Bullying Prevention
Conflict resolution and bullying prevention are natural partners. A comprehensive violence prevention plan should include both. Schools that have a solid conflict resolution program in place are ideally positioned to engage in bullying prevention as a next step. Conflict resolution teaches students how to solve problems when power is fairly equal and when both parties have some interest in resolving the conflict. Bullying, on the other hand, occurs when one party has more power, that party has no interest in resolving the problem, and he is primarily interested in hurting the other. In these circumstances, conflict resolution techniques are not likely to be effective, so other methods must be in place. (To learning more about bullying prevention, please visit our online learning module.)
A bullying prevention program should teach students how to distinguish normal peer conflict, which responds well to conflict resolution strategies, from bullying violence, which warrants a different set of strategies. Once students understand which type of conflict they are dealing with, they can decide which strategies to use. There are several factors (for example, contextual factors and personality traits) that determine when some strategies are more appropriate than others.
Rethinking the deeper impacts that bullying has on our school culture is important for existing conflict resolution programs. While many such programs have a long history of creating safe and caring youth cultures and providing students and staff with specific skills to confront injustice, the recent attention to bullying has expanded the importance of this work and has provided language and additional strategies for surfacing and handling this more serious form of conflict and violence. Likewise, bullying prevention programs can benefit from the comprehensive experience that conflict resolution programs offer.
Videos of Possible Interest
- Help Increase the Peace Students Bullying Research Project
- Social Emotional Learning via The Heart Story (RCCP)
- On-the-Spot Bullying Prevention
- Bullied: A Student, a School and a Case That Made History
- On-the-Spot Mediation: how to use your skills in everyday life
- PAX Good Behaviour Game
- Another Bully Busters Song
- Cyberbullying Toolkit: Webinar Archive
- Teaching Students How to “Stand Up” to Bullying – Webinar Archive
- Puppet Show – Kids Against Bullying
- The Transformation of West Philadelphia High School: a story of hope
- Cyberbullying Toolkit for Educators
- Cyberbullying (UNICEF)
- Students Take on Cyberbullying
- Peaceful School Bus Program – Hazelden Foundation
- Girls Bullying
- Overview of the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program
See MORE VIDEOS...
Sample Catalog Resources
Below you'll find a randomized listing of up to 20 related items (we may have more...) drawn from our Resource Catalog.
Resource Title | Description | Links |
---|---|---|
Don't Laugh at Me Teachers Guide: Grades 2-5 Creating a Ridicule-Free Classroom | Don't Laugh At Me provides an effective tool for establishing a caring climate in which the emotional and physical abuse children suffer because of peer ridicule, bullying and other asocial behaviors is far less likely to occur. Operation Respect developed the Don't Laugh at Me (DLAM) programs, one for grades 2-5, another for grades 6-8 and a third for summer camps and after-school programs. All of the programs utilize inspiring music and video along with curriculum guides such as this one based on the well-tested, highly regarded conflict resolution curricula developed by the Resolving Conflict Creatively Program (RCCP) of Educators for Social Responsibility (ESR). Visit http://www.operationrespect.org to sign up for the full free curriculum kit which includes evaluations, CD and Video along with the curriculum guides. | |
Assessing the status of your school's comprehensive bullying prevention plan | Pdf document which presents a series of questions to help educators determine the status of bullying programs, based on Dan Olweus's, "Bullying prevention program." | |
Intervention tips for law enforcement officers | Pdf document examining the role of law enforcement in bullying. | |
Bullying prevention: CRETE training day 3 | Powerpoint presentation for educators on bullying and ways to prevent bullying behavior. | |
GIRC Annotated Bibliography of Conflict Resolution Resources | An annotated bibliography from the Global Issues Resource Center on conflict resolution resources covering the topics of bullying prevention, classroom management, and trauma & violence prevention. Includes books, curricula, videotapes, simulations and games. | |
Exploring the nature and prevention of bullying: Significant identifying characteristics for victims | Word document that lists 21 characteristics of victims of bullying. | |
Kids Working It Out Resource Appendix | A listing of books, publications and websites provided in the appendix to Tricia S. Jones and Randy O. Compton (Eds.) 2003 book Kids Working It Out: Stories and Strategies for Making Peace in Our Schools. | |
Warning signs that a child is being bullied | Pdf document illustrating behaviors that may alert parents of bullied children and steps they can take to correct the problem. | |
What should I do if I'm bullied | Pdf document with advice to children who are bullied. | |
Olweus intervention suggestions | Powerpoint presentation providing guidelines for combating bullying in schools, from the Olweus Bullying Prevention Group. | |
Bullying in out-of-school time programs: tips for youth-serving professionals and volunteers | Pdf document that examines bullying in extracurricular activities with tips for professionals and volunteers. | |
Bully Prevention in Positive Behavior Support for Middle Schools | This 45-page handbook focuses on school-wide positive behavior support, explicit instruction, and a redefinition of the bullying construct in a middle school. | |
Tug of war - Peace Through Understanding Conflict | This 10-chapter 104-page book, available as a pdf, is for youth ages 8-16 interested in a peaceful world - and in understanding the forces that cause conflict, both in personal relationships and across the globe. Tug of War describes: 1) What the roots of war are. 2) How we create "The Enemy". 3) A new way to handle violence. Illustrated by award-winning artist, Rod Cameron. Part of the Education for Peace Series by Atrium Society Publications | |
Roles for health and safety professionals in bullying prevention and intervention | Pdf document discussing bullying with tips on what health and safety professionals can do to stop the behavior. | |
State laws related to bullying among children and youth | Pdf document presenting information on state laws that deal with bullying. | |
Bullying prevention and intervention: TeamMates Mentoring Program Lincoln Public Schools | 9-page PDF case study which, "looks at one program in Nebraska, Lincoln Public Schools (LPS) TeamMates, that has decided to address bullying at several schools through mentoring, using volunteers from the community to reach out to bullies and victims alike." | |
What can students and youth do to lend a hand | Pdf document with advice to students and youth on bullying prevention. | |
How to talk to educators at your child's school about bullying: tips for parents of bullied children | Pdf document that helps parents of bullied children address issues with educators. | |
Scope and impact of bullying | Pdf document which discusses bullying. | |
Five Critical Steps for Reducing Peer Aggression: Early Childhood Practitioner Training Program | STEPS for Early Childhood Practitioners is a comprehensive training program using The Ophelia Project's Five Critical Steps framework. Through this training, Early Childhood practitioners learn to observe aggression in the classroom and develop skills to carefully and consciously change the social climate of preschools and childcare centers. The training modules empower practitioners to integrate using positive language and pro-social norms as part of their everyday interactions with children and also shows how to create lesson plans to promote empathy, conflict resolution, respect, civility, and manners. |