section 2 the whole school approach

VISTA/VISTOP

School Bullying and Violence: Taking Action

Project 129352-CP-1-2006-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21

www.vistop.org

Section 2: The Whole School Approach

Chapter 2.1: What Does the WSA stand for?

Johan Deklerck and Gie Deboutte, Belgium

Chapter 2.2: How to Embed the Whole School Approach (WSA): The

Challenge of Implementation

Anne Sofie Samuelsen and Sigrun K. Ertesvåg, Norway

Chapter 2.3: Creating a Positive School Ethos of Non-Violence and Respect through ‘Linkedness’

Gie Deboutte1, Johan Deklerck1, Astrid Mona O’Moore2 and Stephen James

Minton2 1Belgium 2Ireland

Chapter 2.4: Working with Parents

Astrid Mona O’Moore and Stephen James Minton, Ireland

Chapter 2.5: Working with Teachers

Astrid Mona O’Moore and Stephen James Minton, Ireland

Chapter 2.6: Dealing With Indiscipline and Disruption

Rosario Ortega, Rosario del Rey, Javier Ortega-Rivera and Claire Monks, Spain

1

VISTA/VISTOP School Bullying and Violence: Taking Action Project 129352-CP-1-2006-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21 www.vistop.org

© Cowie, H., Jennifer, D., Chankova, D., Poshtova, T., Deklerck, J., Deboutte, G., Ertesvåg, S. K., Samuelsen, A. S., O'Moore, M., Minton, S. J., Ortega, R. & Sanchez, V. (2006)

The Whole School Approach

Given our understanding that the problem of

school violence extends far beyond the

individual children involved as aggressors or

victims, the VISTA training adopts the WSA to

the promotion of non-violence and prevention

of violence as an essential framework from

within which the elements and initiatives of an

intervention are carefully co-ordinated at

different levels. In Chapter 2.1, we present a

‘bio-ecological approach’ to the promotion of

non-violence that takes into account: the

individual characteristics of perpetrators,

victims, bystanders, and adults; the ethos of

the school; the quality of the learning

environment of the school; and the links with

the wider community, society and natural

environment. This Chapter offers a unique

framework for the prevention and reduction of

school violence in the form of a “prevention

pyramid”.

Implementing a WSA to school violence

requires an active learning process on the part

of the school as organisation, a process that

occurs within a wider context. Today, we live

in a complex knowledge-society and, as such,

we require educated citizens who can learn

continuously, and who can work with diversity.

Complexity means change and specifically it

means rapidly occurring, unpredictable, non-

linear change in our organisations and our

world. Such changes are not easy to control.

Different ways of thinking about change are

required – ways that our conventional

approaches to planned change have not

allowed. Consequently, schools must become

learning organisations or they will fail to

survive as an organisation creating knowledge.

Chapter 2.2 presents participants with

strategies for implementing a program or an

idea that will support them in arriving at a

clear rationale for leading a change process in

preventing and reducing violence in schools.

The aim of the Chapter is to assist participants

in the process of change and to support staff

involved in its development. Participants will

become familiar with possible barriers and

resistances they are likely to meet during an

implementation process and learn about ways

for overcoming these.

A WSA is important in effecting a sustainable

and positive influence on the school

environment. As such, account needs to be

taken of the style and quality of leadership and

management practices; the quality and

delivery of the curriculum; playground

activities and the social aspects of the

curriculum; the formalised and agreed

procedures to deal with a bullying and/or

violent incident; and, the building relationships

with others and with the self. In Chapter 2.3,

we explore the key role that school

management staff, teaching staff, parents,

young people and the wider school community

play in the development of a school ethos of

non-violence. The Chapter offers a set of skills

and strategies through which a positive school

ethos of non-violence can be practically

implemented in school. By the end of the

Chapter, participants will be familiar with the

2



skills involved in planning work with different

groups within school communities.

The role of parents has been identified as an

essential part of the WSA towards the

prevention and reduction of bullying and

violence in schools. In order for the WSA to be

effective, together with school personnel,

parents have a responsibility to ensure that

their children and young people are not

involved in inappropriate behaviours such as

bullying or harassing other school pupils.

Bullied young people are more likely to report

their experiences to their parents rather than

to staff at their school indicating that parents

can play a critical role in a school community's

efforts to address bullying and violence.

Chapter 2.4 focuses on the role of parents in

addressing bullying and violent behaviour in

collaboration with their child's school.

Participants will become familiar with the skills

involved in planning work with parents in

school communities and with the strategies for

engaging parents in activities that will support

them in taking their part in the promotion of

non-violence and the reduction of violence.

The WSA provides guidance to parents

themselves in working productively at home

with their children in countering and

preventing violent and bullying behaviour in

schools.

Work with school staff is central to the

practical implementation of the WSA towards

the prevention and reduction of violence in

schools. Not only do we rely upon teachers to

deliver the content of anti-bullying

programmes, and even to act as trainers

within such programmes, but on a day-to-day

basis, school staff are and always have been

very much at the 'coal face' in terms of having

to deal with incidents of violent behaviour in

their schools. In Chapter 2.5, we focus on the

key role that staff (senior management,

teachers, classroom assistants, lunchtime

supervisors, caretakers, administrators) play

in the application of a WSA for addressing

school violence. We also present guidance on

how to work productively in the classroom with

young people in promoting pro-social

attitudes.

One of the major challenges facing teachers in

the 21st century is the issue of school

violence. Three main problems that have been

linked with school violence include

interpersonal conflicts, low-level disruption and

lack of discipline. When such problems as

these affect teaching and learning, there is a

feeling of unrest throughout the school

population. Daily life in school becomes more

difficult and dealing with problem behaviour

starts to take precedence over academic tasks.

The first step to addressing such problems is

to differentiate between conflicts, lack of

discipline and disruptions, as causes,

consequences, and lines of intervention are

different depending on the behaviour.

Chapter 2.6 explores how to implement the

WSA with all children, both with vulnerable

children most at risk of being either victims or

perpetrators of violence, and with young

3



people such as peer supporters. In this

Chapter, we describe strategies that have

been found to be effective, and critically reflect

on the ways in which teachers can respond to

the diverse reality of the problems they

encounter in their daily life. We explore ways

of breaking the cycle of lack of motivation that

can lead to young people becoming disaffected

and therefore more prone to engage in

disruptive and aggressive behaviours.

What Does the WSA stand

for?

Objectives of Chapter 2.1:

• To enable participants to give a

definition of a WSA

• To enable participants to define the

benefits of a WSA

• To motivate participants to use the

WSA in their own school(s)

• To enable participants to analyse the

policy and culture of their/a school

• To enable participants to understand

the prevention pyramid as a useful

framework to carry out a needs

analysis

• To enable participants to make

proposals to broaden existing school

practice, increase quality and achieve

improved coherence

Facilitation skills to be

developed through this

Chapter

Knowledge and understanding of:

• the sense of complexity of

“problematic behaviour” within the

school:

o multi-causality of “difficult

school behaviour” (bullying,

violence, vandalism, skipping

school)

o being able to handle an

ecological framework to

interpret multi-causality

• some important characteristics of a

positive school climate and how they

contribute to a less problematic school

environment (fewer problems of

bullying and violence)

• the prevention pyramid as a

supportive framework for a WSA

• the meaning and coherence of the four

‘intervention levels’ of the prevention

pyramid

• the most important characteristics and

qualities of the WSA

• these characteristics in participants’

own schools

4



Personal qualities and attributes include:

• remaining empathic vis-à-vis the

various experiences of disrespectful

behaviour including bullying and

violence

• being touched by the needs that are

hidden behind several kinds of

disrespectful behaviour including

bullying and violence

• being open to several perspectives

with respect to “difficult school

behaviour”

• being open to the interaction between

context and personal experience:

o as an explanation for difficult

school behaviour

o as a point of departure to

search for solutions and

prevention measures

• wanting to do something about formal

and informal initiatives that

contributes to improved quality of life

within the school and are also

problem-preventing or problem-solving

• wanting to enter into a dialogue with

other members of the school

community when searching for and

carrying out measures for the

prevention of violence and bullying

behaviour at school

Pre-chapter task

Participants receive Resource 1 in advance

with instructions to outline an example that

fits in with the topic. They describe the

incident and secondly explain how they have

dealt with the problem. The third part of the

pre-task consists of evaluating the chosen

approach (How satisfied are we? What did we

like? What could be done differently and

better? What options do we see to do it

differently and better? What mistakes/risks

should we avoid?). Note: For each

participating school or institution only one

example is required, in other words,

colleagues must consult in advance.

Summary of current

thinking and knowledge

about what the WSA stands

for Deboutte argues that the WSA includes a

broad combination of initiatives, actions and

her

ol

l-

ff,

measures (formal – informal), which toget

lead to a quality school context with less

problems, a higher degree of involvement and

more well-being. All members of the scho

community are involved; sometimes even the

neighbourhood and the wider community are

taken into account. The WSA does not only

stand for ‘a quantitative, broad approach’:

many components are manipulated at the

same time by a multitude of initiatives and

measures, all part of an integrated and wel

considered policy towards the school, the sta

5



the classroom and the individual student

level. To be effective on a long-term basis, in-

depth work has to be performed. This me

that one is aware of the quality of the current

process at the personal level (personal growth

and development) as well as at the school

community/group level. In-depth work leads

to a change of personal attitudes (personal

level) in addition to the development of the

school vision, organisation and climate.

Bullying and violence at school do not ha

ans

ppen

out of the blue. Studies show that they

tions

n-

us)

rs”

ullying,

ems-

ents.

are all part of the WSA. This holistic approach

d

rs) is

l

l

ters

ing bullying

requires a ‘WSA’ in which the elements and

,

y

bed

f an anti-

ffective the anti-bullying and anti–

violence policy of a school has to respect the

the

l

involve complex issues. This problematic

behaviour crops up from complex interac

between various factors (multi causal

problems). Broadly, we can argue that it

involves the interaction between “perso

related factors” (endogenous and exogeno

on the one hand and “context-related facto

on the other. Olweus’ (1993, 2001)

programme, for instance, focuses on both

types of factors. To stop or prevent b

schools have to work on three levels: the

school level, the classroom level and the

individual level. Olweus (1993; 2001) and

Olweus, Limber and Mihalic (1998)

recommend that the school prevention

programme should include both syst

oriented and individual-oriented compon

The different elements Olweus et al. mention

respects the many aspects and complexities of

the problem of bullying and violence not only

to conduct a needs analysis but also to find

out what measures should be taken to stop

and prevent (new) difficulties in the future

(see Section 4). The WSA emphasises the

necessity of a school policy which is clear,

outspoken and consistent. Using this

approach means that the school team (hea

teacher, staff, pupils, parents, governo

ready to focus on different elements, using al

the key factors or relevant levers in the actua

school context. This approach can be

recognized in the ZERO-model, Convivencia-

model and Linkedness-model (see Chap

5.5, 5.2 and 2.3, respectively).

“It is widely accepted that counter

initiatives in a programme are carefully co-

ordinated. Co-ordinated action, it is often said

is needed at different levels: namely, the

school, the classroom, and the individual

student. How this is to be done is typically

incorporated in a school anti-bullying polic

that describes the stand that is being taken

against bullying and the procedures and

actions that are to be taken in its

implementation. This is sometimes descri

as the indispensable core feature o

bullying policy. The policy may also provide

guidelines on how bullying behaviour is to be

discouraged and how victims of school bullying

can be helped” (Rigby, Smith & Pepler, 2004,

p. 2).

To be e

complexity of school life. This means that

WSA involves all the members of the schoo

community (pupils, staff, parents) and even

6



the wider community. By giving them

information, by paying attention to their

attitudes, life skills and competencies th

outcome of the preventative and interven

procedures will become more successful.

For the same reason, the WSA aims to include

e

tion

many aspects of school life, such as the

s.

t the education field one can say that

in most cases the WSA tries to combine

ext and

rates an

“ecological perspective”as it is the best way

is

ialogue

ld

gical

the

e

SA is effective, all participants will

experience the school environment as safe,

g,

hool

e is an

n

to achieve a more complete picture of what

going on in a school. It also allows a more

nuanced and effective approach to the

(problematic) situation. Such an approach

opens the door for an interdisciplinary d

(criminologists, sociologists, educators,

psychologists, welfare workers, lawyers) in

readiness to select from a wide range of

initiatives and measures. Based on the Wor

Health Organisation’s (1999; 2001) ecolo

model, which considers violence to be the

product of multiple levels of influence on

behaviour, that is, individual, relationship,

social, cultural and environmental factors,

VISTA training adopts an approach to the

prevention of violence from the perspective of

four inter-related contexts: the individual

context, the interpersonal context, the social

context of the school, and the context of th

wider community and society (see Chapter

1.1).

If the W

curriculum, the class and school culture,

teacher style, class group management, the

degree of participation, the quality of the

school policy, the way people communicate

and the quality of interpersonal relationship

Therefore, it is clear that a WSA relies on a

clear, consistent and well communicated

vision. It is important that every member of

the school community is aware of the key

elements of the whole school policy and

vision.

Looking a

whole school planning with action

research, which means that school teams

have to consider the actual school cont

what or how the different school community

members think and feel about it now. Once

the needs analysis is finished, there are

several steps to take: negotiating priorities,

developing the action plan, working out

implementation (information, adaptation,

running), evaluation and review.

It is quite clear that the WSA integ

sound and pleasant. In other words, workin

learning and living together will be

experienced with a high(er) degree of

satisfaction. The members of the sc

community will be able to tell that ther

excellent atmosphere and a good interactio

between and among all individuals. If

problems do crop up, they remain limited and

manageable. Therefore, there is no reason to

panic.

7



Working out the WSA is not an easy job to do. Schools that wish to apply or maintain such a policy

can make use of the prevention pyramid (see Figure 1). This prevention model is a useful instrument

that can help schools to develop a comprehensive formal structure and a school-wide policy. At the

same time, the model keeps an eye on the target towards which each prevention policy aims to work:

maintenance or safeguarding of the quality of life.

Figure 1. The prevention pyramid (Deklerck, Depuydt & Deboutte, 2001)

The prevention pyramid was developed by it in, remove it or co

Johan Deklerck and made up of five layers or

r

of

the four levels at which

terventions are possible. Altogether, these

he

p of the pyramid. They are taken after a

n

rrect it as soon as possible

(STOP!).

uses are known to the degree that

ction is taken with respect to their immediate

k

) the

und.

ere answers are supplied that reach further

levels. The lowest level (level 0) stands fo

the broad social and ecological context in

which the education is situated. This level

affects the school organisation and the life

each party involved.

Levels 1 to 4 illustrate

in

four levels stand for a whole school policy.

Curative measures are located on Level 4, t

to

problem has arisen. Here all attention is

focused on the problem and the aim is to rei

Specific prevention measures (Level 3) also

target well-defined problems. The problem

and the ca

a

cause. Target groups are in focus. The

measures to be taken try to decrease the ris

factors (YOU BETTER STOP/DO …!).

On Level 2 (general prevention measures

apparent problem, such as drug use or

bullying, disappears into the backgro

H

than any given specific problem. Paying

8



attention to life skills, for example, contri

to the general development of students and

does strengthen them anyway. The benefits

can be used in different contexts and

situations, not only when they are having

trouble.

Level 1 initiatives focus on the genera

climate and the school culture. Through

structural

sc

involvement (participation) and the well-being

of teachers, students and parents is given

more attention. These initiatives must grow

from the cooperation of all parties involv

Research shows that the measures at Level

3 and 2 are more successful and more

sustainable when they are backed up by a

butes

l social

as well as one-of-a-kind initiatives a

hool environment is shaped in which

ed.

s 4,

vision, a mentality and an interactive culture

sense,

n

dents.

s a

e

‘fundamental’ prevention policy consists of the

imate-

promoting measures (and-and instead of or-

.

school)

can then become involved.

• send to all participants information

sion will

be held and details of preparatory

• familiarise yourself with the Chapter

• plan the session to meet the needs of

• /or

that instils trust, is ”value-able” and leads to

positive and creative initiatives. In this

Level 1 constitutes the essential first layer o

which the other intervention levels rely.

Schools with strong participation, that

encourage initiative among teachers and

students and that do not fear discussions and

conflicts, for example, opt for a more self-

evident way of working with trusted stu

It does not surprise us that in such school

mentality reigns that boosts enthusiasm in

teachers and students. In this situation, th

fed-up students or the irritated teachers are

not the ones who set the tone.

The prevention pyramid shows that (a)

combining and gearing to each other of

curative, preventive and social cl

or); (b) the improvement of the context

(school culture and school climate) provides an

ideal basis for curative and preventive

initiatives; (c) one may not bypass the need

for person-oriented and structural measures;

and (d) the formal and informal levels

complement each other significantly.

It is clear that the WSA to bullying and

violence at school is based initially on

cooperation with the entire school team

Other partners (inside and outside the

Responsibilities of the

Chapter facilitators

Your tasks within this Chapter are to:

about when and where the ses

reading to be done

text and the facilitators’ notes

the participants

ensure that all relevant

resources/materials are copied and

prepared

• lead the session and all the activities

9



Sequence of activities for

Chapter 2.1

This Chapter represents a one-day training of

or

opment of the session.

ensured that each

uilding block mentioned is given in-depth

Name cards (also required for group

)

esources

ws working in small groups

tator makes a small brochure in which an find an overview of the content of this

ning, the information summary, the work es) and the Resources 1 & 2.

Activity 1 Step I: Exchange

nd violence at school

• To exchange examples of bullying and

aterials

Resource 1 Pre-chapter task (completed)

Nam c

assignm

Flipcharts/board/slides

allows working in small groups

g participants (each one will

their position and

mall groups (colour of name cards will

oup assignment). Participants

from the same school will be sitting together

five hours plus breaks. It allows the facilitat

to change the devel

However, it must be

b

attention. The session is aimed at a maximum

of 25 participants (five groups of five people).

Materials

Text bundles with attachments and

worksheets1

assignment

R


Space that allo

1 We suggest the facilithe participants cpart of the traisheets (activiti

of practical stories (bullying

a

events) (45 minutes)

Purpose

violence at school

M

e ards (also required for group

ent)

Space that

Procedure

After welcomin

receive a name card with

school/work location) they will be split into

s

determine gr

for this task. Make sure that at least two

school delegates sit together per group. In

each small group, the different examples

prepared using Resource 1 Pre-chapter t

are exchanged among the participants. One

example per group should be chosen which wi

be submitted (told) later to the whole grou

The facilitator will summarize each example

concisely on a board/slide/flipchart.

ask

ll

p.

10



Activity 2 Step II: Analysis

of the various examples on

s of the perspective

ples

e

perspective exercise as a foundation

Materials

Resourc

Resourc

Flipchart and pens

rocedure

everyone has an

ding of the examples or

cidents (maximum 5) highlighted in Activity

r the summaries are sufficient.

hen, Resource 2 Worksheet 1 is distributed to

ne

nts (of the victim)

cher

Rec m ons are:

ence the

incident? (What feelings does the

?)

• What does he or she think of what has

• n?

•

• es or difficulties was s/he

Discus

The ea

group w

aforementioned questions are brought

s its discussion

of what

uring

oncisely about their

iscussion to the whole group: the responses

3 Worksheet 2 are exchanged.

Overlapping should not be repeated in order

the basi

exercise(70 minutes)

Purpose

• To analyse the various exam

outlined in Activity 1 using th

e 2 Worksheet 1

e 3 Worksheet 2

P

The facilitator checks that

adequate understan

in

1 and whethe

T

each participant. The facilitator asks each o

of the small groups to take a new look at the

case they have chosen. Everyone in this

group has to choose one particular perspective

(see Resource 2). They can choose the

perspective of:

• the student supervisor - mentor

• the victim

• the perpetrator – offender - bully

• the pare

• classmate(s) - peers

• the head tea

• teacher(s)

• ?

om ended prompt questi

• How does he or she experi

incident generate in this person

happened?

What would he or she like to happe

What responsibilities does he or she

see in himself/herself?

What obstacl

faced with as a result of this situation?

sion is small groups

id is to develop a conversation in each

hereby the answers to the

together. Each group conclude

with the completion of Resource 3 Worksheet

2. The aim is to make an inventory

“reasons” or “causes” were mentioned d

the conversation and who (regardless by

whom) is addressed to assume any form of

responsibility.

Debriefing

Each small group reports c

d

to Resource

11



• To supply information and analysis

frameworks

to allow for smoother discussion. The

facilitator sees to it that all answers are

written on flipcharts (A3-format). This is

made possible by involving participants in the

reporting: seven people will receive a fl

on which one of the characters is mentioned.

They note down all that is said concerning

their character. In this way the group will get

a visual synthesis that indicates who is

addressed as regards their responsibility and

in what way. When the seven synthesis

flipcharts are completed, they are put up on

the wall. The facilitator gives an additio

interpretation by reiterating the unmentioned

responsibilities (e.g., with respect to scho

organisation, school infrastructure,

neighbourhood characteristics). In this way

complex web of (f)actors is obtained that

(in)directly influence each other and that are

at the basis of these kinds of problems.

Activity 3 Step III:

supplying of information

Materials

Resource 4 Worksheet 3

Procedure

ysheet

nal

ol

a

and analysis

utes)

1. Positive school climate: building blocks

(15 minutes)

In broad terms, two types of schools have

been defined: performance-oriented schools

and community-oriented schools (see Figure

1). The ideal school culture, taking into

account the wellbeing of students and

teachers, seems to be a healthy mix of both.

This is why it is desirable to create an

environment that (a) stimulates the students

as regards instrumental learning (knowledge

and understanding, skills, attitudes) whilst at

the same time (b) gives them the feeling that

they “belong”. What is important, therefore, is

to pay attention to each student, to captivate

them and challenge them, to emphasize

involvement and participation and to provide

sufficient freedom and security. This mix of

wellbeing (quality of life) and mind-broadening

teaching, training and cooperating is a

challenge for every school.

frameworks(75 min

Purpose

12



Figure 2. Characteristics of a positive school culture(Based on De Fraine, Van Damme & Onghena,

2004)

In between exercise (just to verify that

the information was clear and well

understood) (15 min)

The facilitator opens a small discussion with

the whole group by asking:

- What do you learn from Figure 2?

- In which part of the diagram would you

place your school? What are your reasons?

2. Prevention pyramid: supportive

framework for a WSA (45 minutes)

(See Summary section (pp. 4-5) and Resource

4 Worksheet 3). Using Resource 4 Worksheet

3, each small group is asked to place a total of

at least five initiatives, proposals or measures

that were identified using Resource 3

Worksheet 2 within the prevention pyramid.

This exercise illustrates at what level one

13



wants to develop action and where the need is

situated (and where it is experienced as less

important). After each small group has

accomplished the task, there is another

exchange moment. If there is a projection of

an ‘empty prevention pyramid’, the facilitator

can use Post-its to put all the initiatives on

that projection. This exercise gives the

facilitator the opportunity to check if all the

various initiatives were placed correctly by the

members of the session group. If necessary,

s/he will bring improvements of corrections.

Debrief

The large group is asked to formulate a few

conclusions. These may involve the usability

of the prevention pyramid and gives the

facilitator the opportunity to check out if the

prevention pyramid was well understood.

Activity 4 Conclusion: Step

els offered

offer an overview of the

intervention models offered by the

Materia

Overview of VISTA interventions

n overhead/Powerpoint

Step III’ the facilitator provides a

lide that gives an overview of some of the

ctivity 5: Step IV:

Debriefing process: The

ef participants on the work of

the training session and to offer

Materials

Worksheet 4

r reorganizes the group by

ringing all the school delegations together in

n in a

III Overview of

intervention mod

by the VISTA training

package(15 minutes)

Purpose

• To

VISTA training package

ls

Resource 5

o

Procedure

To complete ‘

s

intervention models that form part of the

VISTA training. S/he motivates the how and

why of the assigned positions within the

prevention pyramid.

