9 - KiVa antibullying program

Abstract

The KiVa antibullying program is an evidence-based approach to tackle school bullying. It is widely used in Finnish compulsory basic education schools. Furthermore, it has been implemented and evaluated outside Finland. KiVa relies on the participant role approach. The idea of bullying being a group phenomenon provides the theoretical framework for the program. The KiVa antibullying program has been evaluated in a rigorous randomized controlled trial in 2007–09 involving approximately 30,000 Finnish students from grades 1–9 and their teachers. Already after nine months of implementation, the program had significantly reduced victimization and bullying others. The program consists of universal actions targeted at each and every student along with indicated actions taking place when acute cases of bullying are detected. Cyberbullying is given attention in the KiVa program, but it is not regarded as separate from more traditional, face-to-face bullying. In addition, the evaluation studies of KiVa conducted so far indicate that the program is effective in reducing numerous forms of bullying, including cyberbullying.