Bullying Prevention Results: Bonita Vista Middle School

Steven Bosset: School Counseling Fieldwork Student

Classroom Guidance Curriculum

7th & 8th Grade Bullying Prevention presentation in five Health

classes & one English Class Approximately 110 students received the lesson October 2008 Lesson Content:

Definition of bullying Different types of bullying Ways to report bullying Steps to take if students are getting bullied

2006 California Healthy Kids Survey

34% of BVMS students feel unsafe at school

30% of these feelings were related to bullying and harassment

21% reported that they were harassed

23% were afraid of being beaten up

Research Says

Around 30% of adolescents in the United States are estimated to be involved in bullying either as the aggressor or the victim

Bullying is the leading cause of attempted suicide among adolescents

Students who are bullied have higher levels of depression and lower self-esteem

Victims often feel tense, anxious, insecure, and afraid

Obtained from www.safeyouth.org

Why did we teach this lesson?

Data: California Healthy Kids Survey Increase awareness of the impact bullying

can have on students Increase the reporting of bullying related

incidents to school staff Increase the amount of students who feel

safe at school Decrease bullying at BVMS

ASCA National Standards

Personal/Social Standard A Students will acquire the knowledge, attitudes,

and interpersonal skills to help them understand and respect self and others

Personal/Social Standard C Students will understand safety and survival

skills

Student Competencies

PS: A1.6 distinguish between appropriate and inappropriate behavior

PS: A2.1 recognize that everyone has rights and responsibilities

PS: A2.4 recognize, accept, respect, and appreciate individual differences

PS: C1.1 learn about the difference between appropriate and inappropriate physical contact

What do the students BELIEVE?

Pre 80% Agreed or

Strongly Agreed with statement

Post 92% Agreed or

Strongly Agreed with statement

“I believe that bullying is a very serious issue in school”

Question: “I believe that bullying is a very serious issue in school”

5 510

4

47

3439

64

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

StronglyDisagree

Disagree Agree StronglyAgree

PrePost

Question: “I believe it is important to help stop bullying in my school”

4 42 0

45

34

55

69

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

StronglyDisagree

Disagree Agree StronglyAgree

Pre

Post

Knowledge QuestionSocial Bullying: What Do Students Know?

Pre 24% Could identify

Social Bullying

Post 61% Could identify

Social Bullying

Students who can define Social Bullying

24

61

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Pre

Post

This is a 150% increase!

Skills Question

56% identified proper strategies

71% identified proper strategies

Pre Post

Students were given a bullying case scenario and then asked to identify one correct strategy to deal with the situation.

Students who identified proper strategies

56

71

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Pre

Post

This is a 25% increase

How Does Bullying Effect Academic Achievement?

According to the California Healthy Kids Survey: “Research has shown that meeting developmental needs of students - ensuring that they are safe, drug-free, healthy, and resilient - is central to improving their academic performance”

Academic Achievement Data: GPA Standardized test scores Graduation rates

www.wested.org/chks

Safety at School and API Scores (Concurrent Relationship)

73

79

85

91

97

API Score

Per

cen

t re

po

rtin

g f

eelin

g "

safe

" o

r "v

ery

safe

" at

sch

oo

l

1st (Lowest)2nd3rd4th5th (Highest)

API Quintile

www.wested.org/chks

Implications/Limitations

BVMS currently does not collect suspension and discipline referral data on bullying, which does not allow tracking of improvement or correlations to achievement data

California Healthy Kids Survey data is two years old

Students had prior lessons on bullying in their health classes so they knew a lot of the information before the lesson was given

Students still have room for improvement when defining bullying

Recommendations

Keep track of bullying rates using referrals or “bully box” to see if progress has been made in lowering bullying rates

Make pre/post test more challenging for students

Consider using hands-on activities or role play during the lesson

Collect results in a more time efficient manner

Next Steps

Make adjustments to bullying pre/post test & lesson plan

Present guidance lessons to other 7th grade classes

Analyze the results of next California Healthy Kids Survey

The school counseling program is contributing in a meaningful way to the personal development and academic

achievement of all students.

Thank you for your support!

References

California Healthy Kids Survey: Technical Report for Bonita Vista Middle School. Fall 2006.

Hatch, T. (2007). Using the FLASHLIGHT BUILDER: Approach to Measuring Results! The Center for Excellence in School Counseling and Leadership. Retrieved December 14, 2008 from Cescal.org