A

WSA: a definition(80

minutes)

Purpose

• To debri

conclusions

Resource 6

Procedure

The facilitato

b

small groups (put every school delegatio

different group). Looking back on what has

been learnt and discussed in the session each

14



small group is requested to accomplish four

different tasks using Resource 6 Worksheet

4:

Task 1: When you look back on the

information and discussions of today’s training

you to

which

arguments will you use to convince your other

SA.

Put the most important elements of this

part

result of

the last task (Task 3), what advice can you

inutes for this part of the

activity.

g (30 minutes)

five minutes do

ive a brief conclusion to the whole group.

ctivity 5: Step IV:

Debriefing process: The

ef participants on the work of

the training session and to offer

Materials

Worksheet 4

r reorganizes the group by

ringing all the school delegations together in

n in a

s of today’s training

you to

session, which arguments convinced

opt for a WSA in your school(s) to stop and

prevent bullying and violent incidents?

Task 2: When you return to your school,

school members (head teacher, co-ordinators,

staff, parents, pupils) to opt for a WSA?

Task 3: Here you find a definition of the W

definition into the framework below and make

clear whether these elements are already

of your school culture and policy.

Task 4: Conclusion: Regarding the

give to your own school? What kind of

challenges do you see ahead? Give your

arguments too.

Allow about 50 m

Debriefin

Every school delegation has

g

A

WSA: a definition(80

minutes)

Purpose

• To debri

conclusions

Resource 6

Procedure

The facilitato

b

small groups (put every school delegatio

different group). Looking back on what has

been learnt and discussed in the session each

small group is requested to accomplish four

different tasks using Resource 6 Worksheet

4:

Task 1: When you look back on the

information and discussion

session, which arguments convinced

opt for a WSA in your school(s) to stop and

prevent bullying and violent incidents?

Task 2: When you return to your school, which

arguments will you use to convince your other

15



school members (head teacher, co-ordinators,

staff, parents, pupils) to opt for a WSA?

Task 3: Here you find a definition of the WSA.

Put the most important elements of this

part

result of

the last task (Task 3), what advice can you

inutes for this part of the

activity.

g (30 minutes)

five minutes do

ive a brief conclusion to the whole group.

t gets the chance to evaluate

e training session.

olvement (1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5)

- quality of the theoretical input (clear –

ession towards every day

ucture – technical support -

ferences

amme, J., & Onghena, P.

004). Een prestatiegericht of

ee, Afl. 6

, Depuydt, A., en Deboutte, G.

001). ‘Verbondenheid’ als antwoord op ‘de-

lic, S. (1998).

ullying Prevention Program (BPP). Blueprints

: What

e know and what we can do. Willinston:

s Core Program

gainst Bullying and Antisocial Behavior: A

, P., & Pepler. (2004).

orking to prevent school bullying: Key

definition into the framework below and make

clear whether these elements are already

of your school culture and policy.

Task 4: Conclusion: Regarding the

give to your own school? What kind of

challenges do you see ahead? Give your

arguments too.

Allow about 50 m

Debriefin

Every school delegation has

g

Activity 6 Evaluation of the

meeting (‘circle time’) (15

minutes)

Every participan

th

The facilitator asks participants to pay

attention to:

- personal inv

relevance – useful)

- quality of the methods used

- relevance of the s

school practice

- circumstances in which people had to work

(timing – infrastr

…)

Re

De Fraine, B., Van D

(2

gemeenschapsgericht klimaat op school?

Handboek Leerlingbegeleiding Tw

,111–123. Mechelen: Uitgeverij Wolters-

Plantyn.

Deklerck, J.

(2

link-wentie’? Preventie op een nieuw spoor.

Leuven/Leusden: Uitg. Acco.

Olweus, D., Limber, S., & Miha

B

for violence prevention series. Book nine.

Willinston: Blackwell Publishing Int.

Olweus, D. (1993). Bullying at school

w

Blackwell Publishing Int.

Olweus, D. (2001). Olweu

A

Teacher Handbook. Willinston: Blackwell

Publishing Int.

Rigby, K., Smith

W

16



issues. In P. Smith, D. Pepler & K. Rigby

(Eds.),

l can

O). (1999).

eport of the consultation on child abuse

9.

001).

ubmission from World Health Organization to

its

ading and

, Ertesvåg, S. K., &

eirvik, B. (2002). Atferdsproblemer. Innføring

The

xperience of a professional community:

al

A community

pproach. Dublin: Columba Press.

J., &

nnifer, D. (2004). Emotional health and well-

on:

ydt, A. (1998). An ethical

nd social interpretation of crime through the

boutte, G., & Depuydt. A.

003). The “Linkedness Project”. In L. Grave-

gia

991). 'Re-ligie' als antwoord op

e-linquentie'. Unpublished doctoral

(1996). 'Re-ligie': een antwoord

p 'de-linquentie'?, Metanoia, June, 105-122.

nder en preventief antwoord op respectloos

las-

Bullying in schools: How successfu

interventions be? (pp. 1-12). Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press.

World Health Organisation (WH

R

prevention. WHO, Geneva, 29-31 March 199

Geneva: World Health Organisation.

World Health Organisation (WHO). (2

S

the Committee of the Rights of the Child for

Day of General Discussion, September 28,

2001. Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect.

Making the links between human rights and

public health. Geneva: World Health

Organisation.

Further re

additional materials

Books and articles

Aasen, P., Nordtug, B

L

i pedagogisk analyse. Oslo: Cappelen

Akademiske Forlag, 128-141.

Andrews, D., & Lewis, M. (2002).

e

Teachers developing a new image of

themselves and their workplace. Education

Research, 44(3), 237-254.

Byrne, B. (1996). Bullying:

a

Cowie, H., Boardman, C., Dawkins,

Je

being: A practical guide for schools. Lond

Sage Publications.

Deklerck, J., & Depu

a

concepts of “linkedness” and “integration-

disintegration”. Applications to restorative

justice. In L. Walgrave, (Ed.), Restorative

justice for juveniles. Potentialities, risks and

problems (pp. 137-156). Leuven: University

Press Leuven.

Deklerck, J., De

(2

Resendes (Ed.), Conferencia internacional

prevençao da violencia na escola (pp.321–

325). Lisboa: Centro de Estudos de Pedago

e Avaliaçao.

Depuydt, A. (1

'd

dissertation, Licentiaatsthesis Criminologie,

KULeuven.

Depuydt, A.

o

Deboutte, G. (2004), Verbondenheid: een

a

gedrag. Hoe toewerken naar een positief k

en schoolklimaat? In Handboek

Leerlingenbegeleiding Twee, Afl. 5 (juni).

17



Mechelen: Uitgeverij Wolters-Pla

Ertesvåg, S.K. (2003). Utvikling av sosial

k

Lee, C. (2004). Preventing bullying in schools.

L

Ljungström, K. (1990). Mobbaus ko

K

Farsta-menetelmällä. [Bullying in school: A

handbook on bullying and its treatment by use

of the Farsta method]. Kauniainen, Finland:

Jessica Lerche.

Luiselli, J. K., Pu

F

behaviour support: Effects on student

discipline problems and academic

performance. Educational Psychology, 2

3), 183–198.

Midthassel, U. V.

u

Educational Management Administration &

Leadership. 34(3), 365-383.

Minton, S. J., & O’Moore, A. M

re

practices of preventing and reducing bullying

at school in the EU Member States. Pro

commissioned by the European Commission

(Directorate-General Justice and Home

Affairs).

http://www.eucpn.org/docs/review_bully

t_school_

O’Moore, A. M., & Minton, S. J. (2004).

Dealing with bully

manual for teachers, parents and other

professionals. London: Paul Chapman

Publishing.

Ortega, R., &

e

Graó.

Ortega

v

preventiva contra los malos tratos entre

iguales. [The Seville Anti-violence in Schools

Project: A preventative intervention mode

against bad relationships amongst equals].

Revista de Educación [Educational Review],

313, 143 –158.

Oswald, K., Safra

(2

safer places using positive behavior supp

Education & Treatment of Children,

28(3), 265–279.

Teddlie, C., Stringf

(2

effectiveness research. In C. Teddlie & D.

Reynolds (Eds.) The international hand

school effectiveness research (pp. 160-185;

206-231). London: Falmer Press.

Riley, P. L., & Segal, E. C. (2002). Prepari

to

program: Students Against Violence

Everywhere (SAVE). Journal of School

ntyn, 57-78.

ompetanse. Spesialpedagogikk, 2(03), 32-37.

ondon: Paul Chapman Publishing.

ulussa.

äsikirja mobbaukesta ja sen selvittämisestä

tnam, R. F., Handler, M. W.,

einberg, A. B. (2005). Whole-school positive

5(2–

(2006). Creating a shared

nderstanding of classroom management.

. (2004). A

view of scientifically evaluated good

ject

ing_a

en.pdf

ing in schools: A training

Del Rey, R. (2004). La violencia

scolar. Estrategias de prevención. Barcelona:

, R. (1997). El proyecto Sevilla Anti-

iolencia Escolar. Un modelo de intervención

l

n, S., & Johanson, G.

005). Preventing trouble: Making schools

orts.

ield, S., & Reynolds, D.

000). Context issues within school

book of

ng

evaluate a school violence prevention

18



Violence, 1(2), 73-86.

Roland, E., & Munthe, E

N

managing bullying in schools. Irish Journal o

Psychology, 18(2), 233–247.

Senge, P. M. (1990). The Fifth

a

New York: Doubleday. (Chapter 12 - Team

Learning)

Smith, P. K

(2

bullying. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry,

48(9), 591-599.

Sharp, S., Arora,

I.

school. In P. K. Smith & S. Sharp (Eds.)

Tackling bullying in your school, (pp. 8-21).

London: Routledge.

Smith, P.K., & Brain, P.

sc

research. Aggressive Behaviour, 26(1), 1 –

Smith, P.K., Pepler, D., & Rigby, K. (Eds.)

(2

perspectives on intervention. Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press.

Smith, P.K., & Shu, S.(2000).

sc

survey in English schools after a decade of

research and action. Childhood, 7(2),193–212.

Stevens, V., De Bourdeaudhuij, I., & Van Oo

P. (2000). Bullying in Flemish schools: An

evaluation of anti-bullying intervention in

primary and secondary schools. British Jou

of Educational Psychology, 70, 195 – 210.

Vettenburg, N. (1999). Violence in schools.

A

General Report. Strasbourg: Council of Europ

Publishing.

World Health

re

Health Organisation.

Websites

. (1997). The 1996

orwegian program for preventing and

f

Discipline – the

rt and practice of the learning organization.

., Ananiadou, K., & Cowie, H.

003). Interventions to reduce school

T., Smith, P. K., & Whitney,

(1994). How to measure bullying in your

(2000). Bullying in

hools: Lessons from two decades of

9.

004). Bullying in schools: Global

What good

hools can do about bullying: Findings from a

st,

rnal

wareness-raising, prevention, penalties.

e

Organisation (2002). World

port on violence and health. Geneva: World

.linkedness.behttp://www

http://www.cfchildren.org/cfc/strf/str/strindex

/

http://www.interventioncentral.org

http://www.police.govt.nz/service/yes/nobully

/index.html

http://www.police.govt.nz/service/yes/nobully

/kia_kaha/whole.html

http://www.ul.ie/%7Epess/research/physactiv

/whole_school.htm

http://www.gold.ac.uk/connect/reportnorway.

html : Roland, E., Bjornsen, G., & Mandt, G.,

Tackling Violence in Schools: A Report from

Norway.

19

http://www.linkedness.be/

http://www.cfchildren.org/cfc/strf/str/strindex/

http://www.interventioncentral.org/

http://www.police.govt.nz/service/yes/nobully/index.html

http://www.police.govt.nz/service/yes/nobully/kia_kaha/whole.html

http://www.ul.ie/%7Epess/research/physactiv/whole_school.htm



http://www.education.unisa.edu.au/bullying :

Bullying in

Schools and what to do about it

(Dr. Ken Rigby’s pages)

hapter task

ining. We are delighted that you/your school wishes

to participate.

ke connections with the specific school reality, we would like to ask you to

s, we request that you carry out this task together. Rest assured, we will be sure to

!

Resource packs

Resource 1 Pre-c

Dear [participant’s name],

You have signed up for the VISTA Chapter 2.1 tra

Since we are seeking to ma

carry out the following task in advance of the training session. If you plan to attend the training with

a few colleague

use the material you provide.

Send, fax or e-mail your reply to [name and address of facilitator]. We would appreciate it if you

could do this at least two weeks prior to the start of the training session.

Many thanks and see you soon

Best regards,

[First name and surname of the facilitator]

20

http://www.gold.ac.uk/connect/reportnorway.html



Pre-chapter task - Part 1

Outline a real-life incident of bullying or violence below in which you/your school was

recently involved. Describe concisely what happened.

Pre-chapter task - Part 2

How was this incident of bullying or violence specifically handled? What initiatives were

taken and by whom?

21



Pre-chapter task – Part 3

Evaluation of the chosen approach for dealing with the bullying or violent incident:

a. How satisfied are you with the chosen approach?

Very satisfied/Satisfied/Reasonably satisfied/Dissatisfied/Very dissatisfied

b. What did you like about the chosen approach?

c. What would you have done differently? What could have been done differently and

better?

d. What possibilities or opportunities do you see ahead?

e. What errors and risks must be avoided?

22




Choose one specific situation that involved bullying behaviour/violence at your school. Try to conjure

up this situation as well as possible and then describe the reactions of the following characters. Do

this using the prompt questions provided. In order to work quickly, everyone must choose one

character. The remaining characters will be examined later.

STUDENT SUPERVISOR - MENTOR

How does s/he experience the incident? What feelings does the incident generate in him/her?

What does s/he think of what has happened?

23



What would s/he like to happen?

What responsibilities does s/he see in her/himself?

What obstacles or difficulties was s/he faced with as a result of this situation?

24



VICTIM

How does s/he experience the incident? What feelings does the incident generate in him/her?



25



What responsibilities does s/he see in her/himself?


26



PERPETRATOR – OFFENDER - BULLY

How does s/he experience the incident? What feelings does the incident generate in her/him?



27



What responsibilities does s/he or she see in her/himself?


28



THE VICTIM’S PARENTS

How did they experience the incident? What kind of feelings did the incident generate in them?

What do or did they think of what has happened?

What did they want to happen?

What responsibilities did they see in themselves?

29



What obstacles or difficulties were they faced with as a result of this situation?

30



CLASSMATES OR PEERS

How did they experience the incident? What feelings does the incident generate in them?

What do or did they think of what has happened?

What did they want to happen?

What responsibilities did they see in themselves?

31



What obstacles or difficulties were they faced with as a result of this situation?

What kept them from assuming responsibility?

32



THE HEAD TEACHER – SCHOOL PRINCIPAL

How did s/he experience the incident? What feelings did the incident generate in her/him?



What kind of responsibilities does s/he see for her/himself?

33




34



TEACHER(S)

How did s/he or they experience the incident? What feelings did the incident generate in her/him or

them?

What does s/he or they think of what has happened?

What would s/he or they like to happen?

What responsibilities does s/he or they see in themselves?

35



What obstacles or difficulties was s/he or were they faced with as a result of this situation?

36




Circle all characters that were addressed with respect to their RESPONSIBILITY in the discussion

(from any aspect whatsoever). Write what was expected of them under their name. (Question mark:

Here you can fill in any additional people).

37



Where did you see possibilities for action or intervention (problem solving and preventive)?

Personal level Interpersonal level

(at school)

Class group School context Home/family

OTHER:

38




Please try to put the proposed initiatives, actions and measures in this empty prevention pyramid.

What do you see and conclude?

39



Resource 5 Overview of VISTA interventions

40




Debriefing and conclusions

Procedure:

First of all you have to think over the four following questions. Please write down some keywords

after each question:

Task 1: When you look back at the information and discussions of today’s

training which arguments convinced you to opt for a WSA in your school(s) to

stop and prevent bullying and violent incidents?

Task 2: When you return to your school, which arguments will you use to

convince your other school members (head master, co-ordinators, staff, parents,

pupils) to opt for a WSA?

Task 3: Here you find a definition of the WSA. Put the most important elements of this

definition into the framework below and make clear whether these elements are already

part of your school culture and policy.

“The WSA includes a broad combination of initiatives, actions and measures (formal –

informal), which together lead to a quality school context with less problems, a higher

involvement and more well being. All the members of the school community are involved;

sometimes even the neighbourhood and the wider community are taken into account.

The WSA doesn’t only stand for ‘a quantitative, broad approach’: many components are

manipulated at the same time by a multitude of initiatives and measures, all part of an

41



integrated and well-considered policy towards the school, the staff, the class/group and

the individual student level.

To be effective in the long term in-depth work also has to be performed which means that

one is aware of the quality of the current process at the personal level (personal growth

and development) as well as at the school community/group level. In-depth working

leads to a change of personal attitudes (personal level) and the development of the

school vision, organisation and climate as well” (Gie Deboutte).

How to Embed the Whole

School Approach (WSA):

The Challenge of

Implementation

Objectives of Chapter 2.2

• To consider strategies for

implementing the WSA

• To be able to develop the process of

change and support staff involved in it

• To be familiar with possible (and most

likely) resistance and barriers met in

an implementation process



Chapter


• the context of change

• how to respond to challenges during

the implementation of change

• possible barriers to the process of

change

• resistance to the process of change


• being able to act as a leader

• being able to motivate co-workers

• being an effective communicator

• having empathy for co-workers, even

when they disagree with you

Pre-chapter reading

Fullan, M. (2001). The new meaning of

educational change. New York: Teacher

College Press.

Kelly, L. K., & Lezotte, L. W. (2003).

Developing leadership through the school

improvement process. Journal of School

Improvement, 4(1). Retrieved July 22, 2006,

from

42



http://www.ncacasi.org/jsi/2003v4il/develop_l

eadership

Summary of current


about how to embed the

WSA

Implementing the WSA to school violence

involves a learning process which cannot be

taken out of context. Today, we live in a

complex knowledge society that requires

educated citizens who can learn continuously,

and who can work with diversity. Complexity

means change and specifically it means rapidly

occurring, unpredictable, non-linear change in

our organizations and our world. Such changes

are not easy to control. Different ways of

thinking about change are required – ways

that our conventional approaches to planned

change have not allowed. As a consequence

schools must become learning organisations or

they will fail to survive as an organization

creating knowledge (Fullan, 2001).

These changes in society raise the question of

how to cultivate and sustain learning under

conditions of complex, rapid change. Schools

are beginning to discover that new ideas,

knowledge creation, and sharing are essential

to solving learning problems in this rapidly

changing society. Most organizations, schools

as well as others, have invested heavily in

technology and possibly training, but hardly at

all in knowledge sharing and creation. And

when they do attempt to share and use new

knowledge, they find it enormously difficult.

For example, identifying the best practices

usually goes reasonably well, but when it

comes to transferring and using the

knowledge, schools rarely succeed.

According to Fullan (2001) implementation

consists of the process of putting into practice

an idea, program, or set of activities and

structures new to people attempting or

expecting to change. This process has proved

to be challenging and research has shown that

schools do not behave like rational

organisations that respond as expected

towards change initiatives (e.g., Cuban, 1999;

Reynolds, Teddlie, Hopkins, & Stringfield,

2000). On the contrary, schools differ widely in

how they think and carry through actual

improvement projects (e.g., Hargreaves,

2001; Hopkins & Reynolds, 2001). An

innovation consists of three phases, initiation,

implementation and institutionalisation. Here

the main focus is on implementation and to

some extent on initiation.

The biggest problem facing schools is

fragmentation and overload. The effort needed

to carry out the program is assumed to

influence the change process (Hargreaves,

2001; Midthassel & Ertesvåg, 2006)

Furthermore, lack of consistency and

coherence, with few opportunities for reflection

and development of collective knowledge is a

challenge in implementing a whole school

approach to school violence. By short-term

and long-term strategic content and

43

http://www.ncacasi.org/jsi/2003v4il/develop_leadership

http://www.ncacasi.org/jsi/2003v4il/develop_leadership



organizational knowledge development,

schools might overcome this problem. The

goal is to create cultures where innovation and

continual improvement flourish.

In implementing an idea or a program at a

school it is crucial to be aware of possible

challenges and barriers to the process. How

well these are handled will determine the

outcome of the intervention. It might be

difficult to introduce new ideas into schools,

especially when you are on your own. Many

people bring new ideas to their school, like the

VISTA program, but when they try to

implement them in their school they are met

by resistance and lack of interest from staff

and/or management. This can be prevented

at school level by establishing a project group

responsible for managing the change process.

The group ought to consist of management

and staff both in the initiation, implementation

and institutionalisation phases.

This Chapter outlines some key challenges and

barriers participants can meet in initiating and

implementing new ideas in their own

school/school district and how to cope with

them. The aim is to focus on some of the key

challenges in embedding a whole school

approach.

Summary of current


about how to embed the

WSA

Implementing the WSA to school violence

involves a learning process which cannot be

taken out of context. Today, we live in a

complex knowledge society that requires

educated citizens who can learn continuously,

and who can work with diversity. Complexity

means change and specifically it means rapidly

occurring, unpredictable, non-linear change in

our organizations and our world. Such changes

are not easy to control. Different ways of

thinking about change are required – ways

that our conventional approaches to planned

change have not allowed. As a consequence

schools must become learning organisations or

they will fail to survive as an organization

creating knowledge (Fullan, 2001).

These changes in society raise the question of

how to cultivate and sustain learning under

conditions of complex, rapid change. Schools

are beginning to discover that new ideas,

knowledge creation, and sharing are essential

to solving learning problems in this rapidly

changing society. Most organizations, schools

as well as others, have invested heavily in

technology and possibly training, but hardly at

all in knowledge sharing and creation. And

when they do attempt to share and use new

knowledge, they find it enormously difficult.

For example, identifying the best practices

44



usually goes reasonably well, but when it

comes to transferring and using the

knowledge, schools rarely succeed.

According to Fullan (2001) implementation

consists of the process of putting into practice

an idea, program, or set of activities and

structures new to people attempting or

expecting to change. This process has proved

to be challenging and research has shown that

schools do not behave like rational

organisations that respond as expected

towards change initiatives (e.g., Cuban, 1999;

Reynolds, Teddlie, Hopkins, & Stringfield,

2000). On the contrary, schools differ widely in

how they think and carry through actual

improvement projects (e.g., Hargreaves,

2001; Hopkins & Reynolds, 2001). An

innovation consists of three phases, initiation,

implementation and institutionalisation. Here

the main focus is on implementation and to

some extent on initiation.

The biggest problem facing schools is

fragmentation and overload. The effort needed

to carry out the program is assumed to

influence the change process (Hargreaves,

2001; Midthassel & Ertesvåg, 2006)

Furthermore, lack of consistency and

coherence, with few opportunities for reflection

and development of collective knowledge is a

challenge in implementing a whole school

approach to school violence. By short-term

and long-term strategic content and

organizational knowledge development,

schools might overcome this problem. The

goal is to create cultures where innovation and

continual improvement flourish.

In implementing an idea or a program at a

school it is crucial to be aware of possible

challenges and barriers to the process. How

well these are handled will determine the

outcome of the intervention. It might be

difficult to introduce new ideas into schools,

especially when you are on your own. Many

people bring new ideas to their school, like the

VISTA program, but when they try to

implement them in their school they are met

by resistance and lack of interest from staff

and/or management. This can be prevented

at school level by establishing a project group

responsible for managing the change process.

The group ought to consist of management

and staff both in the initiation, implementation

and institutionalisation phases.

This Chapter outlines some key challenges and

barriers participants can meet in initiating and

implementing new ideas in their own

school/school district and how to cope with

them. The aim is to focus on some of the key

challenges in embedding a whole school

approach.

Responsibilities for the




about when and where the session will

45




reading to be done




the participants

• ensure that all relevant

resources/materials are copied and/or

prepared

• lead the session and all the activities.


Chapter 2.2

This Chapter represents a one-day training of

five hours plus breaks.

Note that the introductory lecture is

accompanied by a PowerPoint presentation.

