PROJECT PLOUGHSHARES PUPPETS FOR PEACE (P4)

OVERVIEW

The Project Ploughshares Puppets for Peace (P4) program is a school-based intervention which targets bullying behavior.  The program had no impacts on knowledge about bullying. 

DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM

Target population: Elementary school children

The program consists of a single classroom session where students attend a 30-minute play using puppets.  Students then discuss the play and the lessons about identifying bullying behavior and how to manage bullies.  There are three different plays which are designed for children in different age groups.  Children in kindergarten and first grade attend a play which teaches them about respect for others and friendship.  Children in second through fourth grade learn about strategies to deal with bullies and steps to use when being bullied.  Children in fifth and sixth grades learn about citizenship and how it relates to bullying.  The three plays range from 30-45 minutes in length, and it is recommended that a trained members of the team lead a short discussion with students following the play.

EVALUATION(S) OF PROGRAM

Beran, T. & Shapiro, B. (2005).  Evaluation of an anti-bullying program: Student reports of knowledge and confidence to manage bullying.  Canadian Journal of Education, 28(4), 700-717.

Evaluated population: 129 third and fourth graders from public city schools in Canada.  The sample consisted of 69 boys and 60 girls in total.

Approach: Random assignment was done on the classroom level such that 66 students were assigned to the intervention group and 63 students were assigned to the control group.  Students in the intervention group attended a short puppet play over the course of one classroom session lasting about 30 minutes.  After the play, students spent 15 minutes identifying bullying behaviors and discussing how to deal with bullying.  The students completed a questionnaire before and after the class period which assessed knowledge about bullying, experiences with bullying, managing bullying, and ability to identify cases of bullying.  Students in the control group did not receive any intervention but completed the questionnaire both before and after a class period.  Students completed another questionnaire 3 months after the date of the intervention.

Results: The program had no impact on any of the measures of student knowledge about bullying or ways to deal with bullying. (The researchers speculate that this finding may have been a result of the higher than expected knowledge about bullying at pretest.  Scores may have suffered from a ceiling, limiting the difference found between the treatment and control groups). 

(Analyses took into account the fact that randomization occurred at the group level.)

SOURCES FOR MORE INFORMATION

For program information: http://www.ploughsharescalgary.ca/puppets/

References

Beran, T. & Shapiro, B. (2005).  Evaluation of an anti-bullying program: Student reports of knowledge and confidence to manage bullying.  Canadian Journal of Education, 28(4), 700-717.

Program categorized in this guide according to the following:

Evaluated participant ages: 3-4^th grade / Program age ranges in the Guide: middle childhood

Program components: school-based

Measured outcomes: education and cognitive development; behavioral problems

Program information last updated 9/12/08