Antibullying Programs in Schools: How Effective are Evaluation Practices?

Abstract

Bullying is a problem for schools around the world, and is an important topic for research because it has been associated with negative outcomes on numerous social, psychological, and academic measures. Antibullying prevention and intervention programs have varied greatly in their outcomes, with some studies reporting positive results while others have reported little or no positive impacts. Prompted by accountability demands, many agencies have developed standards with which to assess whether social programs are effective. Antibullying program evaluations have not been systematically reviewed to determine whether these types of standards are being applied. The purpose of this study was to assess the rigor of recent peer-reviewed antibullying program evaluations. Thirty-one peer-reviewed evaluations of antibullying programs, published within the last 10 years, were identified and coded for study characteristics. Shortcomings were identified in many of these program evaluations. In order to improve evaluation practices, researchers should consider using more rigorous designs to identify cause-effect relationships, including control conditions and random assignment, using more appropriate pre-post intervals, using more advanced methods of analyses such as hierarchical linear modeling, and systematically verifying program integrity to obtain dosage data that can be used in the outcome analyses.

Learning from traditional bullying interventions: A review of research on cyberbullying and best practice

“…Critical effective content in offline bullying intervention have identified the significance of a whole school approach and the importance of addressing wider systemic factors (Ttofi & Farrington, 2011), the presentation of multiple components, and evidence-based methods. Evaluation elements that have been reviewed include: the duration, intensity (Fox, Farrington, & Ttofi, 2012), the measurement of variables (Ryan & Smith, 2009), and the features of the implementation process (Durlak & DuPre, 2008) necessary for sustainability and dissemination. Even though hundreds of bullying prevention programs are marketed to schools, only about 8% of programs implemented are evidence-based (Crosse et al, 2011).…”

“…For offline bullying, programs with high efficacy are those intense programs that regularly involve parents, hold firm disciplinary methods, and improved playground supervision (Fox et al, 2012;Ttofi & Farrington, 2011). Moreover, program evaluation should include random assignment of school, classes, and students as well as the use of experimental design or quasi-experimental design when the former is not possible (Ryan & Smith, 2009). The use of multiple informants and qualitative data are also useful whenever possible.…”

“…The use of multiple informants and qualitative data are also useful whenever possible. Finally, data should be collected at baseline before the intervention is introduced and outcome data should be collected at least six months later with efficacy and effectiveness data collected at a two year follow-up to ensure the positive effects are maintained over time (Ryan & Smith, 2009). The manner in which a program is implemented may assist with the maintenance of programs.…”

Bullying Intervention in Adolescence: The Intersection of Legislation, Policies, and Behavioral Change

“…Schools have been inundated over the past 20 years with bullying prevention and intervention programs (Ferguson et al 2007;Ryan and Smith 2009;Farrington 2009, 2011;Polanin et al 2012). There are literally hundreds of bullying-and aggression-prevention programs being used in schools worldwide (Leff et al 2004).…”

“…There are literally hundreds of bullying-and aggression-prevention programs being used in schools worldwide (Leff et al 2004). However, educators have a monumental task of selecting which bullying prevention program(s) will have the best chance of successfully reducing bullying in their respective schools (Ryan and Smith 2009). Traditionally, schoolbased anti-bullying efforts have involved universal programs administered to the entire school population, typically with the goal of increasing awareness about bullying and decreasing bullying behaviors among students (Swearer et al 2010).…”