The slides are referred to in the text. The text

is not intended as a fixed manuscript for the

introductory lecture. However, it will provide

the facilitator with sufficient background

material to lead the session. The lecture

consists of three parts. Part 1 provides

background information about the context of

the change processes. This part can be carried

out as self-study as part of the pre-reading

material or it can be part of the introductory

lecture. This offers flexibility and gives the

opportunity to use more time for group

reflection in groups if required. Parts 2 and 3

focus on different aspects of implementation

and resistance and barriers in innovation,

respectively. Part 3: Resistance and barriers in

innovations, is partly based on a chapter from

Skogen (2004). The material is adjusted to the

VISTA-setting and the rest of the Chapter.

Activity 1 Introductory

lecture Innovation in a

knowledge society (40

minutes) Slide 1

How to Embed the Whole School

Approach

e society, a complex society of

choices

almost impossible these days to open

a newspaper, turn on the TV or walk into a

ning

by

nd

risk.

l

o

Slide 2

A chang

It seems

bookstore without being reminded of the

transition to what has become variously

described as the knowledge society or lear

society. We live in a society characterized

turbulence rather than stability and in which

schools operate. In a rapidly and fluidly

evolving global environment, loss of

organizational knowledge is a very real a

potentially threatening organizational

Knowledge building expertise is needed in al

schools (Samuelsen, 2006). Traditionally, tw

developmental tracks have been important in

developing a learning society and thus are

important to future schools.

46



1. Knowledge has become an important

asset and a motivating power in

mical

2. more complex and

versatile and schools face constant,

•

• Student and teacher turnover

ltural context

Hence, i wledge society schools

require new organizational structures, a

daily

nd

red:

from one

lide 3

organizations

organization is an

answer to complexity in society and rapid

in

limited

a

schools will never be ‘good enough’. Schools

ent

ew ways

anger of

l for

ganizations learn at individual,

group and organizational level. Hence, schools

societal development. The main assets

and liabilities are no longer econo

resources, buildings or technology, but

human capital.

Society becomes

contextual changes like:

Changes in curriculum

• Students from a multi cu

• Changes due to student development

and maturation

• Expectations and demands from mixed

interests

n the kno

rethinking of existing strategies and new

routines in order for knowledge creation a

knowledge recycling to occur in schools.

Consequently, leadership in schools has

changed and new competencies are requi

How to manage complex projects, how to

make decisions under high level of

uncertainty, how to motivate knowledge

building, how to facilitate knowledge

team to another and how to thrive in an

innovative culture. This is important

knowledge at school level to achieve

sustainable change.

S

Learning

The concept of the learning

changes in demand and tasks in today’s

schools. Out dated knowledge is a problem

a rapidly changing society. There are

continuous demands of readjustment, and

valid knowledge and solutions have a

lifespan. A learning organization/school and

learning teacher becomes inevitable. A

learning school is a school of perpetual change

and knowledge building. A ‘learning

organization’ is a developing organisation.

Schools will constantly change, because

will always have a potential for developm

based on shifting requirements and

challenges. Solutions might, in most

situations, have limited application. N

of approaching knowledge building is

required. Hence, a school that does not

change according to the context is in d

stagnating. There will always be potentia

improvements and schools will experience

contextual changes that require continual

changes.

Learning or

need to be organized to attend to teachers’

learning processes. Change can occur at many

levels, for example, the teacher, the teacher

team, the school or the school district.

47



Individual level – By combining observation

in the classroom with peer support, teac

hers

can learn from each other. For example,

rs

process.

Midthassel, 2001; Radford, 2000) allowing the

ol

s static and active

organizational learning. Static organizational

ool

im, 1993).

l

ng

o

s

l

Strategic knowledge

ment/creation

s at a well-situated

l district level will

result in qualitatively more effective

• t

y the

school, regarding

Tillers’

charact t

to another expert and from one project to

r

ion

hange processes will fail until we

find some way of developing infrastructure and

experienced teachers can ‘adopt’ less

experienced teachers or the management at

school can divide staff into pairs of teache

working together in a mutual learning

Group level - Teachers often work in teams.

Introducing different methods (e.g., Munthe &

time and opportunity to reflect on various

problems and increase the ability to learn at

group level. Furthermore, the result might be

the development of a shared vision of scho

violence and inter-subjective agreement

among staff.

Organizational level – Organizational

learning implie

memory is written documentation the sch

as an organization held as valid (K

Often it is difficult for the staff to go through

with a plan by themselves. One reason might

be that no shared values or philosophy of

school violence at school, group and individua

level give grounds for development of the

plan. Each staff member has not integrated

the idea as part of their own thinking and

there is no inter-subjective agreement amo

staff. Active organizational memory refers t

actions the school society commonly attend

to that are practiced by all, or most of, the

staff. Often, the active memory is valued

throughout the organization. A learning schoo

aims to develop an active organizational

memory. To accomplish this they need an

action plan, they need to be strategic in their

knowledge development.

Slide 4

develop

• Limited resource

municipality/schoo

education than a flow of resources

with no strategic plan of action

(Samuelsen, 2003)

Strategic knowledge development a

school level implies a plan, set b

management at each

the school’s knowledge development

(1990) term ‘the kangaroo school’

erizes schools jumping from one exper

another project, with no systematic plan fo

development. According to Fullan (2001), the

main problem is not the absence of innovat

in schools, but rather the presence of too

many disconnected, episodic, fragmented

projects.

Unless there is a solid plan, linking actions

together, c

processes that engage teachers in developing

new understanding. Additionally, the plan

needs to be founded on a pedagogical

48



approach attending to this process

(Samuelsen, 2006).

Many schools seem to be more concerned with

participating in projects than with the results

eeds to

allenge to schools and school

districts in developing a learning organization

ool’s tasks and

obligations, the organization performs

2. Furthermore, the organization needs

ap

w in

rious

set of

3. Next, the school must develop a plan

o fill

r

nt

le

A knowledge strategy describes the overall

s

ich

ill

re

g

of the project. They rush to adopt new

structures and strategies without considering

their deeper implications. Each school n

consider carefully which developmental tasks

can be met through developing a program and

which can be dealt with in other ways. For

example, postpone a project, until others are

incorporated in daily routine or consider the

volume of the project. On the whole, prioritise

what is to be emphasized to attend to the

school’s strategic planning of knowledge

development.

Slide 5

Gap Analysis

An important ch

is knowing what knowledge to develop. The

first step is carrying out a gap analysis. A gap

analysis evaluates the difference between the

current situation and a wanted situation, often

for the purpose of determining how to get

from one state to a new state. According to

Irgens (2004), a learning school needs to

consider the following steps:

1. Having mapped the sch

an evaluation of each staff member’s

competence and the competence of

the organization as a whole.

to map their future tasks and

obligations. There might be a g

between what the school must kno

the future and what it knows now.

Based on a strategic knowledge and

capabilities map, the school can

identify the extent to which its va

categories of existing knowledge are in

alignment with its strategic

requirements. The result is a

potential knowledge gaps.

and determine which knowledge

should be developed or acquired t

the knowledge gap. Different

approaches can be chosen. Fo

example, knowledge developme

among staff or employing new peop

holding the requested competence.

approach a school intends to take to align it

knowledge resource and capabilities to the

intellectual requirements of its strategy. Wh

knowledge strategy, and not the least

innovation strategy, a school chooses w

influence the quality of education children a

offered in the future. Furthermore, increased

consciousness about choice of strategy can

make a nice economical profit due to workin

more efficiently or by solving more problems

at school level. Additionally, there might be

49



increased motivation and satisfaction among

staff when teachers are facing challenges they

are fully prepared for. A more in depth

understanding of this topic will be given

Chapters 4.1 and 4.2.

in

Activity 2 Reflection in pairs

Purpose

• To reflect on the content of part one

Procedure

articipants sitting together discuss the

1. Describe how your school/organization can

2. What are some ways in which leaders in

uld

,

(such as

ther

ntation

sists of the process of

of successful change

nge

t that

Cooperation at school

district/municipality and at school level

•

nvolvement

ion

Man e s an

important role in initiating and arranging for

(20 minutes)

and relate the content to participants’

own organizational setting

P

following questions.

become or improve as a learning organization?

your organization (school/school district) co

encourage development of a professional

learning community at teacher (individual)

team and organizational level?

Mention some specific examples

attending professional events or having

members of a specific department visit o

departments) and strategies for sharing the

resulting knowledge.

Activity 3 Lecture Part 2:

Aspects of implementation

(40 minutes) Slide 6

Impleme

Implementation con

putting into practice an idea, program, or set

of activities and structures new to the people

attempting or expected to change (Fullan,

2001, p. 69).

Slide 7

Aspects

One key criterion of success in cha

processes is cooperation at school and

district/municipality level. It is importan

participants at district/municipality level and

school level have different and complementary

roles.

•

Complementary roles

• Leadership

• Ownership through i

• Shared goals

• Change through cooperat

• Long Term Effort

• Multifaceted measures

ag ment at each school play

50



changes in the school. Initiation of a p

and each school’s ability to carry out the

implementation is important and essential for

the outcome of the project. Leadership,

involvement and ownership have a critical

influence on the result of the process.

Furthermore, it is important that work o

roject

n

preventing and reducing school violence

a

vent and

ey

g

based have

proven effective in relation to implementation:

the most effective measures, and those which

plex

. See

has proven

effective. Short-term implementation is not as

nt

e aspects are attended to below.

an important role in

initiating the program. By active participation

nt

l phase the head

teacher’s role is two fold: arranging for the

tive

re key to large-scale,

sustainable educational change. Some core

involves all or most of the staff and creates

shared ownership among them. As a

consequence, most staff need to be involved in

developing an internal strategy to pre

reduce school violence. As long as only a few

staff members are involved it would be difficult

to achieve a level of consciousness and an

attitude necessary to obtain the intended

change. A shared goal is essential, but the k

to successful change is participants workin

together. An example of how to create a

shared platform of values at school is shown

by Radford (2000) and another will be

presented in Chapter 5.5.

Measures which are broadly

“Clear empirical indications exist to show that

consequently emerge as the most promising,

are broadly based measures where it is

attempted to adjust the contents, design and

organisation to existing empirical

knowledge.... The more central the measures

are, and the more parts of the com

problem they address, the greater and more

lasting are the effects” (KUF, 2000, p. 21

also Dodge & Schwarz, 1997; Dusenbury,

Falco, Lake, Brannigan, & Bosworth, 1997;

Hawkins, Catalano, & Miller, 1992;

Wassermann & Miller, 1997)

Additionally, long-term effort

effective for learning and change at stude

and teacher level as on-going implementation

processes.

Some of thes

Slide 8

Head teacher’s role

The head teacher plays

in the initial phase the head teacher

emphasizes relevance and importance of the

program or idea and provides importa

motivational support to staff members that

carry out the program.

In carrying out the initia

teachers to be involved and showing an ac

interest in the project’s importance. By

involving themselves in the process they signal

the work’s importance.

Effective school leaders a

strategies for developing the role of the head

teacher as instructional leader include five

mutually reinforcing sets of strategic activities:

51



nested learning communities, principal

institutes, leadership for instruction, peer

learning, and individual coaching (for fu

information see Fink & Resnick, 2001).

A school cannot develop, at least not for

rther

long,

on the actions of the top leader alone. Thus,

s

y

point

t level and community

level that affect program implementation

Zins, 2001)

ssroom levels, district

ce.

e

if

on

ment

tion quality and the overall success

of prevention initiatives are affected by the

of

l-

e

elieve

y

ces.

function within a larger system at the local,

e

s

schools and school districts need leadership on

many levels. By leadership here we refer to

performing leadership, not to the formal role

of head teacher. Learning at work, learning in

context, helps produce such leadership. Also

crucial to sustained change is the effective

succession of leaders. Leadership succession i

more likely if there are many leaders at man

levels. Schools must set their sights on

continual improvement at all levels, and for

that they must nurture, cultivate, and ap

successive leaders who are moving in a

sustained direction. In a school a head teacher

is the key person to initiate and motivate

these processes.

Factors at distric

(Based on Greenberg, Domitrovich, Graczyk, &

Although implementation usually occurs at the

school and cla

administrators as well as school board

members can have substantial influen

Prevention programs are likely to receiv

stronger endorsement as well as resources

they target an aspect of the district’s missi

statement or address a district objective or

school board concern. Furthermore, the

support of influential school board members

can directly affect awareness and engage

at all levels, as well as assignment of

resources.

Implementa

attitudes and beliefs of teachers, school

administrators, support staff, and members

the broader community who make schoo

related decisions (e.g., parents, board

members). For prevention efforts to be

successful, these individuals must first b

aware of a need in the community and b

that creating change is a school-communit

goal. Furthermore, they must see the problem

as preventable and intervention as effective.

This will increase the likelihood that the

intervention will become a priority and be

given adequate time and financial resour

It is important to acknowledge that schools

county and national level. Schools or districts

may not have the power to make decisions if

their agenda is different from the political

system or if they have to balance competing

external demands. Certain programs requir

collaboration between school personnel and

mental health services providers who are

working outside Of the school building.

Depending on the structure of the county’s

services or the history of the relationship

between such agencies, this can present an

added challenge to implementation.

52



The contextual factors described here may

strongly influence the implementation quality

of interventions that are conducted in school

settings. Given the significant role of these

factors, they may in and of themselves lead to

improvements in both teacher and student

social and emotional outcomes. In some cases,

targeting changes in system alignment and

linkages may be the first intervention that is

needed.

Slide 9

Readiness for implementation

The way a project is initiated and the school’s

ability to handle its implementation is of

importance (Fullan, 2001). Furthermore, the

head teacher’s importance in the initial phase

has been acknowledged. The head teacher’s

level of interest, commitment and expertise in

the content of change as well as their level of

interest and expertise in bringing about

change is likely to influence their choice.

Acknowledging that change requires

involvement, members of staff have to find it

meaningful and thus, relevance is experienced

to be one of the key aspects for

implementation. Thus, participants who

perceive that a program or an idea meets a

certain need will more likely be motivated to

involve themselves.

Head teachers may face a dilemma concerning

their schools’ taking on change since this is

related to whether majority agreement for the

project should be sought beforehand.

Motivated teachers are supposed to be more

committed.

Readiness also concerns the school’s capacity

to engage in and sustain continuous learning

that seems to be influenced by internal and

external factors. (The text on readiness for

implementation is from Midthassel & Ertesvåg,

2006)

Slide 10

Creating ownership

Creating ownership implies involvement of all

participants. A person’s involvement is

affected by several factors. Four of them are

shown in the figure.

• Participating in a project must feel

relevant to the work situation. It needs

to be meaningful to the individual

participant

• Each participant needs to feel that

they can influence the work. This does

not imply that nothing can be planned

and arranged for in advance, but each

participant must have the ability to

influence how to adapt the project in

their school and in their classroom

• Both management and staff need to

prioritise working on the project.

Participants need to see that

management value the project by

giving priority to activities in the

project. Giving the project priority

53



means giving something else less

priority. Decisions on priority are an

important task for head teachers and

management in general

• Arranging for the work to be done is

another important task. This implies

organizing in a way that makes it

possible for all staff to attend to

discussions, reflections and meetings.

It does not imply that everyone should

attend every meeting, but when a

group intends to meet every member

should be able to attend. Timetables

need to be arranged by management

to ensure this.

Slide 11

Long-term effort

• Long-term focus on school violence

• Self-regulating and ongoing processes

Looking back at the description of the

kangaroo school jumping from one project to

another, it is clear that the knowledge base in

the different projects scarcely affects the

individual teacher at each school. Sustainable

changes imply long-term work focusing on

school violence and continuing work after a

program, like VISTA, ends. Through lasting

effort at organizational, classroom/group and

individual level there is hope of noticeable

change.

Continuity and long-term effect imply that

outside contributions generate self-regulating

and maintainable processes at each school and

each school district/municipality. Effects of

measures will emerge from effort and

commitment from staff and management.

Thus, long term improvement can be gained.

Slide 12

Multifaceted measures

• Multifaceted measures for the same

problem at the same time

• Multilevel measures for the same

problem

Broad approach

The effects of an intervention depend on the

ability to implement several aspects of the

same problem at different levels at the same

time. The effects also depend on internal

consistency among measures.

Working on students’ show of hands before

speaking in the classroom might be part of

working on classroom management. This

implies working with students, individual

teachers, all teachers attending the class in

question and parents. For example:

Working at classroom level

a. Students are introduced to the rule of

showing hands and given the

argument that everybody has to take

turns.

b. The teacher receives individual

supervision on consistent response

54



when children break the rule of

showing hands.

c. All teachers attending the class receive

supervision on consistent response

when children break the rule of

showing hands.

d. Parents are informed that the class

works on taking turns and are involved

after the children perform a self-

evaluation at a randomly chosen

lesson. Evaluation shows how the

individual student experiences his own

behaviour according to the rule and is

signed by the student, the teacher and

the parents.

Working at school level

Incorporating rules and regulations at a school

a. Organizational level: Staff members

develop shared goals and a shared

value platform through discussion and

reflection. This includes consistent

rules and reaction to breaking the

rules.

b. Class level: In every class they decide

upon rules in the classroom and

consequences of breaking and

following them.

c. Individual level: The individual student

commits themselves to rules at school

and in the classroom through a written

statement.

Unless teachers enforce the rules at classroom

and school level they will be of no value.

Internal consistency in measures is essential

to the success of an intervention.

Activity 4 Individual

reflection and discussion in

pairs (20 minutes) Purpose

ect on the content of this section

Proced

ividually on the following

how you at your school/school

reflections to your

Activity 5 Lecture Part 3:

Implementation

Implementation in order to realise the

has proved to be a

challenging process.

The key to successful implementation is:

• To refl

and relate it to participants’ own

context

ure

a) Reflect ind

question:

- Describe

district can initiate and arrange for a

successful innovation at individual, team and

organizational level.

b) Present briefly your

neighbour.

Resistance and barriers in

innovations (40 minutes) Slide 13

program in schools

55



• Identify and overcome barriers

Slide 14

Resistance and barriers

• Four types of barriers in change

cesses in school

o Psychological barriers

riers

o Value and power barriers

Implem often

leads to resi rriers in

one way or ped with

(Samuelsen nd

effort, fear of change is one of the most

re

st

f-

stance against changes and

for maintaining the existing organisation. All

will not

e or

ice.

n a

ogen,

chological barriers include

suspicion and fear of change, fear of guilt,

re for power as well

as fear of making a fool of oneself in front of

na

regard to how

they cope with change. Safety and security is

e way

ou look at yourself and the development of

of

t in

pro

o Practical bar

enting a new idea in a school

stance among staff and ba

another need to be co

, in press). In addition to time a

important barriers to successful

implementation. A number of barriers have

been identified, here four types of barriers a

presented: psychological barriers, practical

barriers and value- and power barriers

(Skogen, 2004).

Knowledge about resistance and barriers is

essential to successful implementation. Almo

all organizations have mechanisms for sel

preservation, resi

organizations develop their own way of

functioning. Some of these rules and routines

are founded in written documents and other

means of action and rules are informal,

unwritten and more unconscious.

Nevertheless they guide people in the

organisation and their behaviour. When

changing the way of acting in a school the

innovator might be met by resistance.

Individuals in, or outside the school

approve, work against change, sabotag

delay the process of changing valid pract

Thus, resistance can take place actively or i

more hidden, non-participatory way (Sk

2004). In the following, we will attend to a

model of barriers that Morrison (2002) has

contributed to:

Psychological barriers

In addition to ‘It’s never been done that way

before,’ other psy

need of approval and desi

peers. Thus, psychological barriers are a

phenomenon in the human psyche that occur

as resistance. Knowledge of these phenome

is vital when leading a change process.

Creating a context of security is a key to

success in change processes.

Safety/security versus insecurity

The feeling of fundamental security is

important in people’s lives with

fundamental to coping with change. Th

y

your self-image are important aspects

security. The learning history of each person is

decisive. Prior positive experiences of change

and feedback from the surroundings will

increase a person’s safety, and it will be easier

to cope with the insecurity and excitemen

56



new situations. On the other hand, prior

experiences of failure might lead to insecurity.

Changes activate internal resistance and f

Resistance and fear of change will not always

be tied to the matter of the change, but can be

explained psychologically. Thus, lack of

security can lead to a need for control and can

look different if you see it within the

management or with the employees (Skogen,

2004).

Practical barriers

Practical barriers have a more concrete

character

ear.

than psychological barriers.

Examples in schools are: time, resources,

tems.

at change takes

time. Unanticipated problems will always occur

carrying out the changes.

Change also depends on information, access to

ces

elp.

In planning and carrying out an

plementation, professional and economic

resources have to be attended to. If the

ion causes a large-scale reorganization,

the question of outside funding need to be

annual budgets there are

usually resources for projects, but there have

e goals of the innovations,

which might be a challenge for getting the

e

nd

hool system is going through a

new reform change from classes of twenty-

ve to fifteen

pupils attached to one teacher. The teachers

unclear goals and sys

The time factor

Time is an essential factor for working on

change. It is easy to forget th

when planning and

expertise and how much the change influen

each participant. In leading a change process

it is vital to arrange for people to have

sufficient time to carry out their activities in

the process. Furthermore, it is important for

groups of staff to have sufficient time together

to reflect and discuss when necessary.

Creating an action plan will be of great h

Resources

im

innovat

addressed. In

never been enough financial resources for

working on improving practice. Professional

resources are as important as financial ones.

In other words, there is seldom a need for one

or the other type of resources in itself, but a

combination.

Unclear goals

People have different perceptual abilities and

different points of reference. This can

contribute to different understandings of the

intentions or th

work done.

System barriers

The structure of the organizations can often b

a barrier in meeting and solving new tasks a

problems. As an example, in 2007 the

Norwegian sc

eight pupils to basic groups of twel

are working in teams at each level. Some

schools are now trying out the new

organisation model. Some of the teachers and

57



schools find the new organisation difficult an

many of the teacher teams choose to still

organise their groups in the same size as

before. They do not have school buildings t

accommodate this change nor do the

enough teachers at the school to give the

pupils the same time with their contact

teacher as they had before, even though o

of the aims of the new system is that each

pupil should have a closer social and academi

relationship with their contact teacher.

Changes in tasks might imply structural

changes in the organisation. However,

structural changes need to be founded in

specific needs for improvement. At the same

time you have to warn against a belief in the

d

o

y have

ne

c

system, which implies that changing the

onal

and

g with change.

These barriers are either negative or positive

in values.

Accept this, working with change can be

ns

r. To

to their own

belief system. To defend values; power and

n used. Accordingly it is

difficult to separate value- and power barriers.

and

unacceptable way. The problem is that people

er have the means to

manipulate the situation for their own personal

ee.

ends

ople

rocess. To reach your goals

nd take care of values obtaining power is

wer

d

ho

en,

system is the answer to all the organisati

problems (Elmore, 1996).

Value- and power barriers

Value- and power barriers are connected,

are considered by many to be the most

important barriers in workin

depending on their foundation

positive instead of negative.

Value barriers

To some people the values, norms, traditio

and culture of an innovation will be familia

others, it will be the opposite

authority are ofte

Power barriers

It is important to understand positions of

power in organizations and social systems,

speak out when the power is used in an

in positions of pow

gain. Power can be difficult to define and s

In organizations the leaders often have the

most power. The level of power often dep

on the relationship between people or groups,

and the level of power between them. Pe

in subordinate positions can identify power

more easily because they are feeling it, than

people in power.

To build power as a leader of change is an

advantage because you more easily get

attention for your ideas and goals and more

easily get control of several parts of the

decision-making p

a

necessary. The negative part of being in po

is getting criticism, acting responsibly an

managing to take care of power in an ethical

way. The people in power and the ones w

seek power can represent barriers in an

innovation, if their personal, professional or

economic advantages are threatened or

reduced as a result of the innovation (Skog

2004).

58



Slide 15

Dealing with Psychological Barriers.

• Dealing with insecurity of people and

stems

o Mapping contextual conditions

o Information, information,

It is particu y

process to t s of

security and s

Reducing systemic- and individual

f

on is crucial.

