Inter-cultural differences in response to a computer-based anti-bullying intervention

Abstract

Background and purpose: Many holistic anti-bullying interventions have been attempted, with mixed success, while little work has been done to promote a ‘self-help’ approach to victimisation. The rise of the ICT curriculum and computer support in schools now allows for approaches that benefit from technology to be implemented. This study evaluates the cross-cultural effects of a computer-based anti-bullying intervention on primary school-aged children's knowledge about bullying and relevant coping strategies.

Programme description: FearNot! is an interactive computer-based virtual learning environment designed for use as an anti-bullying intervention. It includes interactive virtual agents who assume the most common participant roles found in episodes of bullying. FearNot! was used by children over three consecutive weeks to allow its effectiveness to be evaluated in a longitudinal in situ programme.

Sample: Two comparable samples were drawn from the UK and Germany. In the UK, 651 participants (aged 8–11) were recruited from primary schools in Hertfordshire, Coventry and Warwickshire, whereas the 535 German participants (aged 7–10) were sourced from Grundschulen in the Bayern and Hessen regions. Because of lack of parental consent, late joiners and absences/missing responses, data from 908 participants (UK 493; Germany 415) were analysed.

Design and methods: A quasi-experimental, pre/post-tests control group design employed pre-published and bespoke questionnaires to collect data. Descriptive and inferential analyses were conducted.

Results: UK students possessed higher coping strategy knowledge scores than German participants, but German children's scores improved over time and as a result of the FearNot! intervention.

Conclusions: Overall, while not effective at increasing children's coping strategy knowledge in this study, the FearNot! intervention could prove a useful classroom tool to approach the issue of bullying as part of a wider initiative. Cultural differences at baseline and reactions to the intervention are discussed.

Keywords:

• bullying
• anti-bullying intervention
• computer-based
• virtual learning environment
• longitudinal study
• cultural difference

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank all the schools, teachers, and children who have taken part in this study. In addition we would like to thank the following researchers, without whom this study would not have been possible: Stefanie Brosch, Rafal Dawidowicz, Megan Davis, Joao Dias, Rui Figueiredo, Adrian Gordon, Marc Hall, Wan Ching Ho, Michael Kriegel, Karin Leichtenstern, Mey Yii Lim, Patricia Lippeck, Sandy Louchart, Asad Nazir, Chystopher Nehaniv, Luis Oliveira, Malcolm Padmore, Matthias Rehm, Paola Rizzo, Harald Schaub, Tim Tisdale, Isabel Transoco, Marco Vala, Thurid Vogt, Marc Webster and Carsten Zoll. Many thanks also to Nimrita Bahia, Sophie Birch, Daniel Cox and Sunil Sthanakiya for their assistance with data collection and entry.

This work was partially supported by the European Community (EC) and was funded by the eCIRCUS project IST-4-027656-STP with university partners Heriot-Watt, Hertfordshire, Sunderland, Warwick, Bamberg, Augsburg, Würzburg plus INESC-ID and Interagens. The authors are solely responsible for the content of this publication. It does not represent the opinion of the EC, and the EC is not responsible for any use that might be made of data appearing therein.

Images of FearNot! are reproduced with the permission of the eCIRCUS consortium.

Notes

1. Education through Characters with emotional-Intelligence and Role-playing Capabilities that Understand Social interaction.

2. Fun with Empathic Agents Reaching Novel Outcomes in Technology.

3. University of Hertfordshire Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences Ethics Committee; University of Warwick Ethic Committee; Bayern Ministry of Education.

4. Storyboards were created using the Kar2ouche Composer software and Bullying add-on pack from Immersive Education Ltd.

5. For example, being called names, being excluded from social groups.

6. For example, having belongings stolen, being beaten up.

7. Cohen's d calculated using the online calculator found at: http://web.uccs.edu/lbecker/Psy590/escalc3.htm.

8. Note, greater awareness may also lead to greater prevalence – an intricate relationship between how we perceive and conceptualize the world and a discussion that would go beyond the scope of this paper.