KiVa school antibullying program
KiVa is a research-based
antibullying program for schools to prevent bullying and to tackle the cases of
bullying effectively. It was developed at the University of Turku in
Finland, with funding from the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture. The
effects of the KiVa antibullying program have been evaluated in studies in
Finland, as well as in international studies from the Netherlands, Estonia,
Italy, and Wales showing that KiVa is effective outside of Finland as well. In
Finland 90% of comprehensive schools are
registered KiVa schools implementing the program. KiVa programme is also
available in several other countries in the world in English, Spanish, French,
Italian and Swedish (see www.kivaprogram.net).
What is meant by bullying?
Bullying is intentional,
aggressive and harmful behaviour which is targeted repeatedly at one and the
same individual. Worldwide an average of 10% of children and youth are targets
of on-going negative treatment by their schoolmates. Bullying can be
- verbal (name-calling, constant
mean remarks)
- physical (hitting, pushing)
- relational (social exclusion,
spreading lies or rumours)
- material (breaking or taking one's
belongings)
- cyberbullying (posting and
circulating embarrassing photos, sending nasty e-mails or text messages,
mocking the target on a social media site)
Bullying is differentiated from
occasional conflicts or fights in two respects: it is repeated and it occurs between children who are unequal in their strength, power or
social status. Bullying has also been called systematic abuse of power.
Bullying has negative
consequences for all involved. Victims of bullying often experience multiple
forms of bullying and they tend to become increasingly negatively viewed by
classmates over time. The victims are
anxious, depressed and lonely, and may suffer from lower self-esteem and mental
health problems in adulthood and find it difficult to trust other people. Even
children who merely witness bullying have been shown to be negatively affected.
Children doing the bullying learn to use aggression as a means to get what they
want and are more likely to use it in their future interactions with other
people.
Peer bystanders are part of the problem
Classmates who are worried about
their own social standing and perhaps afraid of ending up as the next victims
are often not willing to associate with the victimized pupil. Many peers choose
to reinforce the bully by cheering and laughing rather than standing up for the
target. When others do nothing to support the victim, the bully gets socially rewarded, and is more likely to continue
their mean acts. For the victims, the perception that the whole group is
against them may be even more painful than the attacks of one or two mean kids.
Therefore, the main idea behind the KiVa program is that influencing peer
bystanders is the key for effective bullying interventions. The aim is to
promote empathy towards victims of bullying and to raise the awareness of the
role that the whole class / group plays in the bullying process. This is done
through a series of KiVa lessons
directed to whole classes starting from primary school. There are videos and
online games and lesson plans for teachers in the teachers’ manuals. There are also student and staff surveys,
posters, presentation slides for the lessons, staff meeting and parents’
evening, recess monitors’ vests and a parent’s guide. These actions are called
‘universal actions’ and focus mainly on preventing bullying.
The second part of KiVa program
are called ‘indicated actions’, which are used when a bullying case has emerged. They are targeted specifically to
the children and adolescents who have been involved in bullying as perpetrators
or victims, as well as to several classmates who are challenged to support the
victim; the aim is to put an end to bullying. The program gives guidelines for
the school personnel to tackle cases of bullying that have come to their
attention, and information for the parents on how they can discuss bullying
with their children.
The third aspect of KiVa is
constant monitoring of the situation
in one’s school and the changes taking place over time; this is enabled by the
online tools included in KiVa. These tools produce annual feedback for each
school about their implementation of the program as well as the outcomes
obtained.
KiVa has three units. Unit 1 is
designed for children of 6–9 years of age. Unit 2 is suitable for children of
10–12 years of age. Unit 3 is meant to be used after the middle school/lower
secondary school transition, for students of around 13–16 years of age.
The KiVa program is always for
the whole school, not for individual classes or teachers.
Before starting to implement KiVa
program, the students complete an online questionnaire about the school’s
current environment and amount of bullying. The survey is repeated once a year.
The school creates a KiVa team, which consists of at least three teachers or
other adults. The main purpose of the team is to tackle specific bullying cases
together with classroom teachers.
Themes
In the first two KiVa units for
children aged from 6 to 12 years there are Kiva lessons. Unit 3, which is for
students aged from 13 to 16, has four KiVa themes. Schools can implement these
themes over the course of the school year e.g. as a series of lessons or as
theme days. The themes consist of discussions, group work, short films about
bullying and role play exercises.
During the lessons bullying is
discussed on a general level. The purpose is not to tackle acute bullying
cases, for example, by naming certain students or discussing their situation.
Theme 1: Interaction in a
group
Motto: Resist the pressure
Key topics: What kind of a group
is our class? What is bullying? What kinds of roles are there in a bullying
situation? Do I behave according to my attitudes in a bullying situation? How
does the group influence in maintaining bullying?
Theme 2: Me and others
Motto: Respect yourself, respect
others
Key topics: Emotions - what are
they? Who am I? Why should I be respected? How should I defend myself if
someone tries to bully me? How to get along with others? How to communicate
with respect?
Theme 3: Forms and mechanisms of bullying
Motto: No one deserves to be
bullied.
Key topics: How to recognize hidden bullying and how to
intervene? How to deal with cyberbullying? What is meant by sexual and
gender-based harassment and bullying? Why does someone bully? What is the
connection between power and bullying?
Theme 4: Consequences and counterforces of bullying
Motto: It’s up to us!
Key topics: What are the consequences of bullying to the
victim/ the bully / the group?
How is everyone responsible for bullying? How could I
support my classmate who is bullied?
Indicated actions: Tackling bullying
Once a case of bullying has come to the attention of the
school staff, the following actions take place.
The KiVa team members carry out individual and group
discussions with the bullies and the victims. The classroom teacher meets
with several of the victim’s classmates and challenges them to think about
how they could support their bullied classmate.
Two different approaches are recommended for the
discussions with children who have taken part in bullying: Non-Confronting
method and Confronting method. Schools should choose one method and use it
exclusively and should not vary the method as it would only send mixed
messages to the students involved. The methods are similar in many respects
but the difference lies in the tone of the discussions with the bullies. When
using the Confronting method, bullying is condemned as such. In the
Non-Confronting method a feeling of concern is evoked in the bully, which is
followed by a discussion on how they could change the situation in the
future. A separate form to fill in for each stage of the discussion is
included in the material.
(Sources: kivaprogram.net and KiVa teacher’s manual unit
3)
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