Mapping psychological barriers at system level

t individual

to

e necessary to reduce staff members’

level of insecurity. It is important to give

h

Dealing with Practical Barriers

• Preventing practical barriers

o Time

o Resources

o System

Time

It is import vations to

be generous wi e resources. Warn the

participants in the innovation that unexpected

always arise during this type of

work. It is not possible to foresee these kinds

be

ks can be solved within the

ordinary budget and which tasks need outside

to be decided.

,

ning an

innovation (Gap Analysis).

sy

o Individual consultation

information

larl important in an innovation

ake care of individual feeling

in ecurity.

psychological barriers through observation o

time-, economic-, professional- and social-

resources in the organisati

can reduce psychological barriers a

level.

Information from staff members related

their experience of insecurity will help deal

with the insecurity. Individual consultation

might b

individuals a sense of security through

information. You can hardly provide too muc

information. Hence, information about what

will happen and the consequences both at

organizational and individual level is of

importance (Skogen, 2004).

Slide 16

o Ambiguous Goals

ant when planning inno

th the tim

problems

of problems when planning the innovation.

Preventing resistance that can influence the

time resource and other similar types of

barriers is vital.

Resources

The question of financial resources has to

solved. Which tas

founding has

An analysis of the organization’s qualifications

and the organization’s lack of professional

qualifications to carry out the innovation, is

also an important step in plan

59



Ambiguous Goals

Working on developing a common

nderstanding of the innovations measures

from the beginning is important in all projects.

his is primarily a responsibility for the

management, but the rest of the staff

ble. This work is

ed to the planning and the communication of

n are

founded in specific improvements. Take care

mism” (Skogen, 2004).

cess

o Preventing psychological

barriers

o Alliance with management

cooperation and openness

Value b

To prevent valu interfering with, or

influencing, i

impossible. The proposed measures to prevent

psychologic

reduce value ba

a.

on process. Strategies

to use in this work for the innovator are:

unication, cooperation and

openness (Skogen, 2004).

ability to deal with

change are important to successful innovation.

ositive or negative experiences of

innovations are important to an innovator.

ganization’s

tiredness with innovations are important

ls.

e of

u

T

members will also be responsi

ti

a vision (Kotter & Cohen, 2002).

System

Changes in responsibilities can include

changes in the structure of the organisation. It

is important to analyse realistically if changes

in the structure of the organisatio

of “system-opti

Slide 17

Dealing with Value and Power Barriers

• Preventing the influence of power and

value barriers on the change pro

o Information, communication,

arriers

e barriers

an nnovation project is almost

al barriers are important and can

rriers.

Power barriers

Alliance with management is vital in

implementing a whole school program or ide

To escape power against you, will be of value

in carrying out an innovation. This can slow or

break down the innovati

information, comm

Slide 18

Resistance and barriers

Resistance and barriers are complex and

relative phenomena. Time, knowledge,

economics and the system’s

Previous p

Initial difficulties and the or

aspects of resistance and barriers in schoo

To be aware of, and prepared for the typ

resistance and barriers one can meet in

initiation and implementation of a whole school

approach to school violence, will be of great

help to a successful outcome.

60



Activity 6 Individual reflectio

minutes)

n an group discussions (125

n on the content of the lecture and preparing each participant for the change

processes they will lead in their own school/school district

Individual reflection (30 minutes)

Review ing into the context of your own

school/school district. Write your answer (key words) to the following questions:

What kind of psychological, practical, value and/or power barriers might occur in your school/school

- Start the initiation process at your own school/school district by attending to the action plan below.

ation of a whole school approach to

school violence (considering the barriers you expect to meet)?

Goal Measure (within)

d

Purpose

• Reflectio

the section above and try to transpose the examples of learn

-

district in initiating and implementating a change process?

How will you carry out the measure of informing the staff at your school or in your school district to

motivate them to participate in the initiation and implement

Example

Date Target group Responsible Comment

Initiating the

innovation

Inform all staff of the

aim of the VISTA

course

possible whole school

January

10th

All staff

(organizational

l

Participant(s)

at the VISTA-

c

Involve the

head teacher

and a

innovation

evel) ourse

Starting the

initiation

process

s) to

14th (organizational

and individual

level)

at the VISTA-

course and the

headteacher.

innovation at

management

level

Discussion between

the head teacher and

VISTA-course

participant (

elaborate a whole

January Management Participant(s) To anchor the

61



school innovation.

Establish a gro

responsible for the

change process at

school

up

Reduction of

psychological

barriers in the

individual sources at

February

15th

All staff

(organizational

and individual

level)

Participant(s)

at the VISTA-

course

Information to

all staff

members based

on the mapping

teacher

Mapping time,

economic

professional and

social re

school is the next step

Reduction of

psychological

barriers in the

individual al teachers

February

ual

level)

ISTA-

course and/ or

management

teacher

Individual

discussion/

counselling with

individu

End of Individual

teachers

(individ

Participant(s)

at the V

Etc…

Group discu

ssion (60 minutes)

ups of 5-6, scuss key challenges of implementing a whole school approach to school violence.

Each participant presents to the group the anticipated key challenges of implementation at

will meet these challenges. The group decides on one of the

articipants’ challenges that will be further discussed. In turn, the other group members ask

e

fter

rs containing one member of each the previous groups.

Each participant presents key elements of the first group discussions to the new group. Thus, all

participants get an insight into all group discussions that can provide new ideas to their own work.

In gro di

school/district level and how he/she

p

questions to help reflect about the actions he/she plans to take. Group members provide one

alternative action each. One of the group members writes the suggestions on a flipchart. Th

participants who presented their challenges/actions explain and justify what he/she wishes to do a

listening to all of the suggestions. The group decides on how to present key elements of their

discussion to members of other groups.

Group presentation (35 minutes)

Re-group into new groups of 5-6 membe

62



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Potter, D., Reynolds, D., & Chapma

(2002). School improvement for sc

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Hopkins, D., Harris, A., & Jackson, D. (1997).

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S

4

Kilpatrick, S., Bell. R., & Falk, I. (1999).

role of group learning in building social capi

Journal of Education and Training, 51

144.

Munthe, E. & Midthassel, U. V. (2002). Peer

learning groups for teachers. A Norwegian

innovation. New Zealand Annual Review of

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Samuelsen, A. S. (2002). Strategisk

kompetanseutvikling i kommune og skole.

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u.ac.jp/ITHET01/proc/139.pdf

Parada, R. H., Marsh, H. W., & Craven

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ring teachers to

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ttp://www.flexiblelearning.net.au/nw2000/talh

kback/p114.htm

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in school development activity and its

. V. (2004). Teacher involvement

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456.

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schools. School Leadership and Management,

20(2), 147-160.

teacher involvement in an

provement project on classroom

cational

enting an anti-bullying program in six

orwegian compulsory schools.

and

situated

within a broader context (related to

ps and

f,

udents and the wider school

eans by which

in schools can be

e development of a

positive school ethos

le

to articulate the characteristics of

se this

s

• s’

• tegrating

Fa l

deve

Chap

Knowle nding of:

•

• ther

• auses of

b

Midthassel, U. V., & Bru, E. (2001). Predictors

and gains of

im

management, Experiences from a Norwegian

project in two compulsory schools. Edu

Psychology, 21, 229-242.

Midthassel, U. V., & Ertesvåg, S. K. (2006).

Schools implementing Zero. The process of

implem

N

Samuelsen, A. S. (2003). Læring i

skolenettverk. En studie av læringsutbyttet i

en skolebasert nettverksmodell. Statped

skriftserie nr. 10.

Creating a Positive School

Ethos of Non-Violence

Respect through

‘Linkedness’


• To be aware of the fact that as

disrespectful behaviour is

personal factors, relationshi

social-cultural context), school

management staff, classroom staf

parents, st

community all have a key role in the

development of a school ethos of non-

violence and respect

• To be aware of the m

violent behaviour

prevented by th

• To be deeply aware of and to be ab

‘Linkedness’, and to be able to u

concept in appraising school realitie

and in making proposals to improve

school practice

To be able to use the ‘Linkednes

‘prevention pyramid’ in testing the

existing approach towards

disrespectful behaviour

To be familiar with the skills involved

in planning, conducting, in

and evaluating work with different

demographic groups in school

communities

ci itation skills to be

loped through this

ter

dge and understa

the VISTA whole school approach

how pupils relate to one ano

the range of underlying c

challenging, aggressive and anti-social

ehaviour

66



• h s for

i , groups and the

school as a whole

nity

• current thinking in the area of the

• modelling effective promotion of non-

Persona

rms

actions

a

n

• ve communicator

•

• models effective behaviour

• line managing, motivating and

• rventions

Pre-chapter reading

Deb t

ander e pectloos

gedrag. positief klas-

en s o

Leerling

Alflering everij.

Wol

Deklerc epuydt, A. (1998). An ethical

and soci e

concept ess’ and ‘integration-

disintegration’. In L. Walgrave (Ed.),

estorative

stice for juveniles. Potentialities, risks and

G.

ve-

encia na Escola, Centro de

studos de Pedagogia e Avaliaçao (p. 321-

ow to design improvement plan

ndividual pupils

• the operation of school systems

• the importance of creating a

supportive and caring school

commu

promotion of non-violence

violence interventions, systems and

management approaches

l qualities and attributes include:

• having an appropriate, pupil-centred

set of beliefs and values which info

their decisions and

• being able to influence the ethos in

place of work and effect and sustai

change there

being an effecti

• being an effective trainer of and

adviser to staff, governors, parents,

carers and pupils

being a strategic thinker

having a good understanding of and

management strategies

supporting staff teams through

empathy and understanding

Co-ordinating a range of inte

to promote non-violence to support

pupils

• Managing time effectively and well

organised

ou te, G. (2004). Verbondenheid: een

n preventief antwoord op res

Hoe toewerken naar een

ch olklimaat? In Handboek

enbegeleiding Twee (pp. 57-77),

5, June 2004. Mechelen, Uitg

ters Plantyn.

k, J., & D

al interpretation of crime through th

s of ‘linkedn

Applications to restorative justice: R

ju

problems (p.137-156). Leuven: Leuven

University Press.

Deklerck, J., Depuydt, A., & Deboutte,

(2003). The ‘Linkedness’ Project. In L. Gra

Resendes (Ed.), Conferencia Internacional

Prevençao da Viol

E

325). Universidade Aberta, Lisboa.

67



Summary of current


about creating a positive

school ethos of non-

violence and respect

cle 19 of the UN Convention on the Rights

of the Child (1989) makes it clear that children

ve a fundamental right to feel safe in

school. Within the last seven years, violence

oncern for

e

nd

ion

All of

nd otherwise

chools; all

er such

r of

rgency (Munthe, Solli, Ytre-Arne, & Roland,

996)

only

, bullying and violence

(WHO, 2002). In its World Report on Violence

hool

of

school bullying and violence’; (iv) ‘develop a

ent

e’; (v)

oth pre-

l

e’.

f

through ‘Linkedness’

Arti

ha

in schools has been a key issue of c

the World Health Organization (WHO), th

Organisation for Economic Co-Operation a

Development (OECD), and the European Un

(EU) and European Commission (EC).

these organisations have funded a

promoted research into violence in s

have issued recommendations for furth

actions to be taken, often as a matte

u

2005; WHO, 2002).

The forty-ninth World Health Assembly (1

declared violence to be a ‘leading worldwide

public health problem’ (WHO, 2002). The WHO

(2002) found that violence is among the

leading causes of death worldwide for people

aged 15 to 44 years; its Director General, Gro

Harlem Brundtland, opines that ‘violence

pervades the lives of many people around the

world, and touches all of us in some way’

(WHO, 2002, p. xi). In its survey of thirty-five

countries, the WHO found that there were

35 per cent of 11- to 15-year-olds who were

not involved in fighting

and Health, the WHO (2002, p. 247-254)

makes a set of ‘recommendations for action’

for the ‘range of sectors and stakeholders’.

Guided by the WHO framework, O’Moore

(2005, pp. 38-48) made a nine-point

framework (geared more specifically to sc

violence) in a keynote address invited by the

OECD at their Taking Fear Out of Schools

conference in Stavanger, Norway, in

September 2004. These points were: (i) ‘draw

up, implement and monitor a national plan of

action to prevent school bullying and violence’;

(ii) ‘enhance the capacity to collect data on

school bullying and violence’; (iii) ‘define

priorities for, and support research on, the

causes, consequences, costs and prevention

national strategy to assist schools to prev

and reduce school bullying and violenc

‘promote a media campaign to promote non-

violent values, attitudes and behaviour’; (vi)

‘integrate school bullying and violence

prevention into teacher education at b

service and in-service levels’; (vii) to establish

an advisory body for partners in education’;

(viii) ‘contribute to an international research

network’; and (ix) ‘promote legislation to dea

effectively with school bullying and violenc

It is hoped that the current Chapter will be o

service in the pursuit of a number of these

goals.

68



It is important to reflect upon the fact that in

its World Report on Violence and Health, the

WHO’s (2002) recommendations for act

stressed strongly that ‘upstream investments’

bring good ‘downstream results’. Critically,

the WHO noted that ‘there is a tendency

worldwide for authorities to act only after

cases of highly visible violence occur, and then

to invest resources for a short time on

programmes for small, easily identified groups

of people….primary prevention approaches

[which a

ions

re advocated] operate on the basis

that even small investments may have large

t

ures

e

k

ughly

a


of

the participants

opied and/or

prepared



Chap

Resourc s of ‘Linkedness’

pro e

the con tical

app t

1 is a fi to as five ‘building

bloc ’) e facilitator to

work in

develop chool in a positive direction

with e

can be facilitated either as a half-day or as a

and long-lasting benefits’’ (p. 243). The WHO

Report (2002, p. ix) also recalled no less a

figure than Nelson Mandela stating that whils

‘….the twentieth century will be remembered

as a century marked by violence’, that

‘….violence can be prevented. Violent cult

can be turned round….Governments,

communities and individuals can make a

difference’. As we ‘….owe our children – the

most vulnerable citizens in society – a life free

from violence and fear….We must address th

roots of violence. Only then will we transform

the past century’s legacy from a crushing

burden into a cautionary lesson’ (WHO, 2002,

p. ix). Hence, as educators, we can only as

ourselves, what better place to address the

roots of violence than in our schools?

In this Chapter, participants are introduced to

(through Resource 1) and made thoro

aware of (through Activity 1) the working

methods of Verbondenheid (‘Linkedness’), as

means by which a positive school ethos of

non-violence and respect can be created.






reading to be done



• plan the session to meet the needs


resources/materials are c

ter 2.3

e 1 The fundamental

vid s an overview of the fundamentals of

cept of ‘Linkedness’, and its prac

lica ions within the school context. Activity

ve-stage (referred

ks exercise which allows th

a practical way to change the

ment of a s

th ‘Linkedness’ concept. This Chapter

one-day training.

69



Activity 1 Working with ‘Linkedness’ (150-300

minutes)

Purpose

• This is a five-stage (referred to as five ‘building blocks’) activity which allows the

facilitator to work in a practical way to change the development of a school in a

positive direction with the ‘Linkedness’ concept

Materials

Res rcou e 1 The fundamentals of ‘Linkedness’

Resource 2 The Prevention Pyramid

ndles’ with attachments and worksheets 1 ‘Text bu

Name cards (also required for group assignment)


Space that allows working in small groups (see below, ‘Procedure’ section, for details).

1 We suggest that the facilitator should make up small brochures, in which the participants will find an overview of the

content of this part of the training, the information summary, the worksheets (activities) and Resources 1 and 2.

Procedure

It must be ensured that all mentioned building blocks are given an in-depth chance. The

session is aimed at a maximum of 25 participants (max. five groups of five people).

First building block: Exchange of practical stories (‘Non-Respectful

Behaviour’ at School)

After welcoming participants (each one will receive a name card with details of position and

school/work location) they will be asked to answer the following questions:

(i) Find examples of disrespectful behaviour in your own school history:

-

-

- …

(ii) And find examples of ‘respectful’ behavior? What do you remember and why?

70



-

-

- …

Together with the participants, the facilitator will examine the (lack of) quality of life in the

given examples. The facilitator will illustrate the importance of the strength of the five life

dimensions.

Second building block: re-link-ing de-linq-uency

(i) The facilitator explains the vision of ‘Linkedness’ (see Resource 1 The fundamentals of

‘Linkedness’, Figure 1).

(ii) The participants examine in small groups (colour of name cards will determine group

assignment) the five life dimensions in their schools.

(iii) Wh s’ in your school? (Use table ere and how do you recognise the quality of ‘Linkednes

immediately below).

(iv) The session facilitator will sum up on a board/slide/flipchart.

The bond with… Concerning the pupils Concerning the teacher

(participants)

Oneself

(capacities, feelings and (capacities, feelings and

emotions of the child…) emotions of the educator…)

The other (the parents, peers, (colle , agues, head teacher

parents, personal

relationships…)

teachers…)

The materials (material context at (The materials in your class and

school, home, …) school, the building,

neighborhood …)

71



Group, society, culture (cultural and social (teacher’s background, history,

culture, ) n , etwork of the pupil

background…)

Life environment, What is really important What is imp ant for the

e cological context, life as for the pupil?

a whole

ort

teacher? What is the teacher’s

aim? …

Third building block: preve mentantion, a funda l approach

(i) The facilitator explains the link with the global pedagogical and structural framework.

This concerns the way in which the school team and the school administrat ion

communicate, school management, the infrastructure, and primarily also the pedagogical

and didactic methods. Formulated positively, ‘linkedness’ means a framework for

‘experiential value education’. Thus our project is very closely intertwined with the ‘Centre

for Experiential Education’, (www.cego.be) which is responsible for a broad movement of

pedagogical renewal in Belgium and in various other European countries. Central here is a

pedagogy that starts from and is driven by the experiential world of the child. Its point of

departure is a conviction regarding the urge to learn that is inherent in the child and the

person. Children want to learn and a school must offer the right stimulation and tension

that is closely connected to the learning needs. ‘Linkedness’ departs from the idea that

children are able to ethically flourish if they are given the chance to reflect upon deeply

human experiences that present themselves in everyday life.

(ii) The facilitator presents the ‘Apple Tree’ diagram (Resource 1 The fundamentals of

‘Linkedness’, Figure 2) to the participants.

(iii) Participants discuss in small groups how the ‘roots of the Apple Tree’ can be fed starting

from the experiential world of the child. They search for ‘good practices’ of how those links

can be ‘fed’:

- the link with oneself;

- the link with the other;

- the link with the material;

- the link with the group, culture and society; and,

- the link with the life as a whole.

In plenum (to the full group) they illustrate how those examples strengthen the quality of

72



the personal life of the pupil/teacher and the school culture as a whole.

(iv) The facilitator summarizes, as previously.

Fourth building block: establishing processes of change is based upon

process oriented working (S.P.W. methodology)

(i) The facilitator explains the ‘activity principle’ and opens the discussion with the following

question: ‘How do teachers themselves take the initiative regarding the implementation?’

(ii) The following points should be discussed:

- What ‘baggage’ needs to be cleared away beforehand?

- Which barriers (lack of motivation, resistance, shortcomings in the infrastructure and in

the school management, etc.) need to be taken away?

(iii) The facilitator emphasises the importance of open communication and participation in

the school culture.

Fifth building block: the prevention pyramid, framework for a whole school

approach

(i) The facilitator presents the ‘prevention pyramid’ diagram (see Resource 1 The

fundamentals of ‘Linkedness’ and Figure 3) to the group participants.

73



Figure 1. The Prevention Pyramid (Deklerck, Depuydt, & Deboutte, 2001)

(ii) Using Resource 2 The Prevention Pyramid, each small group is asked to place a total of

at least five initiatives, proposals or measures within the prevention pyramid. This exercise

illustrates at what level one wants to develop action, where the need is situated (and where

it is experienced as less important).

(iii) After each small group has accomplished the task, there is another exchange moment.

The facilitator checks if all the various initiatives were placed correctly. Where necessary

74



s/he will bring improvements. The large group is asked to formulate a few conclusions

afterwards. These may involve the usability of the supplied framework and the results of

the entire ‘interpretation exercise’.

Debriefing:

The facilitator lastly provides a slide that gives a place to all intervention models that form

part of the VISTA project (see Figure 1 above). He or she then elucidates the how and why

of the assigned positions within the prevention pyramid.

References

Deklerck, J., Depuydt, A., & Deboutte, G.

(2001). 'Verbondenheid' als

antwoord op 'de-link-wentie'? Preventie op een

nieuw spoor. Leuven/Leusden: Uitg, Acco.

Depuydt, A., & Deklerck, J. (2005). Religare

als antwoord op delinquentie. Een aanzet tot

een ethische, contextuele en ecologische

criminology. KULeuven.

Munthe, E., Solli, E., Ytre-Arne, E., & Roland,

E. (Eds.) (2005). Preface to A report from the

conference ‘Taking Fear Out of Schools’ (pp. 3-

5). University of Stavanger: Centre for

Behavioural Research.

O’ Moore, A. M. (2005). A guiding framework

for policy approaches to school bullying and

violence. In E. Munthe, E. Solli, E. Ytre-Arne, &

E. Roland (Eds.), A report from the conference

‘Taking Fear Out of Schools’ (pp. 38-51).

University of Stavanger: Centre for

Behavioural Research.

UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

(1989). Available directly on the world-wide

web: hhtp://www.cirp.org/library/ethics/UN-

convention

World Health Organization. (2002). World

report on violence and health. Geneva:

Author.

Further reading and


Books and Articles

Belova, N. (2000). Violence in school. Social

Education, 5, 15-19. (In Bulgarian).

Bey, T. M., & Turner, G.Y. (1996). Making

school a place of peace. London: Sage

75



Publications.

Dalin, P. (1993). Changing the school culture.

London: Cassell.

Damsgård, H. L. (2003). Med åpne øyne.

Observasjon og tiltak i skolens arbeid med

problematferd. Oslo: Cappelen Akademiske

Forlag.

Deal, T. E. (1999). Shaping school culture:

The heart of leadership. San Francisco, CA:

Jossey-Bass.

Derrington, C. (2004). A team approach to

behavioural management. London: Paul

Chapman Publishing.

Drifte, C. (2004). Encouraging positive

behaviour in the early years: A practical guide.

London: Paul Chapman Publishing.

Furlong, C., & Monaghan, L. (Eds.) (2000).

School ethos: Cracking the code. Dublin:

Marino Institute of Education.

Gleeson, D., & Husbands, C. (Eds.). (2001).

The performing school: Managing, teaching

and learning in a performance culture.

London: RoutledgeFalmer.

Jensen, S. E., & Størksen, S. (2001).

Refleksjon som metode i systemisk

endringsarbeid, Skolepsykologi, 4, 11-21.

Kalchev, P. (2003). Bullying and victimisation

by peers. Sofia: Paradigma. (In Bulgarian).

McLean, A. (2003). The motivational school.


Midthassel, U. V. (2003). Kollegaveiledning– er

det verd å bruke tid på? Norsk Pedagogisk

Tidsskrift, 3/4, 168-174.


Dealing with bullying in schools: A training



Publishing.

Peterson, K. D. (2002). The shaping school

culture fieldbook. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-

Bass.

Prosser, J. (Ed) (1999). School culture.


Watkins, C., & Wagner, P. (2000). Improving

school behaviour. London: Paul Chapman

Publishing.

Websites

www.cego.be

www.citizenship-bg.org/en/programme.html

www.dfes.gov.uk/bullying

www.linkedness.be

www.sacp.government.bg/index_en.htm

76

http://www.cego.be/

http://www.citizenship-bg.org/en/programme.html

http://www.dfes.gov.uk/bullying

http://www.linkedness.be/

http://www.sacp.government.bg/index_en.htm



www.stick2gether.com

www.teachernet.gov.uk

www.ukobservatory.com

www.verbondenheid.be

Resource packs

Resource 1 The

Fundamentals of

‘Linkedness’

Non-respectful behaviour at school does not

happen out of the blue; rather, studies show

that it involves complex issues. Problematic

behaviour arises from complex interaction

between various factors (in other words, multi-

causal problems). In broad terms, it can be

argued that it involves the interaction between

person-related factors (both endogenous and

exogenous) on the one hand, and context-

related factors on the other. Hence, there is a

need for a wider, ‘all in’ approach and, by

utilising an ‘ecological approach’, a more

effectively complete picture of the problem is

presented. It is logical that here only a

multidisciplinary approach can be opted for:

psychologists, educators, sociologists,

criminologists, etc., complement each other’s

analyses, and are able to seek solutions in

consultation, which remain geared to concrete

reality.

