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
- Cyberbullying Toolkit: Webinar Archive
- Girls Bullying
- Peaceful School Bus Program – Hazelden Foundation
- Cyberbullying (UNICEF)
- PAX Good Behaviour Game
- Cyberbullying Toolkit for Educators
- Another Bully Busters Song
- Bullied: A Student, a School and a Case That Made History
- Teaching Students How to “Stand Up” to Bullying – Webinar Archive
- Help Increase the Peace Students Bullying Research Project
- On-the-Spot Bullying Prevention
- On-the-Spot Mediation: how to use your skills in everyday life
- Social Emotional Learning via The Heart Story (RCCP)
- Overview of the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program
- Puppet Show – Kids Against Bullying
- Students Take on Cyberbullying
- The Transformation of West Philadelphia High School: a story of hope
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Social and Emotional Learning and Bullying Prevention | 21-page briefing paper prepared for the National Center for Mental Health Promotion and Youth Violence Prevention by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) and the Social and Emotional Learning Research Group at the University of Illinois at Chicago. "Schools using a social and emotional learning (SEL) framework can foster an overall climate of inclusion, warmth, and respect, and promote the development of core social and emotional skills among both students and staff. Because bullying prevention is entirely congruent with SEL, it can be embedded in a school's SEL framework. The aims of this brief are to (a) provide a basic description of a school-wide SEL framework, (b) illustrate the relationship between social and emotional factors and bullying, and (c) explain how an SEL framework can be extended to include bullying prevention." | |
| 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. | |
| Research-based books and articles on bullying and peer victimization | Pdf document presents list of books and articles on bullying and peer victimization. | |
| Scope and impact of bullying | Pdf document which discusses bullying. | |
| What should I do if I'm bullied | Pdf document with advice to children who are bullied. | |
| Misdirections in bullying prevention and intervention | Pdf document which discusses mistakes made in dealing with bullies and suggestions for alternative strategies. | |
| Documenting bullying at your school: tips for school administrators | Pdf document which introduces the idea of assessing and tracking bullying behavior at school for administrators. | |
| Clique bullying scenario | Web-based interactive scenario which presents children reacting to a clique bullying situation and "taking a stand against the crowd." | |
| Educational resources: articles, books, films about bullying and teasing | Word document provides list of books, articles and films on bullying and teasing. | |
| Bully Prevention in Positive Behavior Support | A 52-page handbook focusing on giving elementary students the tools to reduce bullying behavior through the blending of school-wide positive behavior support, explicit instruction, and a redefinition of the bullying construct. | |
| 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. | |
| 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. | |
| Stop Bullying Now Activities Guide | A 12-page pdf of activity ideas for preventing bullying in schools and youth serving organizations. | |
| Faith-community responses to bullying among children and youth | Pdf document which outlines steps that faith communities can take to stop bullying. | |
| What can students and youth do to lend a hand | Pdf document with advice to students and youth on bullying prevention. | |
| Bullying in our schools: protecting GLBT youth | Powerpoint presentation which discusses bullying in schools particularly involving gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgendered youth in schools. | |
| 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. | |
| Best practices in bullying prevention and intervention | Pdf document outlining best practices for bullying prevention and intervention. | |
| Being an ally | Pdf document for students outlining steps and sample phrases to help diffuse bullying incidents. | |
| Community-based bullying prevention: tips for community members | Pdf document, geared toward community members, discussing bullying prevention. |