age ranges in the Guide: mid-childhood, adolescence
Program components: school-based
Measured outcomes: social and emotional health and development; life skills; behavioral problems; positive citizenship
Program information last updated 3/14/07
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© Child Trends 2003 |