An ‘ecological approach’ to the problem of

non-respectful behaviour at school takes into

account the following five dimensions of the

environment (see Figure 1 below):

(i) the personal level (of perpetrator, victim,

outsiders, adult players): own predisposition

and growth process, self-image, knowledge,

skills and attitudes, and interpretation of

personal needs;

(ii) the interaction level (me-you): quality of

direct relationship with others (significant for

recovery, and in help in preventative work);

(iii) the material level: quality of the learning,

working and living environment;

taking care, and being responsible;

(iv) the broad social environment: belonging

to a family, group, social and cultural

influencing; the experienced school culture

with its ethos, the link between school and

immediate school environment;

(v) the ‘natural’ living environment: how it

contributes to health, experiencing meaning,

and so on.

Having said all of this, ‘linkedness’ itself will be

elucidated further within this resource by

making reference to four key concepts: (a) the

‘Five Circles’ diagram; (b) the ‘Apple Tree’

diagram; (c) the ‘Prevention Pyramid’; and,

(d) the ‘SPW’ methodology.

77

http://www.stick2gether.com/

http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/

http://www.ukobservatory.com/

http://www.verbondenheid.ie/



A - The ‘Five Circles’ diagram

Figure 1. The ‘Five Circles’

The starting point for the research and

practice of fundamental crime prevention is

the conclusion of the research of Anouk

Depuydt (Catholic University of Leuven,

Belgium): namely, that ‘de-linq-uency’ always

has to do with the lack of a link, and

consequently that ‘re-link-ing’ is the logical

answer (Depuydt & Deklerck, 2005).

‘Linkedness’ thereby focusses on developing,

strengthening and redressing of links with

those five dimensions of the environment. The

ethical and societal contextualisation of crime

in general, and problematic behaviour in

schools, have been central areas of focus. In

researching the first of these, it was possible

to conclude that 'delinquency' in general is

always the expression of the lack of a link

between the offender and (one or more

dimensions of) the victimized environment.

Hence,‘re-linking’, which is also the central

aim of mediation, is the central issue of this

concept.

It is possible to speak of both ‘symptomatic’

and ‘fundamental’ approaches to problems.

Tackling non-respectful behaviour treats

symptoms (that sometimes have very deep

roots) that can sometimes be of a broad

societal and structural nature. Children that

exhibit problematic behaviour are, from this

perspective, bearers of ‘symptoms’ of what is

happening at their home, in their environment

and in the broader society. This can be

approached diagrammatically via the ‘apple

tree’ model (Figure 2), in which the concept of

‘Linkedness’ ascends from the roots – the

fundamental and structural level. Our intention

is to ensure fundamental changes via the

78



methods used that lead to a gradual change in

the total school culture proceeding from the

entire school team. Within this preventative

approach space is created, if required, for

specific approaches to the problem.

B - The ‘Apple Tree’ model

Figure 2. The apple tree

‘Linkedness’ is thus a broad, fundamental

approach, and includes a broad combination of

initiatives, actions and measures (formal and

informal), which together lead to a quality

school context. To this end, attention is paid

to task orientation and well-being. On the one

hand, many components are manipulated at

the same time (c.f. the ‘ecological’

framework), and on the other, in-depth work

is performed (high involvement and strong

79



well-being). Thereby, one is simultaneously

kept aware of the quality of the current

process at the personal level (i.e., personal

growth and development) and at the school

community/group level (i.e., high levels of

general well-being and an intensive learning

process). If this is the case, all participants

experience the school environment as safe,

sound and pleasant. In other words, working,

learning and living together is experienced

with a high degree of satisfaction. There is an

excellent atmosphere and there are few or no

difficulties as regards interaction. If problems

do arise, they remain limited and manageable.

C - The Prevention Pyramid (Depuydt &

Deklerck, 2005)

Schools that wish to apply or maintain such a

policy can make use of Johan Deklerck and

colleagues’ (Deklerk, Depuydt, & Deboutte,

2001) prevention pyramid. This preventative

model provides something to ‘hold on’ to in

the development of a formal structure and a

school-wide policy. At the same time the

model keeps an eye on the target towards

which each prevention policy aims to work:

that is to say, the maintenance or

safeguarding of quality of life. This shows four

things:

(i) that whole policy consists of the combining

and gearing to each other of

curative, preventive and social climate-

promoting measures (and-and instead of or-

or);

(ii) that the improvement of the context

(school culture and school climate)

provides an ideal basis for curative and

preventive initiatives;

(iii) that one may not bypass the need for

person-oriented and structural

measures; and,

(iv) that the formal and informal levels

complement each other significantly.

It has to be self-evident that the whole

approach to non-respectful behaviour at school

is initially based on cooperation with the entire

school team. Other partners (inside and

outside the school) can then become involved.

80



Figure 3. The prevention pyramid (Deklerck et al., 2001).

In this prevention framework, a distinction is

made between four levels at which schools can

take measures or initiatives to tackle issues of

disrespectful interaction (bullying, violence,

vandalism, etc.). In short, it involves:

(i) measures or initiatives that have a positive

influence on the living climate within the

school (level 1);

(ii) general prevention measures (level 2);

(iii) specific prevention measures (level 3);

and,

(iv) curative or remedying measures (level 4).

Level 0 refers to social conditions that

contribute to determining school operation. It

involves policy measures, influencing trends

and factors from social, cultural, political and

ecological contexts.

Level 1 - Fundamental prevention: measures

that promote the living climate: All measures

that directly contribute to the living quality

within the school belong to this level. These

measures ensure that students, teachers and

parents experience the school as a pleasant

living, working and meeting place. The focus

here is obviously not problem-oriented. This

involves the creation and maintenance of a

good basic climate.

Level 2 - General prevention: Here, the

emphasis is on what contributes to the

strengthening of social competencies, special

care, being able-bodied, capacity and

problem-solving ability of children, teachers

and parents. Structural measures such as

better developed care structure also belong to

this level. Typical to all measures at this level

is that something constructive is happening.

The focus is not on the problems but all that

contributes to preventing these problems.

81



Level 3 - Specific prevention: Here, the school

opts for the approach of clearly described

problems such as bullying behaviour at

school, depression among children, dealing

with divorce, ADHD, dyslexia, highly gifted

children, etc. The emphasis is on prevention

every time. One either wants to avoid the

problem occurring, or one wants to prevent it

from happening again. What is important is

safeguarding well-being. That is why

teachers, students and parents will be suitably

informed and made aware. Or else efforts are

made that remove causes or risks. Certain

initiatives are rather aimed at target groups

among which the risk for problems is

estimated to be higher.

Level 4 - Curative or remedying measures:

When a problem comes up within the school

that affects well-being, the school team is sure

to take action. Someone intervenes by

immediately offering assistance; boundaries

are set, and support is initiated. In order to

avoid the case that the problem escalates or

recurs, measures are preferably chosen that

limit or repair the damage and also have a

preventive value. A supporting measure

should not be experienced as patronising by

the student or parent receiving help; likewise,

a sanction only makes sense if they are a solid

foundation for better interaction.

Each Level - Person-oriented and structural

initiatives: Whoever wants to do something

about the quality of life within the school will

at the same time have to take two kinds of

initiatives, namely (i) changing or supporting

people, and (ii) changing or supporting

structures. That is why measures are required

aimed at the knowledge, attitudes and skills of

students, teachers and parents. Hanging up

posters, setting up an exhibition, organising a

discussion evening, genuinely and openly

thanking people for their contribution,

conducting performance interviews etc. are all

part of this. On the other hand, structural

measures should not be omitted. They

express the individuality of school policy and

typify school culture. Editing a school

newspaper, weekly briefing of the school

team, organised consultation with parents and

students, redesigned playground, monthly

breakfasts (with an information component)

for parents of newcomers, homework support

set up together with college students, etc., are

initiatives of a structural nature.

D - The SPW Methodology

Finally, establishing the processes of change is

based upon what is known as the ‘S.P.W.

methodology’ (School-team Based Process-

Oriented Working). This means a gradual

process of change towards a different school

culture, working together with the entire

school team. Thus, in addition to the

inventory of problems, positive goals are

formulated that simultaneously (i) are capable

of being really implemented, and (ii) remain

anchored in the school. With the ‘activity

principle’ as the point of departure, the

teachers themselves take the initiative

regarding its preparation and implementation.

Previous research with the ‘Linkedness’ project

82



in Flanders has taught the authors that

sometimes much baggage needs to be cleared

away beforehand. This can include (but is not

necessarily limited to) conflicts between

students, conflict between members of the

school team, and shortcomings in the

infrastructure and in the school management.

Tackling these issues can also be approached

through the implementation of ‘Linkedness’.

Resource 2 The Prevention Pyramid

83



Working with Parents


• To understand and appreciate the key

role that parents have in the

application of the ‘whole school

approach’ in addressing school

violence

• To be familiar with the skills involved

in planning and conducting work with

parents in school communities

• To consider strategies for engaging

parents in activities that will support

them in taking their part in the

promotion of non-violence and the

reduction of violence

• To be able to motivate and support

parents in developing an

understanding of the central role that

parents themselves and young people

play in countering and preventing

violent and bullying behaviour in

schools

• To enable parents themselves to work

productively at home with their

children/teenagers in promoting anti-

violence/pro-social attitudes

• To consider, and to facilitate, parental

and school collaboration against

violent and bullying behaviour

amongst young people in school

communities



Chapter


• the VISTA whole school approach

• the range of underlying causes of


behaviour



community

• how to include parents/carers in

decisions about their child

• up-to-date knowledge of current

thinking in the area of the promotion

of non-violence

• effective promotion of non-violence

interventions, systems and

management approaches





carers and pupils

• being a strategic thinker

• having empathy for and providing

specialist support to parents and

carers

• managing time effectively and being

well organised


84



• being able to facilitate and value

parents’ opinions about their

children’s/teenager’s education

Pre-chapter reading

Elliot, M. (1997). 101 ways to deal with

bullying: A guide for parents. London:

Hodder & Stoughton.





Publishing (chapter four).

Rigby, K. (2002). New perspectives on

bullying. London: Jessica Kingsley.

Smith, P. K., & Thompson, D. (1991).

Practical approaches to bullying. London:

David Fulton Publishing.

Summary of current


about working with parents

Work with parents may be correctly identified

as being an absolutely essential part of a

whole-school approach towards the prevention

and countering of violence and bullying

behaviour in schools. Indeed, in the first

application of a whole-school approach to

school bullying behaviour, the Nationwide

Campaign Against Bully/Victim Problems in

Norwegian Schools (Olweus, 1983),

‘awareness and involvement on the part of

adults’ was seen as the ‘general prerequisite’

of the programme, and ‘class parent-teacher

association meetings and ‘teacher and parent

use of imagination’ were seen as ‘highly

desirable components’ of the programme’s

measures at the class and individual levels

respectively (Olweus, 1999). Active work with

parents has been a part of all subsequent

whole school intervention programmes against

school bullying and violent behaviour applied

on a broad scale since (Ljungström, 1990;

O’Moore & Minton, 2004a; Ortega, 1997;

Ortega & Lera, 2000; Roland & Munthe, 1997;

Slee, 1996; Smith, 1997; Stevens, De

Bourdeaudhuij, & Van Oost, 2000; see also

Rigby & Slee, 1999; Roland, 2000; Smith,

2003; Smith & Brain, 2000; Smith, Pepler, &

Rigby, 2004; Smith & Shu, 2000, for reviews).

Every responsible parent is concerned for the

protection, safety and well-being of his or her

child. It has also been argued, that in order

for whole-school intervention programmes to

be effective, that along with school personnel,

parents have a responsibility to ensure that

their children/teenagers are not involved in

inappropriate behaviours such as bullying or

harassing other school students (O’Moore &

Minton, 2004b). Empirical research, too, has

pointed to the critical role that parents have in

a school community’s efforts to counter and

prevent violent behaviour. Research into

bullying behaviour evidences that bullied

young people are more likely to report having

been bullied to their parents rather than to

85



staff at their school (O’Moore, Kirkham, &

Smith, 1997).

Nothing within the last twenty years’ literature

concerning intervention programmes can

convince us that parents do not have an

important role to play in whole-school

approaches against school bullying and

violence, or that Olweus (1983, 1997, 1999;

and, thereby, everyone since who has followed

his general approach) was misguided in

according parents an important position within

such processes. Indeed, social scientists of

every persuasion can at least find consensus

upon the general rule that one’s experience of

being parented is a major influence upon one’s

childhood and subsequent attitudes and

behaviour. Hence, the question whether

parents should be involved within whole-school

approaches against school violence is settled

rather readily, in the affirmative. The question

that remains, and one which is addressed by

the rest of this Chapter, is how parents should

be involved.

Therefore, the purpose of this Chapter is to

facilitate VISTA participants to work with

parents in a variety of practical ways. In

preparing to do this, it is essential that VISTA

participants come to understand the concerns

parents have around violence in schools (this

is approached in Activity 1). Further activities

include looking at how victimisation may

manifest itself behaviourally in the home

(Activity 2), which is deemed important

because of the veil of secrecy that surrounds

aggressor-victim problems amongst young

people. Activity 3 addresses the question that

the authors, in their everyday professional

capacity, have been asked most frequently by

parents themselves: what can or should

parents do if they find out that their

child/teenager has been victimised? Activity 4

addresses the question that is far less

frequently asked, but no less important to

consider: what can or should parents do if

they find out that their child/teenager has

been involved in victimising others?







reading to be done




the participants



prepared


86




Chapter 2.4

Introduction

The activities in this Chapter follow a logical

sequence, and one that is based on the way in

which the authors of this Chapter typically

work with parents who are concerned about

bullying behaviour in Irish schools. We would

contend that in order to work effectively with

parents who are concerned about violence in

schools, VISTA participants should be prepared

through the following phases:

(i) Understanding and empathising with the

parent’s unique position in the process of

countering and preventing violence in schools

(or, to put it into a potential parent’s question,

‘What do I think?’);

(ii) Being able to meet the concern of parents

that exists around understanding and

recognising the patterns of behaviour that

result in young people from having been

victimised (‘How will I know?’);

(iii) Being able to meet the concern of parents

that exists around helping and supporting a

child/teenager who reports having been

victimised to them (‘What should I do?’); and,

(iv) Being able to meet the concern of parents

that exists around helping and supporting a

child/teenager who has been involved in

victimising others (‘How will I cope?’).

To this end, this Chapter has been divided into

four sections (A – D), each with an activity

(activities one to four) of around one hour’s

duration designed to raise awareness and

skills amongst VISTA participants concerning

these points. This Chapter represents a one-

day training plus breaks

Activity 1 Understanding

Parents’ Concerns and

Perspectives around

Violence in Schools (around

60 minutes)

Purpose

Introduction: Understanding the Parent’s

Position: ‘What Do I Think?’

As was reflected upon in the ‘Summary of

Current Thinking’ section of this Chapter (see

above), parents have an important role to play

in the countering and prevention of aggressive

behaviour in schools. However, we have also

argued that it is important to try and

understand the problem of violence in schools

from the parent’s own perspective. In other

words, if we, as practitioners and policy-

makers, are to fully utilise parents as a

resource in our efforts to tackle violence in

schools, we must first attempt to put ourselves

in the parent’s position.

Because of parents’ natural protectiveness

towards and responsibility for their offspring,

we must be aware of the emotional component

that the issue of violence in schools raises.

87



This component, along with others, may be

brought to the awareness of VISTA

participants through the implementation of

Activity 1 (directly below).

This activity is designed for a group of

approximately twenty to twenty-five

participants. The purpose of the activity is to

generate an understanding amongst the group

participants of what parents’ concerns around

violence in schools. In the first place, and

through the first part of the activity,

participants should come to recognise that

how parents think about school violence for

themselves is not necessarily how the research

experts or school policy makers define it. In

the second place, participants are put into a

position of thinking about school violence from

the perspectives of different parenting

positions

Materials

The facilitator will require only the instructions

for this acctivity, and a board or flipchart and

appropriate marker for use in presenting

written summaries of the group’s responses.

Procedure

There are two parts to this activity.

Part One:

(i) The participants, working alone, should be

given some time by the facilitator to adopt the

role of a parent. As this may not be such a

stretch for many participants, who will of

course be parents themselves, the role could

perhaps be one of ‘a typical parent at your

school’, or ‘a typical parent of a school-going

child in your area’.

(ii) Working from this role, and alone at first,

each participant is asked to come up with a

definition (of fewer than fifty words) of

‘violence’.

(iii) The whole group can then be divided up

into smaller sub-groups (of four to six

members each). The members of the sub-

groups compare their definitions, and try to

achieve consensus on how they believe that

parents of school students would define

‘violence’.

(iv) Each sub-group elects a spokesperson,

who feeds the sub-group’s findings back to the

facilitator, who, using the board/flipchart,

summarises the findings of the whole group.

(v) The facilitator then relays the anti-bullying

expert Dan Olweus’ definition of violence to

the group:

‘Aggressive behaviour where the actor or

perpetrator uses his or her own body or an

object (including a weapon) to inflict

(relatively serious) injury or discomfort upon

another individual’ (Olweus, 1999, p. 12).

The whole group then discuss if, and then

perhaps how and why, their definitions differ

from this expert standpoint (see also Chapter

1.1).

Part Two:

(i) Four potential parenting positions are

introduced to the group by the facilitator

(these can be elaborated into mock case

histories by the facilitator if this is likely to

assist with the participants’ understanding):

88



(a) a parent whose child who has been

victimised at school;

(b) a parent whose child has been

indisputably identified as having been involved

as having victimised others at school;

(c) a parent whose child has been accused of

having victimised others at school, although

the parent is unsure as to the accuracy of his

or her child being so identified;

(d) a parent whose child is not involved in

problems of violence at school, remains

concerned about such problems within schools.

(ii) The whole group (i.e., all the participants

together) splits into four sub-groups of six or

so members. Each sub-group is allotted one

of the four ‘parenting positions’ outlined above

(point (i).

(iii) Each sub-group has to discuss how their

allotted ‘parent’ might respond to the following

prompts:

- what is the role of external authorities in

preventing and countering violence in schools?

- what is the role of the school management

authorities in preventing and countering

violence in schools?

- what is the role of the school’s teaching and

non-teaching staff in preventing and

countering violence in schools?

- what is the role of the school’s parents in


- what is the role of the school’s students in


- what should the school do in dealing with

perpetrators of violence in schools?


bystanders to/witnesses of violence in schools?


victims of violence in schools?

(iv) Each sub-group then elects a

spokesperson, who feeds the sub-group’s

discussion back to the facilitator.

(v) After re-forming the whole group (i.e., all

the participants together) from the smaller

sub-groups, the facilitator should aim to

summarise the outcomes of the activity (using

the board/flipchart) and reflect upon its

meaning. The facilitator should seek to

address the following:

- which concerns are constant between

different parenting positions?

- which concerns/responses differ between the

different parenting positions?

- what can be learnt (by the participants) from

this type of activity?

Debrief

As a means of both debriefing and further

reflection, a handy final think-piece for policy-

makers might be the discussion of the

following question:

- In terms of school policy and practice, how

important is it for the different groups within

the school community (i.e. policy-makers,

school management, teaching and non-

teaching staff, parents and students) to have a

common understanding of school violence, and

how may such a common understanding be

fostered?

89



Activity 2 Understanding

the Signs and Symptoms of

Being Victimised (around

60 minutes)

Introduction: Identifying the Effects of

Victimisation: ‘How Will I Know?’

Although research demonstrates that bullied

students are more likely to report having been

bullied to their parents than they are to their

teachers, it also shows that most bullied

students are unlikely to report having been

bullied at all (e.g., in O’Moore et al., 1997).

Indeed, much violent behaviour would seem to

thrive under conditions of secrecy (be this

school bullying, domestic violence or organised

crime). Parents are, by and large, aware of

this ‘code of silence’; and many parents

consequently suspect or worry about their

child or teenager having been victimised long

before they are ever told (if indeed that ever

happens).

The authors of this Chapter have frequently

been asked the question that heads this

section – ‘how will I know?’ – just as, we

suspect, many of the VISTA participants will

have been. Parents can find themselves

worried about the violence in schools they

read about in the newspaper, see on

television, or hear about in their local

communities, worrying about whether their

child will have been victimised – no matter

how positive or open their relationship with

their son or daughter might be. So they adopt

what the authors refer to as a ‘detective’ role.

Activity 2 (immediately below) is designed to

help those in the position of working with such

parents, and, subsequently, those parents

themselves.

Purpose

• This is designed for a group of

approximately twenty to twenty-five

participants. The activity is based on

the premise that much aggressor-

victim behaviour, perhaps most

especially bullying behaviour, is

shrouded in secrecy. If parents do, as

suggested above, find themselves in a

position of having to ‘play detective’,

this activity is an attempt to help them

Materials

Following the research findings recorded in the

text immediately above this activity (i.e., that

young people are more likely to report having

been victimised to their parents than to their

teachers), in Dealing with Bullying in Schools,

O’Moore and Minton (2004b) presented a list

of ‘signs and symptoms’ of being victimised for

parents, which is reproduced in condensed

form below. This list can either be printed out

on cards or worksheets, or else be projected

overhead for the benefit of all the participants.

- ‘The young person looks distressed or

anxious, and yet refuses to say what is

wrong’;

90



- ‘Unexplained cuts and bruises’;

- ‘Damage to clothes, books, and school

equipment’;

- ‘Doing worse at school than before’;

- ‘Requests for extra money, possessions, or

even lunch vouchers’;

- ‘Reluctance to go to school’;

- ‘Changes in mood and behaviour’;

- ‘Lower confidence and self-esteem’;

- ‘Complaints of headaches and stomach

aches’; and,

- ‘Problems sleeping’ (O’Moore & Minton,

2004b, pp. 51–53).

A further sign is that:

- the child/teenager is likely to have very few

friends and appears to be socially isolated

from peers.

As O’Moore and Minton noted, ‘this is not a

fail-proof checklist’ (2004b, p. 53); however, it

does present a reliable enough starting off

point for this activity.

Procedure

(i) The facilitator presents this list to the

entire group of participants, illustrating each

point with examples (according to his or her

experience), or elucidating responses from the

group to illustrate each point (if this latter

tactic is taken, more time should be allotted to

this activity).

(ii) The whole group can then be split into

sub-groups of between four and six members,

for the purposes of discussion and consequent

generation of ideas and examples (ten minutes

should be allowed for this part of the activity).

(iii) After re-forming the group, each point is

discussed in turn. Discussion points can be

along the lines of:

- Why would this ‘sign or symptom’ be likely to

manifest? How does it make sense in terms of

the child’s/teenager’s experience of having

been victimised?

- Precisely how is this particular ‘sign or

symptom’ likely to manifest itself in the

home? Who is most likely to notice it?

- What should one do if one notices such a

‘sign or symptom’? In one’s capacity as an

educator, what should one advise a parent to

do who reported noticing this?

- How one could ‘rank’ these ‘signs and

symptoms’, what criteria would you apply? If

you feel you could, how would you rank

them? If you could not, or would not, why

not?

Debrief

The participants should be asked to bring their

past experience to bear on answering the

following question (which can be put to the

entire group, and then discussed):

- What did we miss? Are there any other

patterns of behaviour/discernible effects on

the individual that are consistent with being

victimised?

91



Activity 3 Considering what

Parents Can Do if their

Children/Teenagers Report

Having Been Victimised

(around 60 minutes)

Introduction: Helping Young People Who

Have Been Victimised: ‘What Should I

Do?’

