A ‘whole-school/community development’ approach to preventing and countering bullying: the Erris Anti-Bullying Initiative (2009–2011)

Abstract

This paper describes how a ‘whole-school/community development’ anti-bullying programme was designed, implemented and evaluated in an initiative in Erris, Co. Mayo, Ireland, involving local primary and post-primary schools and community groups. Students from seven participating schools (five primary, two post-primary) completed modified versions of the Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire both prior to and following programme implementation. Thereafter, there were reductions in students' reports of involvement in bully/victim problems and increases in their reports of feelings about bullying and countering bullying that were consistent with an anti-bullying ethos. The sizes of these effects were modest, in some cases perhaps due to the significantly low incidence of students' involvement in bully/victim problems prior to the programme. This model is in continued use in Erris, and in its further development it is intended to seek out opportunities to implement and evaluate it in other locations.

Keywords:

• school bullying
• anti-bullying programmes
• whole-school approach
• whole-school/community development approach

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank, most sincerely, all of the people, schools and organisations, clubs and businesses who participated in and publicised the Erris Anti-Bullying Initiative (2009–2011), including its Steering Committee, and those who provided funding and resources: the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government; ESB Electric Aid Ireland; the Ireland Fund; HSE National Lottery; EBS Building Society; Teach Today; and Vodafone Ireland.

Notes

1. The Haase Index of Deprivation (Haase and Pratschke 2005) provides a single measurement of the overall deprivation of an area, and is used by all major Irish state and semi-state bodies. It takes into consideration the social class composition, the level of education, the level of unemployment and long-term unemployment, the proportion of lone parents, the extent of small farming and the age dependency rate. The index rankings range from one (most affluent 10%) to ten (most disadvantaged 10%). Erris’ rank factor score is 10.

2. Almost 200 people in Erris have received the ‘Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training’ (ASIST), delivered by the Health Services Executive in conjunction with the Iorras Le Chéile Community Development Project.

3. The community approach to dealing with bullying in Ireland was outlined by Brendan Byrne as early as 1994. Dr Byrne's community model and our own community development model are not conceptually linked.

4. The Initiative continues to operate in Erris. The second year of implementation of the Erris Anti-Bullying Initiative (2011–2012) was marked by both a sustained focus in the schools, and an increased attention to providing training for an increasing number of participating community groups.