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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.)

Olweus Bullying Prevention Program training session at Arizona State UniversityA 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.

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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
State laws related to bullying among children and youth Pdf document presenting information on state laws that deal with bullying.
Research-based articles and books on bullying/peer victimization Pdf document listing articles and books on bullying and peer victimization.
Clique bullying scenario Web-based interactive scenario which presents children reacting to a clique bullying situation and "taking a stand against the crowd."
Tips for selecting materials from the resource list Pdf document providing tips for choosing materials on bullying.
Bullying among children and youth with disabilities and special needs Pdf document discussing bullying of children with disabilities and special needs.
Children who bully Pdf document on children who bully.
What can students and youth do to lend a hand Pdf document with advice to students and youth on bullying prevention.
STOP: On-the-spot bullying intervention Word document presenting actions and statements for on-the-spot intervention of bullying behavior.
What should I do if I'm bullied Pdf document with advice to children who are bullied.
Faith-community responses to bullying among children and youth Pdf document which outlines steps that faith communities can take to stop bullying.
How to intervene to stop bullying: tips for on-the-spot intervention at school Pdf document with instruction on dealing with bullying at school, how to intervene and follow-up procedures.
Involvement of law enforcement officers in bullying prevention Pdf document examining ways in which law enforcement personnel can be involved in the prevention of bullying.
Bullying in cyberspace Word document examining bullying in cyberspace.
Physical and verbal bullying Web-based interative scenario which explores bullying.
Working with young people who are bullied: tips for mental health professionals Pdf document with tips for mental health workers who treat bullied youth.
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."
Advice from our "tween" and teen experts Pdf document with advice on bullying from the Youth Expert Panel.
Cyber bullying Word document examining bullying in cyberspace, with advice to parents and young people from Aman Batheja.
SACSC Elementary unit and lesson plans Web site developed by the Society for Safe and Caring Schools and Communities in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada whose mission "is to encourage home, school and community practices that teach, model and reinforce socially responsible and respectful behaviors, so that living and learning can take place in a safe, caring and inclusive environment. Achieving this mission requires the involvement not only of parents, teachers, and children, but of all the important adults in children’s lives." The site houses a number of lesson plans and educational units "focusing on adult modeling, the SACSC programs prevent negative social behavior through character education, conflict management training and building respect for diversity. They promote a problem-solving approach to discipline that encourages positive social behavior by expecting young people to fix the wrong they have caused, thereby learning from their mistakes." They focus on 5 topics: Living Respectfully; Developing Self-Esteem; Respecting Diversity and Preventing Prejudice; Managing Anger and Dealing with Bullying and Harassment; and Resolving Conflicts Peacefully for grades K-6.
Educational resources: articles, books, films about bullying and teasing Word document provides list of books, articles and films on bullying and teasing.