To find out that one’s son or daughter has

been victimised is a time when emotions are

turbulent. There can be sadness, as one

empathises with the injury, suffering or

humiliation that one’s offspring has had to

endure. There can be guilt, as one blames

oneself for not having realised that something

was wrong, or not having done something

sooner. There can be one’s own residual pain,

in the case that such a revelation re-opens

one’s own psychological wounds of having

been victimised in perhaps a similar way.

There is often anger at the perpetrators of the

violence, or those in authority whom one

believes should have acted to prevent or stop

it. In short, a complex array of emotions –

none of which are pleasant – is typically

involved on a parent hearing such news.

After this immediate emotional response, there

is, on the part of a caring parent, an

overwhelming urge to do something – here,

one’s deep love for one’s offspring (and deep

protective instincts, as viscerally experienced

as in any lower mammalian species) kicks in -

one feels utter compulsion to protect, nurture

(and even on a more negative slant,

sometimes to revenge) our son or daughter.

So when, as a researcher or practitioner within

the field of school violence or bullying, a

parent asks us, ‘What should I do?’, the advice

we give must be concrete, individually

formatted to the case at hand, and practically

orientated, leading to an immediate alleviation

of the suffering of the victimised child or

teenager in the shortest possible timeframe.

Activity 3 (immediately below this text)

involves a review and a ‘thinking-through’ for

VISTA participants on some possible strategies

that are sometimes recommended to parents

of victimised children or teenagers.

Purpose

• The purpose of this activity is to

encourage participants to think

through the advice that is generally

given to parents who find themselves

in the distressing situation of their

children/teenagers reporting having

been victimised

Materials

Resource 1 Answer grid, which should be

copied and enlarged to approximately A3

paper size.

92



Procedure

In Dealing with Bullying in Schools, O’Moore

and Minton (2004b, pp. 53–58, pp. 67-68)

suggested six things that parents could do if

their child or teenager was involved in

bullying. They also added that an

understanding of such strategies was

something that should be included in practical

sessions undertaken with parents (p. 96). The

six strategies that were mentioned are as

follows:

(A) ‘Finding out what’s wrong’;

(B) ‘Impressing the fact that the aggressor

has the problem, not the victim’;

(C) ‘Impressing the fact that one shouldn’t

fight back physically’;

(D) ‘Teaching coping skills for verbal

harassment at home through role play (the

“silent treatment”, the “use of humour”, and

“assertiveness”)’;

(E) ‘Building self-esteem at home’; and,

(F) ‘Reporting the problem to the school’

(O’Moore & Minton, 2004b, pp. 67–68).

(i) The facilitator should introduce these

strategies by name to the participants. This

can be done by copying the above list onto

cards/worksheets, or projecting the list

overhead.

(ii) The group of participants should then split

into pairs of ‘work partners’.

(iii) The participants should then think about

the following issues in relation to each of the

above strategies (again, this list can either be

copied onto cards/worksheets, or projected

overhead).

(a) The skills that parents would need in

implementing this (be precise);

(b) Things which parents could find difficult in

implementing this;

(c) Objections young people could have if an

attempt was made to implement this;

(d) Decision point: Would you feel happy in

implementing this, or advising someone else

to do so? If ‘yes’, answer question (v); if ‘no’,

answer question (vi), and return to the pre-

chapter reading;

(e) How I would implement this, or advise

someone else to do so; or,

(f) The information/skills I would need before

attempting to implement this myself, or

advising someone else to do so;

(g) Then, regardless of whether you answered

(e) or (f), answer the following: What other

considerations could there be in

recommending/implementing this strategy?

(iv) Working alone, each participant should fill

in the relevant (partner 1) sections of ‘answer

grid’ specified in the ‘materials’ section of this

activity (see Resource 1 Answer grid). Allow

in the region of twenty minutes for this phase

of the activity. Before they write anything, the

participants must be made aware that part of

the overall activity involves the ‘swapping’ of

these sheets with a partner, and the

discussion of emerging group themes based on

the feedback they have given. Therefore, they

should only record what they feel comfortable

recording.

93



(iv) The participants swap their worksheets

with a work partner, who fills in the relevant

(partner 2) sections of ‘answer grid’ specified

in the ‘materials’ section of this activity (see

below). The idea is that each participant (a)

constructively augments the suggestions made

in his or her work partner’s responses to

questions (i) and (v); and (b) comes up with

constructive suggestions for overcoming the

potential ‘difficulties’ raised by his or her work

partner in responses to questions (ii), (iii) and

(vi). Allow in the region of twenty minutes for

this phase of the activity.

(v) The pairs of work partners then engage in

a ten-minute dialogue with each other, about

the feedback they have given each other and

shared.

(vi) The ‘whole group’ (i.e., all the

participants together) is re-formed.

Debrief

The facilitator leads a discussion of the

activity, posing the following prompts:

(i) What points of similarity were there

between the partners? And, having fed this

back to the ‘whole group’, what can be said

concerning this about the whole group?

(ii) What points of difference were there




(iii) Speaking only for oneself, what is the

most important/useful thing that the

participants have learnt through undertaking

this activity?

Activity 4 Considering what

Parents Can Do if their

Children Teenagers Have

Been Involved in

Victimising Others (around

60 minutes)

Introduction: Helping Young People Who

Have Been Involved in Victimising Others:

‘How Will I Cope?’

We have seen previously (see text of sub-

section C, above) that finding out one’s son or

daughter has been victimised is invariably an

emotionally turbulent experience. It is

sometimes the case that it is assumed that a

parent of a child who is involved in victimising

others is emotionally unaffected by hearing

the news that his or her child is so involved.

That is to say, that such a parent, by the very

fact that he or she has produced a child who

has been involved in victimising others, must

be negligent, and therefore doesn’t care, or

will invariably lie, about his or her child’s

involvement. Quite simply, this is not the

case. Although it is the authors’ experience

that parents are far less likely to seek help

from practitioners about their victimising

offspring as opposed to their victimised

offspring, those who fall into the former

category have taught us that it is no less

upsetting for a caring parent to have an

aggressor for a child than a victim of violent

behaviour.

94



So in this case, a parent might feel anger – at

his or her child/teenager, or at the

child’s/teenager’s behaviour; at the

child’s/teenager’s friends, or friends’ parents

(if the parent has formed the opinion, as is

often the case, that their child/teenager has

been somehow led astray by others). The

parent might feel disappointment, or shame,

at the child/teenager, or his or her own failure

to instil his or her (say) democratic and

peaceful values in his or her child. Or, if one

feels (as many parents do) that one’s

child/teenager has been unjustly accused, one

may feel a need to fight his or her child’s

corner. In short, it is neither a less complex

nor a less negative array of emotions to cope

with. If one is still in doubt that parents of

children and teenagers who engage in

perpetrating violence can also be caring

parents, consider the fact that there are many

more influences on a young person’s peer-

group behaviour than his or her parents. One

could also answer for oneself a very simple

question: ‘Have you always acted in ways in

which your parents would wish you to do

so?’

Activity 4 (immediately below this text) is an

intentional doubling of the previous activity,

underlining the authors’ consistent message

that ‘….people who are involved in bullying,

aggressive behaviour and harassment –

whether as victims or perpetrators (or indeed,

both) – need the support and intervention of

the school community’ (O’Moore & Minton,

2004b, p. 8). Activity 4 offers participants a

thinking-through of advice that may be given

to parents of those young people who do

engage in violent behaviour.

Purpose

• In an activity that deliberately parallels

Activity 3 (see above), the purpose

here is to encourage participants to

think through the advice that is

generally given to parents who find

that their child or teenager has been

involved in victimising others

Materials

Resource 2 Answer grid, which once more

should be copied and enlarged to

approximately A3 paper size.

Procedure

In Dealing with Bullying in Schools, O’Moore

and Minton (2004b, pp. 59-67) suggested

seven things that parents could do if their child

or teenager was involved in aggressive,

bullying or harassing behaviour. Once more,

they also added that an understanding of such

strategies was something that should be

included in practical sessions undertaken with

parents (p. 96). The seven strategies that

were mentioned are as follows:

(A) Creating an accurate awareness of ‘what

violent, bullying and harassing behaviour is’;

(B) ‘Role-modelling positive behaviour’;

(C) ‘Finding out what’s wrong’;

(D) ‘Building self-esteem at home’;

95



(E) ‘Teaching skills of empathy’ at home;

(F) ‘‘Teaching respect for differences’ at

home; and,

(G) Facilitating energetic children’s ‘catharsis’

(i.e., ‘letting off steam in a positive way’).

(i) The facilitator should introduce these

strategies by name to the participants. This

can be done by copying the above list onto

cards/worksheets, or projecting the list

overhead.

(ii) The group of participants should then split

into pairs of ‘work partners’.

(iii) The participants should then think about

the following issues in relation to each of the

above strategies (again, this list can either be

copied onto cards/worksheets, or projected

overhead).

(a) The skills that parents would need in

implementing this (be precise);

(b) Things which parents could find difficult in

implementing this;

(c) Objections young people could have if an

attempt was made to implement this;

(d) Decision point: Would you feel happy in

implementing this, or advising someone else

to do so? If ‘yes’, answer question (v); if ‘no’,

answer question (vi), and return to the pre-

chapter reading;

(e) How I would implement this, or advise

someone else to do so; or,

(f) The information/skills I would need before

attempting to implement this myself, or

advising someone else to do so;

(g) Then, regardless of whether you answered

(e) or (f), answer the following: What other

considerations could there be in

recommending/implementing this strategy?

(iv) Working alone, each participant should fill

in the relevant (partner 1) sections of ‘answer

grid’ specified in the ‘materials’ section of this

activity (see Resource 2 Answer grid). Allow

in the region of twenty minutes for this phase

of the activity. Before they write anything, the

participants must be made aware that part of

the overall activity involves the ‘swapping’ of

these sheets with a partner, and the

discussion of emerging group themes based on

the feedback they have given. Therefore, they

should only record what they feel comfortable

recording.

(iv) The participants swap their worksheets

with a work partner, who fills in the relevant

(partner 2) sections of ‘answer grid’ specified

in the ‘materials’ section of this activity (see

below). The idea is that each participant (a)

constructively augments the suggestions made

in his or her work partner’s responses to

questions (i) and (v); and (b) comes up with

constructive suggestions for overcoming the

potential ‘difficulties’ raised by his or her work

partner in responses to questions (ii), (iii) and

(vi). Allow in the region of twenty minutes for

this phase of the activity.

(v) The pairs of work partners then engage in

a ten-minute dialogue with each other, about

the feedback they have given each other and

shared.

(vi) The ‘whole group’ (i.e., all the

participants together) is re-formed.

96



Debrief

The facilitator leads a discussion of the

activity, posing the following prompts:

(i) What points of similarity were there




(ii) What points of difference were there




(iii) Speaking only for oneself, what is the

most important/useful thing that the

participants have learnt through undertaking

this activity?

Finally, it should be noted that some parents –

hopefully, a small minority - do not care about

their children’s or teenagers’ behaviour. It is

difficult to envision quite how one could work

in an educational context with such parents, as

they do not typically present themselves in a

voluntary capacity within school systems.

Indeed, many teachers Europe-wide have

commented to the authors that one never sees

the parents (say, at parent-teacher meetings)

that one would most wish to see. Of course, a

far larger proportion of parents are parents of

those children and teenagers who are not

involved at all in violent behaviour, which, in

most European countries, comprises

(thankfully) the majority of young people.

Having said this, with a nationwide survey

revealing that around one in three primary

school children is bullied within a school term

(O’Moore, Kirkham & Smith, 1997), there can

be scarcely one school-going child in a

hundred who has not at least witnessed the

victimisation of another child. Hence, we have

constructed this Chapter in a way that doesn’t

ignore apparent non-involvement, but instead

makes the assumption that all parents will, or

at least should, have an interest in the subject

of violence in schools. We have attempted to

cater for the needs of those who work with

parents on this subject on this basis, and hope

we have been effective in doing so.

References

Ljungström, K. (1990). Mobbaus koulussa.

Käsikirja mobbaukesta ja sen selvittämisestä

Farsta-menetelmällä. [Bullying in schools: A

handbook on bullying and its treatment by use

of the Farsta method]. Kauniainen, Finland:

Jessica Lerche.

Olweus, D. (1983). Bullying at school: What

we know and what we can do. Oxford:

Blackwell.

Olweus, D. (1997). Bully/victim problems in

school: Knowledge base and an effective

intervention program. Irish Journal of


Olweus, D. (1999). Sweden. In P. K. Smith, Y.

Morita, J. Junger-Tas, D. Olweus, R. Catalano,

& P. Slee (Eds.), The nature of school

bullying: A cross-national perspective (pp. 7-

97



27).London: Routledge.

O’Moore, A. M., Kirkham, C., & Smith, M.

(1997). Bullying behaviour in Irish schools: A

nationwide study. Irish Journal of Psychology,

18(2), 141–169.

O’Moore, A. M., & Minton, S. J. (2004a).

Ireland: The Donegal primary schools anti-

bullying project. In P.K. Smith, D. Pepler, & K.

Rigby (Eds.), Bullying in schools: How

successful can interventions be? (pp. 275-

287). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

O’Moore, A. M., & Minton, S. J. (2004b).




Publishing.

Ortega, R. (1997). El Proyecto Sevilla Anti-

violencia Escolar. Un modelo de intervención

preventiva contra los malos tratos entre

iguales. [The Seville Anti-Violence in Schools

Project: A preventative intervention model

against bad relationships amongst equals].

Revista de Educación [Educational Review],

313, 143-158.

Ortega, R., & Lera, M.J. (2000). The Seville

Anti-Bullying in School project. Aggressive

Behavior, 26, 113-123.

Rigby, K., & Slee, P. T. (1999). Australia. In P.

K. Smith, Y. Morita, J. Junger-Tas, D. Olweus,

R. Catalano, & P. Slee, P. (Eds.), The nature of

school bullying: A cross-national perspective

(pp. 324-339). London: Routledge.

Roland, E. (2000). Bullying in school: Three

national innovations in Norwegian schools in

15 years. Aggressive Behavior, 26, 135-143.

Roland, E., & Munthe, E. (1997). The 1996

Norwegian program for preventing and

managing bullying in schools. Irish Journal of


Slee, P. T. (1996). The P.E.A.C.E. Pack: A

programme for reducing bullying in our

schools. Australian Journal of Guidance and

Counselling, 6, 63-69.

Smith, P. K. (1997). Bullying in schools: The

UK experience and the Sheffield Anti-Bullying

Project. Irish Journal of Psychology, 18, 191-

201.

Smith, P. K. (Ed.) (2003). Violence in schools:

The response in Europe. London:

RoutledgeFalmer.

Smith, P. K., & Brain, P. (2000). Bullying in

schools: Lessons from two decades of

research. Aggressive Behavior, 26, 1-9.

Smith, P.K., Pepler, D., & Rigby, K. (Eds.)

(2004). Bullying in schools: How successful

can interventions be? Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press.

Smith, P. K., & Shu, S. (2000). What good

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schools can do about bullying: Findings from

a survey in English schools after a decade of

research and action. Childhood, 7, 193-212.

Stevens, V., De Bourdeaudhuij, I., & Van Oost,



primary and secondary schools. British Journal

of Educational Psychology, 70, 195-210.

Further reading and


Books

Besag, V.E. (1994). Bullies and victims in

Schools. Buckingham: Open University Press.

Byrne, B. (1993). Coping with bullying in

schools. Dublin: Columba Press.

Byrne, B. (1996). Bullying: A community

approach. Dublin: Columba Press.

Dore, S. (2000). Bullying. NSPCC: Egmont

World Ltd.

Elliot, M. (1996). 501 ways to be a good

parent. London: Hodder & Stoughton.

Elliot, M. (1997). 101 ways to deal with

bullying: A guide for parents. London:

Hodder & Stoughton.

Ericsson, K., og Larsen, G. (2000). Skolebarn

og skoleforeldre: Om forholdet mellom hjem

og skole. Oslo: Pax.

Humphreys, T. (1993). Self-esteem: The key

to your child’s education. Leadington, Co.

Cork: T. Humphreys.

Kristiansen, T. (2004). Foreldrene – skolens

nye ressurs: utfordringer til samtale mellom

lærere og foreldre. Oslo: Damm.

La Fontaine, J. (1991). Bullying: A child’s

view. London: Calouste Gulbenkian

Foundation.

Marr, N., & Field, T. (2001). Bullycide: Death

at playtime. Oxford: Success Unlimited.

Roland, R. (1997). Mobbing: Håndbok til

foreldre. Stavanger: Rebell forlag.

Smith, P. K., & Thompson, D. (1991).

Practical approaches to bullying. London:

David Fulton Publishing.

Sullivan, K. (2000). The anti-bullying

handbook. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Thomas, P. (2000). Stop picking on me: A

first look at bullying. New York: Barron’s

Educational Series.

Veleva, R., & Kolev, N. (Eds.) (2001). How to

protect children from violence. Pazardgik.

Велева, Р., и Колев, Н. (pед.) (2001). Как

да предпазим децата от насилие.

Пазарджик.

99



Voors, W. (2000). The parent’s book about

bullying. Center City, MN: Hazelden.

Foreldreutvalget for grunnskolen.

http://www.fug.no

Zlatanova, V. (1995 ). Family and deviant

behaviour of under age people. Sociological

Problems, 2, 133-141.

National Child Protection Helpline.

http://www.nspcc.org.uk

Parent Centre, The.

http://www.parentcentre.gov.ukЗлатанова, В. (1995). Семейство и

девиантно поведение на непълнолетните.

Социологически проблеми, N 2, 133-141. Parentline Plus.

http://www.parentlineplus.org.uk

Websites

Anti-Bullying Research and Resource Centre,

TrinityCollegeDublin. http://www.abc.tcd.ie

Scottish Anti-Bullying Network.

http://www.antibullying.net

VISYON. http://www.visyon.org.uk

BBC1 Schools: Bullying.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/bullying Video Films

Hands on Bullying. (1998). Tony Jewes

Productions. Bullying in Schools and what to do about it.

http://www.education.unisa.edu.au/bullying

The Trouble with Tom. (1991). Central

Independent Television Productions. Bullying Online. http://www.bullying.co.uk

Bully Online.

http://www.successunlimited.co.uk Welcome to the Dollhouse. (1995). (Produced

by Donna Bascom & Todd Solandz). (Feature

length movie: Cert. 15). Childline. http://www.childline.org.uk

Department for Education and Employment.

http://www.parents.dfee.gov.uk

100

http://www.abc.tcd.ie/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/bullying


http://www.bullying.co.uk/

http://www.successunlimited.co.uk/

http://www.childline.org.uk/

http://www.parents.dfee.gov.uk/

http://www.fug.no/

http://www.nspcc.org.uk/

http://www.parentcentre.gov.uk/

http://www.parentlineplus.org.uk/

http://www.antibullying.net/

http://www.visyon.org.uk/



Resource packs

Resource 1 Answer grid

‘Answer Grid’ for Activity Three.

Emerging Issues

a B c d E f g

A (partner one)

A (partner two)

B (partner one)

B (partner two)

C (partner one)

C (partner two)

D (partner one)

D (partner two)

E (partner one)

E (partner two)

F (partner one)

Strategies

F (partner two)

101



Resource 2 Answer grid

‘Answer Grid’ for Activity Four.

Emerging Issues

a B c d E f g

A (partner one)

A (partner two)

B (partner one)

B (partner two)

C (partner one)

C (partner two)

D (partner one)

D (partner two)

E (partner one)

E (partner two)

F (partner one)

F (partner two)

G (partner two)

Strategies

G (partner two)

102



Working with Teachers


• To understand and appreciate the key

role that teachers have in the

application of the WSA in addressing

school violence

• To be familiar with the skills involved

in planning and conducting work with

teachers in school communities

• To be able to motivate and support

teachers in developing an

understanding of the central role that

teachers themselves and young people

play in countering and preventing

violent and bullying behaviour in

schools

• To consider strategies for engaging

teachers in activities that will support

them in taking their part in the

promotion of non-violence and the

reduction of violence

• To enable teachers to work

productively in the classroom with

young people in promoting anti-

violence/pro-social attitudes



Chapter


• the range of underlying causes of


behaviour

• designing improvement plans for

individual pupils, groups and the

school as a whole

• the range of provision for pupils whose

behaviour causes concern

• the operation of school systems

• the requirements of legislation and

formal procedures relevant to

aggressive and violent behaviour



community

• the importance of promoting non-

violence to enhance learning


• having an appropriate, pupil-centred

set of beliefs and values which informs

their decisions and actions

• being able to influence the ethos in a

place of work and effect and sustain

change there


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carers and pupils

• being a strategic thinker

• having a good understanding of and

models effective behaviour

management strategies

• managing, motivating and supporting

staff teams through empathy and

understanding

• managing time effectively and being

well organised

• being able to establish effective

partnerships with other relevant

organisations

Pre-chapter reading

Beane, A. L. (1999). Bully free classroom:

Over 100 tips and strategies for teachers.

Minneapolis: Free Spirit Publishing.





Publishing. (Especially chapter three pp. 28-

48).


handbook. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Summary of current


about working with

teachers

Work with teachers is central to the practical

implantation of whole school approaches

towards the prevention and countering of

violence in schools. This sort of work, as was

also the case with the role of parents (see

Chapter 2.4), was established in the first

application of a WSA to school bullying

behaviour in the Nationwide Campaign Against

Bully/Victim Problems in Norwegian Schools of

1983 (see Olweus, 1993; 2004). As well as

‘awareness and involvement on the part of

adults’ being seen as the ‘general prerequisite’

of the programme, a ‘school conference day’,

‘better supervision during break periods’, ‘class

rules against bullying’, ‘regular class meetings

with the students’, ‘serious talks with bullies

and victims’, ‘serious talks with parents of

involved students’, ‘class parent-teacher

association meetings and ‘teacher and parent

use of imagination’ were seen as ‘highly

desirable components’ (Olweus, 1999). All of

these factors put the classroom staff member

at the very heart of anti-bullying and anti-

violence intervention efforts (Olweus, 1999).

Work with teachers – usually around training

them to deal with and to help prevent

incidents of bullying and violent behaviour -

has been a part of all such whole school

intervention programmes ever since (Ortega &

104



Lera, 2000; O’Moore & Minton, 2004b; Roland

& Munthe, 1997; Slee, 1996; Smith, 1997;

Stevens, De Bourdeaudhuij, & Van Oost,

2000; see also Rigby & Slee, 1999; Roland,

2000; Smith, 2003; Smith & Brain, 2000;

Smith, Pepler, & Rigby, 2004; Smith & Shu,

2000 for reviews).

Many researchers have come to rely upon

teachers to deliver the content of anti-bullying

programmes applied on a broad-scale, and

even to act as trainers within those

programmes (in so-called ‘train-the-trainer’

models – Olweus, 2003) (see Olweus, 2004;

O’Moore & Minton, 2004b; Roland & Munthe,

1997). In the day-to-day context, too, all

teachers are and always have been very much

in the ‘front line’ in terms of having to deal

with incidents of violent behaviour in their

schools, and, as a professional body, have

tremendous potential in the promotion of non-

violence (i.e., engaging in preventative

practise). Very often, it seems, we rely on

teachers to deal with and attempt to resolve

problems located inside the school that society

outside the school gates cannot or will not

cope with through their potential means.

Society, it seems, expects a lot from teachers;

as researchers/practitioners, we should do our

best to resource and equip them to make their

contributions to anti-violence efforts in

schools.

The focus of this Chapter is to provide

facilitators with the resources and information

that will permit them to engage participants

fully in efforts made against school violence.

