Abstract
While bullying is a serious concern for students and educators alike, empirically tested interventions are needed. This study examined the impact of a bullying intervention curriculum at a public middle school in the Midwest. This intervention, COREMatters, was designed to reduce bullying behaviors, foster a greater sense of community cohesion and trust in the school, improve school climate, and increase student self-esteem. As such, the intervention required participation of teachers, administrators, students, and outside experts. COREMatters was modeled after theoretical frameworks of socioemotional learning and Bloom’s taxonomy. Additionally, components of This We Believe outlining successful schools were considered. Uniquely contributing to this intervention is the inclusion of martial arts instruction. The intervention was taught as a whole, integrated model. The t-tests indicated significant differences between the control and intervention groups on measures of school climate, student self-esteem, and school cohesion and trust. Students in the intervention group scored higher in measures of self-esteem and rated their schools more positively on measures of cohesion and trust and climate.
Highlights
IntroductionStudies show that early exposure to youth aggression and violence increases the risk for future problems like violence perpetration and victimization, substance use, high-risk sexual behavior, and school dropout (David-Ferdon et al, 2016)
This study examined the impact of a bullying intervention curriculum at a public middle school in the Midwest
Student self-esteem was higher in the intervention group (M = 3.88, SD = .64) than the control group (M = 3.68, SD = .67)
Summary
Studies show that early exposure to youth aggression and violence increases the risk for future problems like violence perpetration and victimization, substance use, high-risk sexual behavior, and school dropout (David-Ferdon et al, 2016). This intervention, COREMatters, was designed to reduce bullying behaviors, foster a greater sense of community cohesion and trust in the school, improve school climate, and increase student self-esteem. Studies indicate that whole-school interventions are more effective, especially programs that include social-emotional learning (SEL) as a key component for addressing bullying at the individual and peer levels (Smith & Low, 2013; Ttofi & Farrington, 2011). The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL; 2015)—a leader in the domain of social and emotional development—stressed the impact that social and emotional health can have on student learning and asserted that it is imperative to teach children how to effectively “manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions” (p. 1)
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