Classroom staff members can subsequently be

made aware of the issues of school violence,

and be enabled to act positively against it –

through participation in school policy

formation, and the conducting of classroom

work with students. Activities 1 to 3 inclusively

are designed to help the facilitator to raise

participants’ awareness and tease out

attitudes towards school violence and the

educator’s role in intervention. Activity 4

allows teacher participants to generate their

own practical ideas for classroom work. Each

activity has been employed successfully many

times in schools in the Republic of Ireland by

the authors of this Chapter. Notes on the

practical implementation of all resources and

exercises have been included throughout the

course of this Chapter.







reading to be done




the participants



prepared

105





Chapter 2.5

Introduction

Teaching staff are in general, in the authors’

experience, less concerned (although not

necessarily less interested) in the theoretical

side of students’ involvement in aggressive

and violent behaviour, than they are with

learning practical ways by which such

behaviour can be dealt with in the school in

general, and in the classroom in the ‘here-and-

now’ in particular.

Teachers are very much in the ‘front line’

concerning the practical aspects of dealing

with violent behaviour in schools, but

unfortunately, teachers have sometimes

(rather courageously) informed us that whilst

their training has not always prepared them

adequately for this role, concerned parents will

often require that teachers ‘do something’

about problems of aggressive and violent

behaviour. The activities that follow could be

used in a typical training session for a mixed

group of educators (i.e., teaching and non-

teaching staff, parents and policy makers),

and are, whilst both reflective and discursive,

ultimately very much geared towards the

practical. Such a training session might last

from half a school day to a school day in

length, depending on the number of

participants.

The four activities that are included below

provide content for use by the facilitator in

such a session and represent a one-day

training plus breaks.

Activity 1 Teachers’

Attitudes and Beliefs

around Intervening in

Situations of Violence and

Harassment (120 minutes if

done in its entirety;

however, the design of the

exercise allows for it to be

shortened if necessary (see

instructions, point (ii)

below).

Introduction

What Do We Mean by ‘Violence in

Schools’?

Dan Olweus, the forefather of anti-bullying

research, defines violence thus:

‘Aggressive behaviour where the actor or

perpetrator uses his or her own body or an

object (including a weapon) to inflict

(relatively serious) injury or discomfort upon

another individual’ (Olweus, 1999, p. 12).

106



He also notes that the dictionary definition of

violence ‘….is similar, implying the use of

physical force or power’, and that the

definition of violent offences in criminal law

‘….(including murder, homicide, aggravated

assault, assault, robbery and rape) is based on

a closely related understanding’ (Olweus,

1999, p. 12). Violence and bullying are both

sub-categories of the more general concept of

aggression, with the intersection between

bullying and violence being characterised by

physical bullying (Olweus, 1999).

It should be noted that the first activity within

Chapter A2 provides an opportunity for

participants to think about what is meant by

‘violence in schools’. If this activity has not

already been undertaken as part of that

Chapter, it could be usefully included at this

point. In this way, participants can raise

awareness of and come towards a personal

understanding of such definitional issues.

Countering Strategies

A comprehensive school policy should include

directives for both countering strategies –

dealing with any current incidents of violent

behaviour in the school – and preventative

strategies. It is important that a consensus is

achieved amongst the classroom and

management staff (that is to say, those

involved in the practical and day-to-day

implementation) as to all details of these

strategies during the policy formation process

and in subsequent work undertaken in the

school. Countering strategies should include

means by which incidents of violent behaviour

may be reported, investigated and recorded

(see Chapters 2.1 and 5.1), and sanctions and

supports for those involved in incidents of

violent and aggressive behaviour.

Activity 1 (immediately below) provides means

by which VISTA participants may come to

reflect upon how they themselves, their

colleagues, and their respective institutions

typically intervene in situations of bullying and

violence, and what the assumptions (explicit or

implicit) are that underlie these intervention

strategies.

Purpose

• This activity is designed to tease out

participants’ attitudes and feelings

about interventions in situations of

violent behaviour, and can usefully be

employed (say) as a pre-cursor to the

participants’ subsequent involvement

in policy formation

Materials

The materials consist of five hypothetical

scenarios, which may be printed out on

separate cards. These hypothetical scenarios

are as follows:

Situation One: Patrick, Alan, Colm and Sean

are pupils who often play football together

after school. Patrick is very good at football,

but he gets cross with Sean, because Sean

often misses the ball. When this happens, the

107



game has to stop whilst the ball is fetched

back. Patrick is always making rude remarks

to Sean, who usually jokes back. But one day,

after a particularly nasty remark from Patrick,

Sean ran off to fetch the ball, but didn’t come

back with it. Sean then told his class teacher

that he is being bullied.

- In your opinion, does this behaviour

constitute bullying?

- If so, why, and what form of bullying is it? If

not, how else might the behaviour be

explained?

- How do you think Sean feels about the

situation?

- Why might Alan and Colm not have stopped

Patrick from calling Sean names?

- What should the class tutor do now?

Situation Two: Dean and Gerard are in the

same class at school, and sometimes sit

together. One day in art class, the teacher

asks the two of them to share in the task of

painting a picture. Unintentionally, Gerard

knocked over the water they were using to

clean their brushes, which spoilt the section

that Dean was painting. Dean reacted by

pushing Gerard off his stool, and a fight broke

out.

- How do you think Dean feels about the

situation?

- How do you think Gerard feels about the

situation?

- Do such incidents ever occur in your

classroom? If so, how would you manage

them?

Situation Three: Sinead was in the schoolyard

one day, and two older girls asked her for

money. Sinead said that she did not have any,

and the older girls began to push her around.

Whenever they saw her afterwards, they

purposefully knocked into her, and called her

nasty names. Mary told her mother about the

bullying, and also her class teacher. An

appointment has now been made for a

meeting between Sinead’s mother and the

class teacher.

- How do you think Sinead feels about the

situation?

- What do the older girls think about Sinead,

and about their own behaviour towards her?

- How might Sinead’s mother feel about the

meeting with the class teacher?

- How should the class teacher handle this

situation?

Situation Four: A teacher who is new to the

school, but has taught elsewhere in the area,

is having a difficulty with some pupils in a

class. At his former school, the teacher was

given an unkind nickname by the pupils, which

the pupils at his current school have heard

about. Now, whenever he turns to write on the

board, he hears the pupils repeat this

nickname. A few of the pupils also use bad

language whenever he has to discipline them,

which has led to the suspension of one pupil,

although the bad language continues. The

teacher has approached the principal with a

view towards resigning from his post.

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- Do such incidents ever occur in your school?

If you heard such a thing was happening to a

colleague, what would you do?

- Should policies against harassment, bullying

and aggressive behaviour exist to primarily

serve the needs of pupils, teachers or both

teachers and pupils?

- How should the head teacher handle this

situation?

Situation Five: At staff meetings, Joseph often

offers opinions that he thinks are helpful.

However, being close to retirement, many of

his colleagues feel that he is out of touch with

current views in education. Every time he

attempts to offer what he considers to be an

informed view based on his lengthy

experience, a group of younger teachers

belittle it. One time after a staff meeting,

Joseph, feeling angry and upset, attempted to

challenge two of his younger colleagues, Rosie

and Mark, when they are sitting in the staff

room. Rosie and Mark got up to leave, with

Rosie stating that she was upset with Joseph

having raised his voice, and that she will

complain to the principal about him. Mark said

that he would back this up. Joseph entered the

principal’s office feeling angry and upset, and

told the principal about the incident.

- What do Rosie and Mark think about Joseph,

and about their own behaviour towards him?

- Do such incidents ever occur in your schools?

If you witnessed such an interaction between

your colleagues, what would you do?

- How should the principal handle this

situation?

Procedure

(i) Divide the group of participants into sub-

groups of about four to six members.

(ii) Present the sub-groups with the scenarios

above. Each group can be provided with either

one or a number of these, depending upon the

overall number of participants and time

available.

(iii) Each sub-group should be allowed 10 – 20

minutes’ discussion time per scenario.

(iv) The ‘large group’ (i.e., all the participants

together) should then be re-formed from the

sub-groups. The facilitator should then lead a

discussion of each scenario in turn in the large

group. The best way of doing this is by

allowing spokespeople from each sub-group to

provide a summary of their group’s discussion,

and conducting feedback from the other sub-

groups. The emphasis should be on achieving

(at the end of the discussion process) consent

upon key issues around anti-violence

intervention.

Debrief

In the whole-group situation, participants can

be encouraged to reflect upon:

- which they felt was the easiest scenario to

achieve consensus upon;

- which they felt was the most difficult

scenario to achieve consensus upon;

- having aimed for consensus, is consensus

important, and why;

- what they feel they have learnt about

109



themselves and each other, and the subject

matter at hand, via undertaking the activity.

Activity 2 Elucidating

Reflective Practice amongst

Educators (The authors

have found that the typical

time taken for this exercise

is between sixty and ninety

minutes for a group of up to

sixteen persons. However,

if the number of

participants exceeds this,

the time allotted should be

increased accordingly in

certain sections of the

exercise (see instructions,

points (ii) and (iii), and the

section on ‘debriefing’).

Introduction: Preventative Strategies

The old adage goes that ‘prevention is better

than cure’, and in the field of violence in

schools, it is very obviously applicable.

However, it takes more than good intentions

and ‘wishing away’ problems to work towards

the non-occurrence of incidents of violence in

schools. Merely stating that one’s school has

(for example) a ‘zero-tolerance’ policy on

bullying will not ensure that students do not

engage in bullying! Instead, a concerted effort

must be made by the school staff as a whole

to explore their own values, beliefs, and roles

as educators. Activity 2 is designed to bring

out that much prized but often sidelined

quality of ‘reflective practice’ amongst mixed

groups of educational professionals in a way

that helps us build towards the promotion of

pro-social behaviour, amongst staff and

students alike, in our schools.

Purpose

• The purposes of this activity are

various. The primary aim, as

documented in this activity’s title, is to

promote reflective practice in general,

through the facilitated experience of

the same in the course of the

exercise. What is reflected upon has a

direct relationship to the idea of

promoting pro-social relationships

within the classroom. By promoting

the pro-social, we take very positive

steps in the direction of developing

sound preventative practices

Materials

The following prompts can be printed out on

separate worksheets (with ample room for the

participants’ responses and notes), or

projected overhead.

110



(i) In your own experience as a school

student, which of your teachers had a positive

influence upon you? Why?

(ii) Why did you choose to be an educator?

(iii) How do you think that your professional

role impacts upon young people under your

care?

(iv) How do you think that your professional

role impacts upon your own feelings about

yourself?

(v)How do you think that the interpersonal

behaviour of young people affects their levels

of self-esteem?

(vi) When you retire, how would you like to be

remembered by your former students?

Procedure

(i) The participants first answer the questions

alone (i.e., without consultation with other

participants).

(ii) The whole group of participants is then

divided into smaller sub-groups (of between

four and six members). The sub-groups are

then given around twenty minutes to openly

discuss their responses to the prompts. It

should be pointed out to the participants that

they need only discuss the responses that they

feel comfortable discussing. It can be helpful

for the facilitator to mobilize himself or herself

around the sub-groups in tasks like these, in

order to keep the participants ‘on-task’.

(iii) In this, the second phase of small group of

activity, the small groups each elect (i) a

‘scribe’, who will take notes on behalf of the

sub-group, and (ii) a ‘spokesperson’ who will

relay the sub-group’s responses to the group

facilitator. The sub-group then attempt to find

similarities and differences in the individual

members of the sub-group’s responses.

(iv) A ‘large’ group (i.e., composed of all the

participants) is reformed from the sub-groups.

The facilitator then works through the

prompts, giving each group’s spokesperson a

chance to relay their findings in turn. The

facilitator’s task is to draw together the

responses of the participants as a whole,

paying attention to common emergent themes

and points of dispute, offering tentative

suggestions to the resolution of the latter.

Debrief

In the whole-group situation, participants can

be encouraged to reflect upon:

- which prompt they found most interesting;

- which prompt their sub-group spent most

time talking about;

- which prompt produced, in their eyes, the

most important type of discussion within (i)

the sub-group, and (ii) the ‘large’ group;

- what they feel the purpose of each prompt

was. Please note that there is no definitive

answer to this one! However, our experience

has been that participants enjoy discussing

this point, and that the discussion can prove

both lengthy and fruitful.

Activity 3 is a shorter one, and is essentially a

think-piece for policy makers:

111



Activity 3 Thinking about

Preventative Policy (in the

region of 60 minutes)

Purpose

• The purpose is essentially to review

school policies on

violence/bullying/discipline, in order to

ensure that adequate provision is

made for the promotion of

preventative practice

Materials

The relevant school policies, and the

instructions for this exercise that follow below.

Procedure

Consider that O’Moore and Minton (2004a, p.

92) deem that the following points are key to

an effective anti-bullying policy:

(i) ‘How bullying is defined, and the forms it

takes’;

(ii) ‘How incidents of alleged bullying

behaviour are to be reported, investigated and

recorded’;

(iii) ‘How incidents of bullying behaviour are to

be dealt with, including support and

intervention’; strategies for those involved

(both perpetrators and victims) and, where

necessary, the specification of sanctions for

perpetrators’;

(iv) ‘Preventative strategies in the school and

classroom’;

(v) ‘The role of school management staff,

classroom staff, parents/guardians, students

and relevant others in the above’; and,

(vi) ‘Measures for dissemination, evaluation

and review’.

However, it has been the authors’ experience

that school discipline policy will generally

reflect the first three of these points, but be

rather less clear concerning the last three of

these points. So, with preventative practice in

mind, and the relevant school policy

documents in hand*, the participants (after

being familiarized with the above comments)

should discuss, as a group:

(i) Is it the case that is true of our school(s)?

(ii) How far have we moved towards

preventative practice?

(iii) How is preventative practice realised in

the classroom(s) in our school(s)?

(iv) What supports (in terms of policy,

personnel, training, and physical resources) do

the teaching staff of our school(s) need in

order to engage further in preventative

practice?

Debrief

The participants are given a simple discussion

question: ‘What else can be done?’ The

facilitated discussion of this could take some

time (!) as there is, as we (as educators and

hopefully as a society) move away from

tackling anti-social behaviour and towards

promoting the pro-social behaviour, always

112



more to be done. As a variation, this simple

question (‘What else can be done?’) can be

discussed at (say) the school, societal and

international levels.

* = The policy documents that are (i)

compulsory and (ii) advised for a school to

have will of course vary from country to

country.

Activity 4 is designed specifically for teaching

staff in the planning of preventative work in

the classroom.

Activity 4 Planning

Preventative Work in the

Classroom (for Teachers)

(variable; for a group of

twenty or so members,

probably not less than

ninety minutes)

Purpose

• The purpose is to enable teachers to

‘think through’ the planning of

preventative sessions that are

enjoyable and relevant to the young

people whom they teach. Rather than

merely providing resources, within this

activity, we seek to skill the teacher as

acting as his or her own resource

generator

Materials

The key prompts that follow in the

‘instructions’ section below could be placed on

individual worksheets, or projected overhead

for the group.

Procedure

Working at first individually, and then in

groups (in the same manner as in Activity 2),

a number of things may be considered.

Firstly, in O’Moore and Minton (2004a, pp. 32-

46), a variety of creative media are reviewed

in terms of forming a methodological basis for

preventative work in the classroom. These

media are:

- circle time group work;

- ‘mobility’ and ‘introduce yourself’ games;

- use of videos/DVDs;

- posters, pictures, and sculpture;

- music, drama, film-script and role-play;

- class charters.

For each of these media, participants should

ask themselves:

- how easy would it be to access this medium?

- how comfortable am I using this medium?

- how comfortable am I in facilitating young

people’s use of such a medium?

- how can this medium be used, as a tool, in a

preventative session on violence in schools,

with the young people that I teach?

- how can I be sure that the medium doesn’t

take over as a creative task, but instead

113



serves to illustrate the anti-violence/pro-social

message? (Hint: combining creative tasks with

‘circle time’ discursive tasks usually provides a

good framework).

- what other physical equipment/would I need

(if any) in implementing such a session?

- what safety issues and concerns (both

physical and psychological) would such a

session raise?

- how could such a session fit into the school’s

overall efforts to address issues of violence?

- how could such a session fit into the general

fabric of the school day/week/year?

- what support can I expect from my

colleagues and management in implementing

such a session?

Then either alone, or facilitated in small

groups (as in Activities 1 and 2 above),

participants can create lesson plans (say, of a

single period’s duration) using their responses

to the prompts above, and their past teaching

experiences.

Debrief

In a ‘large’ group (i.e., all the participants

together), can address a question in general

discussion: ‘How can an anti-violence message

be imparted in my regular subject teaching?’

O’Moore and Minton (2004a, pp. 45-46) make

some tentative suggestions, but the group

members’ own ideas would probably be more

relevant!

References

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we know and what we can do. Oxford:

Blackwell.

Olweus, D. (1999). Sweden. In P. K. Smith, Y.

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bullying: A cross-national perspective (pp. 7-

27). London: Routledge.

Olweus, D. (2003). A profile of bullying.

Educational Leadership, March 2003, 12-17.

Olweus, D. (2004). The Olweus Bullying

prevention programme: Design and

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Ortega, R., & Lera, M. J. (2000). The Seville

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201.

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Smith, P. K., Pepler, D., & Rigby, K. (Eds.)

(2004). Bullying in schools: How successful

can interventions be? Cambridge: Cambridge

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Further reading and


Textbooks and Resource Books

Asher, S. R., & Coie, J. D. (1992). Peer

rejection in childhood. Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press.

Beane, A. L. (1999). Bully free classroom:

Over 100 tips and strategies for teachers.

Minneapolis: Free Spirit Publishing.

Besag, V. E. (1994). Bullies and victims in

schools. Buckingham: Open University Press.

Blagg, N. (1990). School phobia and its

treatment. London: Routledge.

Blatchford, P. (1993). Playtime in the primary

115



school. London: Routledge.

Byrne, B. (1993). Coping with bullying in

schools. Dublin: Columba Press.

Byrne, B. (1996). Bullying: A community

approach. Dublin: Columba Press.

Cattanach, A. (1995). Play therapy with

abused children. London: Jessica Kingsley

Publishers.

Cowie, H., Boardman, C., Dawkins, J., &

Jennifer, D. (2004). Emotional health and

well-being: A practical guide for schools.

London: Sage Publications.

Cowie, H., & Wallace, P. (2000). Peer support

in action: From bystanding to standing by.

London: Sage Publications.

Dore, S. (2000). Bullying. NSPCC: Egmont

World Ltd.

Einarsen, S., Hoel, H., Zapf, D., & Cooper, C.

L. (2003). Bullying and emotional abuse in the

workplace. International perspectives in

research and practise. London: Taylor &

Francis.

Elliot, M. (1994). Keeping safe: A practical

guide to talking with children. London: Coronet

Books.

Elliot, M., & Shenton, G. (1999). Bully-free:

Activities to promote confidence and

friendship. London: Kidscape.

Field, T. (1996). Bully in sight: How to predict,

resist, challenge and combat workplace

bullying. Oxfordshire: Success Unlimited.

Fried, S., & Fried, P. (1996). Bullies and

victims. New York: M. Evans & Co.

Fried, S., & Fried, P. (2003). Bullies, targets

and witnesses. New York: M. Evans & Co.

Frude, N., & Gault, H. (1984). Disruptive

behaviour in schools. New York: John Wiley &

Sons.

Johnston, J. (1996). Dealing with bullying.

New York: Rosen Publishing Group.

Jones, N., & Jones, E. B. (1992). Learning to

behave. London: Kogan Page.

La Fontaine, J. (1991). Bullying: A child’s view.

London: Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.

Klette, K. (Ed.) (1998). Klasseromsforskning

på norsk. Oslo: Ad Notam Gyldendal.

Kozhuharova, P. (2003). Experimental model

of a system for preventive and corrective

educational work in elementary school.

Collection of scientific articles from an

international conference: Preventive

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for Schools

Policy & Awareness Raising Packs

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57 Manor House Road, Jesmond, Newcastle-

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Productions.

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by Donna Bascom & Todd Solandz). (Feature

length movie: over 15s).

Dealing With Indiscipline

and Disruption


• To explore and understand the

different problems relating to

interpersonal relationships that can

occur in schools and classrooms, and

that entail a risk for school violence

• To distinguish between interpersonal

conflict, lack of discipline and

disruption

• To develop an awareness of the

educational strategies available to

prevent these kinds of problems

• To acquire the self-confidence to solve

these kinds of problems appropriately

• To reflect on the different ways of

teaching in response to this diverse

reality



Chapter


• the difference between school violence

phenomena and other phenomena that

increase the risk of violence and that

are sometimes confused with it

• educational interventions that are

recommended in order that these

problems do not lead to violence

• strategies for coping with interpersonal

conflict, disruption and indiscipline


• keeping a reflective and critical

attitude to the analysis of conflicts,

lack of discipline, disruption and

problems with poor levels of

motivation

• taking an active part in the task of

working in the cooperative and plenary

groups

• adopting a constructive position when

faced with other participants’

opinions

• adapting the knowledge acquired

during the Chapter to specific contexts

where participants’ professional

activities are developed

120



Pre-chapter reading

Cotton, K. (2001). Schoolwide and classroom

discipline. School Improvement Research

Series. Northwest Regional Educational

Laboratory. Retrieved May 3, 2006, from

(http://www.nwrel.org/scpd/sirs/5/cu9.html)

Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. (1995).

Children and violence: Report of the

Commission in Children and Violence convened

by the Gulbenkian Foundation. London:

Author.

del Rey, R., Sánchez, V., & Ortega, R. (2004).

Resistencias, conflictos y dificultades de la

convivencia. In R. Ortega & R. del Rey (Eds.),

Construir la convivencia (pp. 193-203).

Barcelona: Edebé.

Scherer, M., Gersch, I., & Fry, L. (1992).

Meeting disruptive behaviour. London:

Routledge.

Skiba, R.J. & Peterson, R.L. (2000). School

discipline at a Crossroads: From Zero

Tolerance to Early Response. Exceptional

Children, 66, 335-347.

Summary of current


about dealing with

indiscipline and disruption

In recent decades, there has been an increase

in research into aggressive behaviour in

schools. Research has highlighted this as an

issue for schools with children of all ages,

including preschoolers (e.g., Monks, Smith, &

Swettenham, 2003; Ortega & Monks, 2005;

Perren & Alsaker, 2006). In some countries,

educational programmes have been developed

to address school violence and bullying and

have resulted in the appearance of local and

national educational policies against violence

in schools (Smith, 2002). The majority of

these educational policies focus on prevention

by means of improving the school climate and

the relationships among all of the members of

the school (see Chapter 1.1). To carry out this

goal, it is important to understand the school

as a complex context of interpersonal

relationships. Sometimes, problems among

school community members (e.g., teachers,

students, families) can facilitate the

appearance of violence in schools. For this

reason, it is important to know and to

understand what kinds of problems may exist

in our schools and the ways to address them

in order to prevent violence.

The scientific literature has commonly

highlighted three main problems that can be

related to violence in schools, namely

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http://www.nwrel.org/scpd/sirs/5/cu9.html



interpersonal conflicts, lack of discipline and

disruption problems (Cotton, 2001; Dwyer,

Osher, & Warger, 1998; Elliot, 1991;

Gottfredson, Gottfredson & Hybl, 1993;

Lawrence, Steed, & Younth, 1977; McManus,

1995; Ortega, 1998; Skiba & Peterson, 1999,

2000). When these problems affect schools,

there is a feeling of unrest among the

teachers. Daily life in schools becomes more

difficult and behavioural problems, such as

lack of motivation, start to become mixed with

academic ones. When these things happen in

schools, it is very easy to understand the

difficulty of analysing the real origin of all of

the problems the teachers mention. Instead

of looking for the causes, sometimes it is

better to concentrate all efforts on finding the

solutions to these problems. Furthermore, as

Smith, Rigby and Pepler (2004) note, it is

important to start dealing with these problems

from the point when children begin school or

preschool and to continue to address these

interpersonal and behavioural issues

throughout schooling. The way in which they

are dealt with will depend on the

developmental level of the children involved.

However, we feel that it is possible to work

with pupils of all ages in tackling conflicts, lack

of discipline and disruption.

The first step to address conflicts, lack of

discipline and disruption problems is to

differentiate them clearly because causes,

consequences, and lines of intervention, are

different depending on the case. One of the

basic principles for the functioning of an

educational intervention is the identification of

the situation or behaviour that is going to be

the focus of that intervention. This first point,

that on many occasions may seem obvious,

may, in the case of school violence, be a

difficult task that can be confounded by other

phenomena that occur in classes and that,

although they can be a risk for violent

behaviour by the pupil, we cannot view them

as being the same as school violence. As well,

these behaviour problems in class can, on

many occasions, be involved in the origins of

school violence, which manifests itself in

education centres or in the educational task

itself. With the objective of helping to make

the training session more dynamic, in this

summary we tackle the differentiation between

conflict, discipline, indiscipline and disruption.

Conflict

Conflict is inherent in the social life of human

beings, since on many occasions our interests

and personal positions, with relation to a need,

a situation, an object or an intention, are in

contrast with the interests and the positions of

others. This confrontation, in our opinion and

that of others, can be resolved through non-

violent means through dialogue and

negotiation, under which we encounter the

socio-moral disposition and the possibility of

ceding or changing our interest or personal

position for the other or for something

between the two. However, on occasions

conflict is not resolved by dialogue and

negotiation, rather the tools that we use to

resolve it are aggressive behaviours. In this

case, conflicts can be considered as a risk for

122



school violence (del Rey, Sánchez, & Ortega,

2004; Ortega, 1998).

Therefore, conflict can be considered as a

dichotomous element of growth and lack of

growth of social relations, since faced with a

tension of interests we can resolve the conflict

through different means: negotiation or

conflict. In this way, conflict is not negative in

itself, completely the opposite; it can be the

starting point for pupils’ personal and social

development, when they are taught adequate

means to resolve their own conflicts. That is

to say, that conflict needs to be considered as

an opportunity to advance together towards

understanding, from a basis of mutual

respect. In order that a good resolution of

conflict exists, it is not always necessary that

both parties take an intermediate position or

that one of them cedes and agrees with the

other. A good resolution of conflict is also

based on the fact that it is not necessary for

anyone to cede in order to resolve the conflict,

but that the resolution of conflict is found

through negotiation and dialogue. Knowing

how to enter a dialogue with others about

divergent interests is already a positive

advance in conflict, even if a consensus is not

reached, since non-violent tools are being

used to solve differences. In summary, it is

not always necessary to be in agreement with

the other person.

On the other hand, we must know that on

many occasions, pupils resolve their conflicts

with violence, because they have learnt that

the best way of resolving disagreements with

their peers is by using aggressive behaviours.

That is to say that the strongest or most

socially skilled individuals impose themselves

on the other in the confrontation. It is in this

moment when conflicts can provoke school

violence, since pupils learn to resolve their

differences using aggression. What is

important is to know that conflict is not

negative in itself, but that the form of

resolving it can be. Conflict in classrooms can

be useful to develop the abilities of dialogue

and negotiation and at the same time to learn

how to control aggression.

Discipline

To analyse discipline is to understand much

about the conflicts and behaviour problems

that are encountered in the school and how

they relate to order and control. In general, it

is possible to identify two ways of considering

discipline depending on your main purpose:

the control of pupils or the training of them. In

the first, discipline is considered as a necessity

for controlling the behaviour of pupils (the

teachers want the pupils to be still and quiet in

the classroom) or for the need to establish

control as a necessary condition for the

development of learning in the classroom (a

certain order is necessary to establish the

process of teaching and learning). In the

second, discipline is considered as a means of

fostering the training of pupils. That is to say

that the way of managing discipline teaches

the pupils ways of behaving, values and coping

strategies. In this way, depending on the type

of disciplinary management that is established

123



in the class, we can foster different effects in

the development and learning of the pupils.

Using discipline as control is translated into

the establishment of norms and rules to

regulate the behaviour of the pupils by adults,

as well as the corresponding sanctions for the

transgression of these norms and rules. On

the other hand, with discipline as a way of

training, order and control are promoted in

each subject as a process of development of

their critical thinking, seeing discipline as the

means to facilitate this development. That is

to say that while the first view is based on the

external control of behaviour, the second

treats it as an internal process.

From this perspective, and merging the

different approaches, we have defined school

discipline as a complex phenomenon of an

instrumental character that pursues two

objectives, that is, both the order and the

control of the behaviour of the members of an

educational community, fundamentally of the

pupils, for which, educational strategies are

necessary. Furthermore, discipline looks for

the necessary conditions with which to

establish the process of teaching and learning,

including the sociomoral education of the

student body, in order for their social

integration in a responsible, critical and civic

manner.

Indiscipline

The complexity of the analysis of discipline

disappears when we tackle school indiscipline.

Indiscipline refers to the behaviours of pupils

which do not comply with the norms and rules

established within control and order.

Therefore, indiscipline is the individual

behaviour of a pupil who transgresses the

norms of behaviour. The scientific literature

on school indiscipline identifies two main types

of cause: on one hand causes centred on the

individual and on the other, causes centred on

the group dynamics.

The causes centred on the individual study the

characteristics and personal circumstances of

each of the pupils who breaks the norms and

rules of behaviour in the classroom. Among

the most important factors that we encounter

are a lack of motivation, low self-esteem, level

of cognitive development that is not

reasonable for the demands of self-control on

the part of the disciplinary system, family

instability, and finally the low quality of the

surroundings in which the students live.

The causes centred on the group dynamic

consider the analysis of discipline from a

systemic perspective, defining the vicious

circle of indiscipline (Lawrence, Steed &

Younth, 1977). These authors argued that

incidents of indiscipline generate a malaise in

the teacher who reacts by taking more control,

which in turn has the potential to make pupils’

undisciplined behaviours reappear. Another of

the key elements in the group dynamic is the

poor relations between the teachers at the

centre since there may not be a clear

agreement about the management of

discipline amongst the teaching staff. The

124



pupils do not know how to behave and, in

addition, on occasions they take advantage of

these differences for their own benefit,

provoking more confrontations between the

teachers, who in turn react with more control

or with greater differences in control. Another

of the factors within the group dynamic is the

lack of preparation of the teacher to cope with

discipline in the classrooms (Barrett & Davis,

1995; Pilarski, 1994), principally in new

teachers (Emmer, 1994; Kearney, Plax,

Sorenson, & Smith, 1988) managing problems

of indiscipline in an authoritarian manner,

which increases the problem.

The relation between discipline and

indiscipline

Scientific reviews about discipline show us that

in the majority of cases, teachers use punitive

responses as sanctions in situations of

indiscipline (Skiba & Peterson, 1999). Punitive

responses (expulsion or punishment) provoke

an increase in the episodes of indiscipline by

pupils, who react with more aggression and

rule breaking in the face of punishment. The

use of punitive responses does not produce

more control and order in the classroom, since

it increases the difference in power between

the teacher and the pupils. This large

differentiation provokes an authoritarian

climate within the classroom, resulting in an

increase in conflicts between the teacher and

pupils. On occasions, disciplinary sanctions

appear before the occurrence of problems. For

example, schools in the United States of

America have developed a plan of maximum

control over their pupils by introducing

security measures at the entrance of the

schools (Dwyer, Osher, & Warger, 1998; Skiba

& Peterson, 2000). In this way, they have

reinforced and expanded the surroundings of

the centres. There are metal detectors, CCTV,

police officers, etc. However, until now, this

increase in measures of control has not

demonstrated effectiveness in decreasing

violence or indiscipline and disruption of pupils

in these educational centres.

Disruption

Disruption alludes to those behaviours of a

group of pupils in the classroom that impede

the normal development of the class. The

behaviours that can be considered as being

disruptive range from a lack of cooperation,

disobedience and provocation to aggression

(Tattum, 1989). These behaviours principally

affect the process of teaching and learning,

that is to say being able to carry out academic

tasks within the class (Ortega & del Rey,

2001). The teacher cannot teach and the

pupils cannot learn. This means that

disruption becomes an academic problem in

the classrooms where it occurs. On the other

hand, it also affects discipline since disruptive

behaviours are transgressions of the norms

and rules of behaviour in the classroom, which

the teacher has to use time to control. This

means that on numerous occasions the

teacher increases disciplinary control.

However, the origin of most of the problems of

disruption is the lack of motivation by the

student body to learn. If a child or adolescent

125



does not have any interest in what they are

doing in class and are there for five or six

hours in a row, this means that they invent

things to occupy this time. Usually, these

forms of occupying their time provoke a

malaise in the teachers and the rest of the

student body, not only because of the lack of

involvement in learning, but also because they

usually negatively affect the process of

teaching and learning of others.

The aim of this Chapter is to develop a deeper

understanding of interpersonal conflicts, lack

of discipline and disruption in school and to

reflect upon the ways of intervening.


Chapter facilitators:

Your tasks during the Chapter are to:

• Send information to all participants

about when and where the sessions

will be held and a copy of the pre-

reading texts

• Read and understand the contents of

the Chapter and the material you have

for the development of the Chapter

• Plan the session to meet the needs of

the participants

• Ensure that all relevant

resources/materials are copied and

prepared

• Lead the session and all of the tasks


Chapter 2.6

In a similar vein to Chapter 1.1, different tasks

will be carried out in which we will ask for

participants’ active collaboration and

participation. This sequence considers the

conception of teaching-learning processes as a

social construction. To support this kind of

learning we propose that participants start

with an individual task and continue with

cooperative work in small groups. This will be

followed by a plenary session to enable

participants to share the conclusions of the

small group work with the rest of the

participants. Finally, the facilitator will clarify

and close the Chapter with a summary of the

work carried out. This Chapter represents a

one-day training plus breaks.

Activity 1 Speaking With

Ourselves (30 minutes)

Purpose

• To enable participants to identify the

behaviour problems that can be found

in schools and classrooms that entail a

risk for school violence

Materials

Notebooks

Pens

126



Procedure

Ask each participant to think about and to

write down two to four examples of behaviour

problems that he or she has come across in

school and in the classroom and that,

according to him or her, might be risk factors

for the appearance of school violence. Ask

participants to identify the behaviour that each

example represents, that is, to label each

behaviour interpersonal conflict, lack of

discipline or disruption. Ask participants to

document their examples in detail (e.g., where

and when it happened, location, who was

involved, what happened next) since this will

make the following tasks of the small group

and the plenary group easier. If anyone is

having difficulty with the task, the facilitator

can give participants guidance. For example,

the facilitator could ask him or her, “What do

your pupils sometimes do, either to interrupt

the class or to provoke the teacher and

classmates that leaves you feeling either

disturbed or offended?”

Debrief

See Activity 5.

Activity 2 Speaking and

creating with others (90

minutes)

Purpose

• To enable participants to identify the

features of behaviour problems in

school and the reasons why they might

pose a risk factor for school violence

• To distinguish between conflict, lack of

discipline and disruption

Materials

Resource 1 Behaviour problems, features and

risks

Overhead transparencies

Overhead pens

Procedure

The groups of participants can be composed of

four or five members, but it is advisable that

the members of the groups do not work at the

same institution or have too many things in

common for the work to be more fruitful. In

this way, calculate how many groups you will

be able to form depending on the total number

of participants. For example, you would have

six groups of five people each if you had a

total number of participants of 30. In this

case, you should number the participants from

one to six, and once each person has been

given a number, ask them to form a group

127



with others who have the same number. Ask

each participant in turn to share the results of

their individual task work, including the labels

that he or she has assigned to each problem

behaviour, with the rest of their group. Each of

the other participants should write down

whether or not he or she agrees with the way

the example has been labelled. Once all

members of the group have shared their

individual task work, after about 30 minutes,

they should debate the features of each of the

examples and try to make a list of the

behaviour problems that can lead to school

violence, as well as the reasons why this risk

is supposed using Resource 1 Behaviour

problems, features and risks. Participants

should be encouraged to challenge each other

if they disagree with how another participant

has labelled a particular behaviour problem.

At this point, it would be a good idea for the

group to choose a coordinator to present the

work of the small group work in the plenary

task. This person will write everything down

in detail to present to the plenary session

later. If it is possible, it would be very useful

to have transparencies and pens for

transparencies, so that each group can make

their table on transparencies to show during

the plenary task.

Debrief

See Activity 5.

Activity 3 Matching

Behaviour Problems with

Strategies for Prevention

(60 minutes)

Purpose

• To encourage participants to think

critically about the different strategies

for coping with interpersonal conflict,

disruption and indiscipline

Materials

Completed Resource sheets from Activity 2

Resource 2 Behaviour Problems and Strategies

for Prevention

Procedure

Taking the completed Resource 1 sheets from

Activity 2, this activity will continue the work

of the small groups. Taking the behaviour

problems identified in Activity 2, ask each

group to identify which strategy or range of

strategies would be effective for addressing

and/or preventing each of the behaviours and

ask them to note them down using Resource 2

Behaviour Problems and Strategies for

Prevention. Encourage groups to reflect upon

the wide range of strategies available, that

might include classroom based, school based,

pupil led, teacher led, agency led, government

led, for example. The coordinator for each

small group should add their findings to the

128



transparencies from Activity 1 for the

presentations in the plenary session.

Debrief

See Activity 5.

Activity 4 Sharing and

building our knowledge,

ideas and values (90

minutes)

Purpose

• To enable participants to debate the

different behaviour problems that

present a risk for school violence

• To enable participants to discuss the

role of educational strategies available

to address these kinds of problems

Materials

Overhead projector

Procedure

The facilitator should arrange the chairs to

ensure that each small group coordinator sits

in front of the plenary group, since the activity

simulates a television debate about the

different behaviour problems that pose risks

for school violence. Each of the coordinators

sitting in front of the rest of the participants

will explain one by one the conclusions of their

groups’ cooperative work. Once the

explanations are completed, the facilitator (as

Chair) will open a debate about issues raised,

drawing out the agreements and

disagreements, to which the rest of the

participants (the audience) will be invited to

take part. In addition to discussing points

raised from the small group work

presentations, the debate should include a

discussion about the role of the educational

response to these kinds of problems and the

lines of preventive intervention available to

address and prevent the risk of school

violence. Each coordinator will have about ten

minutes to explain his or her group work and

the rest of the time will be dedicated to the

global debate. The facilitator needs to ensure

that each coordinator does not take more than

ten minutes for their cooperative group

presentation and that the contributions during

the following debate are not too long in order

to allow as many people as possible to

participate. If individual participants are

reluctant to participate, the facilitator can ask

the coordinators to justify or explain some of

their conclusions slowly, and ask the rest of

the participants if they agree or disagree. The

facilitator must ensure the debate does not

focus on one problem, rather they must

encourage discussion of a variety of behaviour

problems that entail a risk for school violence

and their causes. The facilitator should ensure

that the debate ends with a discussion about

the most convenient lines of intervention to

prevent the risk of violence in schools. For

support in this, the facilitator can use the

129



presentation slides from Activity 4.

Debrief

See Activity 5.

Activity 5 Consolidating

Meanings (Debrief) (60

minutes)

Purpose

• To present a synthesis of the

behaviour problems that entail a risk

for school violence, their features, the

reasons they propose a risk and the

range of strategies available to

address these problems

• To debrief participants on the work of

the Chapter

Materials

Overhead Projector

Resource 3 Presentation (or facilitator’s own)

printed onto overhead transparencies

Procedure

During this activity, the facilitator will present

the presentation outlined in Resource 3

Presentation, or a presentation they have

themselves created. It is important that the

facilitator synthesises the results of the

activities, drawing upon the examples arising

in the cooperative group work and the debate,

and making links with the theoretical issues

raised in the pre-reading and the summary.

Following the presentation, participants will

have the opportunity to raise any questions or

make any comments regarding the

presentation and the results of the activities.

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(http://www.nwrel.org/scpd/sirs/5/cu9.html)

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Resistencias, conflictos y dificultades de la

convivencia. In R. Ortega & R. del Rey (Eds.),

Construir la convivencia (pp, 193-203).

Barcelona: Edebé.

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Education.

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Emmer, E. T. (1994). Towards an

130

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management and discipline. Teaching

Education, 6(1), 65-69.

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L. G. (1993). Managing adolescent behavior:

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messages for “common” student

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problema de los malos tratos entre escolares.

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131



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Further reading and


Books and Articles

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Forlag.

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411.

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E97E737C5AD26907F24B27D7A4F2.pdf)

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Social Education, 4, 15-20.

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Обществено възпитание, № 4, 15-20.

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19/05, NOVA.

Ortega, R., & del Rey, R. (2003). La violencia

escolar. Estrategias de prevención. Barcelona:

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Osler, A. (2000). Children’s rights,

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Education & Treatment of Children, 28, 265-

279.

132

http://www.parentscentre.gov.uk/_files/D560E97E737C5AD26907F24B27D7A4F2.pdf

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Pancheva, E. (2002). ‘Alternative Models of

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Social Education, 1, 43-45.

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Recommendations and guidelines of the

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http://www.state.vt.us/educ/new/pdfdoc/pgm

_safeschools/pubs/school_violence_98.pdf

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Stavanger.

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haviour/exclusion/gettingitright/

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afeschools.html

http://sitc.education.ed.ac.uk/Dealing_With_D

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133

http://www.state.vt.us/educ/new/pdfdoc/pgm_safeschools/pubs/school_violence_98.pdf

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http://sitc.education.ed.ac.uk/Dealing_With_Disruption/

http://sitc.education.ed.ac.uk/Dealing_With_Disruption/



Resource packs

Resource 1 Behaviour problems, features and risks

PROBLEMS REASONS TO BE A RISK FOR SCHOOL VIOLENCE

Lack of

motivation

When pupils do not find reasons to study and they remain in school for many hours,

they can use violent acts to stop the normal development of the class.

Not solving conflicts among individuals in the school can be a focus for school violence

because during this time small misunderstandings begin to grow. In this way,

communication and dialogue are each time more difficult to address and the

probability of the appearance of school violence is higher.

Conflicts not

solved

Sometimes traditional or monotonous didactic methods are the origin of disorder

behaviours, which at the time can be causes of school violence episodes. Disruption

Rules are necessary in a school community and should be known and accepted by all

individuals. When pupils do not understand the reasons for some specific rules, they

tend to disrespect them. These kinds of situations are sometimes the origin of school

violence events.

Lack of

discipline

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Resource 2 Behaviour Problems and Strategies for

Prevention

Behaviour problem Strategies for prevention

Resource 3 Presentation

For the presentation of the conclusions of the session, the facilitator can make use of the following

guide, which summarizes the work carried out in Chapter 2.6.

Why is it important to clarify behaviour problems in class?

• Behaviour problems are the face of other issues which are diverse in nature and are usually

hidden

• Behaviour problems have a diversity of origins, and therefore need different responses

135



• It is necessary to dominate theoretical principles in order to be successful in practice

• If we do not confront pupils’ behaviour problems, as teachers we may feel disillusioned with

the process of education, we may lose our enthusiasm, lose support, and feel depressed,

anxious, among other consequences

What are the behaviour problems that we can find in the classroom?

• The behaviour problems must be analysed within interpersonal relations

• Different interpersonal relations are established within the school environment

o Between teachers

o Between pupils

o Between pupils and teachers

• If we focus on the last two, we can encounter behaviour problems such as:

o Conflicts

o Discipline

o Indiscipline

o Disruption

o School violence

What are conflicts?

• Conflict assumes a confrontation between the interests and positions of two or more people

• Conflict can be resolved in a positive and negative way

• The positive or negative aspect of the resolution is related to the use of dialogue and

negotiation or aggression

• It is positive when it means that the parties who are in conflict have the possibility to move

together towards an understanding or definition of the relation they have. Thanks to putting

in play:

o Respect

o Empathy

o Dialogue

o Negotiation

o The possibility of conceding

• It is negative when one of the parties or both use aggression to resolve it

o If we analyse aggression it can be:

Verbal or physical

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Manifested by the imposition of an opinion or criteria

Learning that aggression solves conflicts

Etc.

o Aggression assumes that:

Not knowing how to resolve conflict in a positive way

Not respecting others

Being selfish

Imposing your opinion on others or hurting them

Etc.

What is discipline?

• It is the complete process that assumes the establishment of norms and rules for control and

order within the classroom

• Discipline can have two objectives:

o The order and control of pupils

o Training of pupils

• Both objectives have, at least, as a final purpose to establish the necessary conditions in the

classroom so that the teacher can teach and the pupils can learn

What is indiscipline?

• It is individual behaviour by pupils who transgress the norms of behaviour

• There are two main types of cause:

o Individual

Studying the personal characteristics and circumstances of those pupils who

break the norms and rules of behaviour in the classroom

Among the most important factors are:

Lack of motivation

Low self esteem

A level of cognitive development that is not adjusted to the demands

of self control

Family instability

Low quality of surroundings where the pupils live

o Group dynamic

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A vicious circle of indiscipline: the problems of indiscipline provoke malaise in

the teachers who react with more norms and rules and more sanctions

Poor relations between the teachers: there is no one unique criteria of norms

and rules of behaviour

Lack of preparation of the teacher: insecurity provokes the teacher to impose

more norms and rules to control the pupils

What is disruption?

• It is behaviour by a group of pupils in class that impedes the normal functioning of the

classroom

• Disruption means that it is not possible to teach or learn in the classroom

• It is a behaviour problem, but it also becomes an academic problem

• It means that teachers increase disciplinary control

• The main cause is a lack of motivation in the pupils

• It is not aggression towards the teacher

Why can conflict, indiscipline and disruption be a risk for the appearance of school

violence?

• They mean an increase in poor interpersonal relations

• Most of these problems are displayed as aggressive behaviours towards others

• Pupils learn to use aggression to get what they want

• It leads to a deterioration of the convivencia within the school

• The pupils do not learn to resolve problems in a constructive and peaceful manner

• Etc.

What strategies can we use to resolve these problems?

• Conflicts:

o Strategies can be very different from each other, what is important is that they aim to

develop respect, dialogue and negotiation as tools to resolve conflicts. For example:

Establishing cooperative group dynamics so that the pupils have to work with

dialogue and negotiation

Promoting debates in the classroom with social contents and cultural

relevance

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Carrying out debates with contents that are proposed by the pupils

themselves

Establishing a context from within which to resolve conflicts in a social way.

Very clear rules should be established so that those pupils who have a conflict

can present it to their classmates so that they can also give an opinion

Establishing a mediation programme for conflict resolution. In many of these

mediation programmes the pupils themselves are mediators

• Discipline-Indiscipline:

o The best strategy to prevent indiscipline is based on improving discipline, that is to

say, how do we develop a good system of norms and rules?

Norms and rules have to be clear and unambiguous

The teachers also have to respect the norms and rules

The teaching team have to try to have the same norms and rules, at least in

those groups that share teachers

The norms have to be revised so that they are appropriate to new

circumstances

One must not impose more norms and rules as a response to the problems of

indiscipline

In as many ways as possible, the pupils must participate in the development

of the rules and norms. Participating does not mean deciding them all. Other

than the basic norms, the students can contribute by adapting and

negotiating them

We must attempt to ensure that the pupils themselves agree the

corresponding sanctions to each broken rule. Pupils are usually more strict

than the teachers

Do not vary the sanctions from one student to another: the sanctions must

be justified by the undisciplined behaviour or not of the pupil

Etc.

• Disruption:

o The strategies for preventing disruption problems are oriented to give the response to

problems of lack of motivation of the pupils. For this, we recommend:

Carry out an analysis about who is not motivated and why

Evaluate whether the type of teaching is motivating, above all the

methodological resources that teachers are using

Know what the pupils are interested in learning

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Be flexible in the curriculum

Negotiate the contents with the pupils so that they feel that they are

participants

Give a sense to the learning that pupils have to carry out, principally

within the social reality in which they are living

Eliminate competition in the process of learning

Use many reinforcing techniques

At the level of the pupils we must work on:

Their self esteem

Their capacity for frustration

Their attributions of success and failure

Create spaces, activities and tasks that allow the pupils to be able to express

their competencies and abilities

140

section 2 the whole school approach

Documents

school approach chapter

reduction of school

problem of school violence

school approach wsa

ireland chapter

belgium chapter

norway chapter

vistavistop school bullying