The Effectiveness of the Olweus Bullying Prevention Programme and the Success Factors for Program Fidelity and Sustainability. André Baraldsnes

Advisor on bullying and implementation Regional center for children's and youths

psychological welfare, Bergen, Norway

Uni Research Health / RKBU West

The norwegian wood Which quality ?

Helse / RKBU Vest

The Olweus bullying prevention program

• Aims to prevent and reduce school bullying

• Multi level – whole school aproach

• Targets all grown ups and all children.

• Guidence by a trained instructor.

• A number of focused measures aimed to build a

safe school enviroment, stopp and reduce bullying

• Implementation period of 18th month.

• A follow up system with a posibility to be sertified

Olweus school

Uni Research Health / RKBU West

Short history of implementation of the OBPP in Norway.

• Dan´s research from 1970

• Mid-80, juvenile suicides

• 2001 Major national work against school bullying i

Norway

• Peek in 2004, (170), 2010 (7),2014 (23)

• 2001 - 2014 ; Approx. 500 schools into the OBPP

(20% of all primary and lower high schools)

Helse / RKBU Vest

The changing winds

• 2001 : A firm political

consensus to fight school

bullying with research

based school wide

programs.

• 2006: The issue had lost

its attention

• 2010: NIFU Report • «The quantitative analyses show that the overall

learning environment really matters in influencing levels

of bullying.”

• “Bullying is not a problem that can be solved by

adopting a specific program.”

Helse / RKBU Vest

Legge inn bilde I rund

ramme:

1. Høyreklikk > velg “endre

bilde…”

• 2010 – 2014 : Few schools chose a program

approach – many schools put away progr.

• Ministry of education provided funding to the work

with the general learning environment.

• 2014: National committee which evaluates all

aspects of the efforts to fight bullying – impact on

national policies and future funding.

•

Helse / RKBU Vest

How to handle headwind , 2014

• Quality – quality and quality

• Scaling down

- Measured implementation indicators

- Response from 360 schools - approx.200

confirmed a will to work actively.

- Approx. 75 of 200 are certified “Olweus schools”

working according the Quality Assurance System

- Following up , seminars, web resorces,

nettworking.

Helse / RKBU Vest

Maintenance of sustainability

• Focus on implementation science and knowledge.

• Overall work on our implementation strategy.

• Better matherial

• Better support systems

• Update the content of the program;

Digital bullying, parent and

community engagement.

Helse / RKBU Vest

Secure program fidelity

• System for Quality Assurance

• Standard for best practice

• Internal monitoring

• Deviation handling

• External audit.

• Certifying of schools with best practice.

Uni Research Health / RKBU West

Why do we focus on preventive work against bullying ?

• Mental health

Severe short and long time consequences as anxiety,

depression, school dropout, social isolation, psyciatric

illnesses and suicide.

• Economical reasons

Saving a single marginalized life: 12 mill.NOK

(Nilsson,Wadeskog 2008)

• A moral stand

Obligation to protect and secure the most wonrable amongst

us

Uni Research Health / RKBU West

The effects of working with a large scale, evidence based preventive program against bullying. Some results.

Uni Research Health / RKBU West

Number of schools that have implemented the OBPP in Lithuania : 282 schools

• 2008 – 2009 m. 29 schools implemented the program

(I round)

• 2009 – 2010 m. - 64 schools (II round),

• 2011 – 2012 m. - 122 schools (III round)

• 2013 – 2014 m. 67 schools (IV round)

• 2015 m. 77 schools (V round).

• We have 75 certified Olweus instructors, 3 senior

instructors.

• 69 schools have continued by using the OQAS.

• There are 50 „Olweus schools” in Lithuania.

Uni Research Health / RKBU West

Percent of students being bullied 2-3 times a month or more over the past couple of months

Percent of students bullying others 2-3 times a month or more over the past couple of months

Haugesund kommune - Haraldsvang skole

15

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

Mobbeprosent 7,6 % 4,5 % 5,7 % 5,2 % 3,7 % 5,1 % 2,6 % 2,0 % 2,8 % 1,7 %

0,0 %

1,0 %

2,0 %

3,0 %

4,0 %

5,0 %

6,0 %

7,0 %

8,0 %

Pro

sen

t

Bullied students at Haraldsvang school 8-10 grade, 580 students

In 2014 : 3,1 % bullied students, In 2015 : 0,0% bullied students

28.09.2015 informasjon fra Haugesund kommune

16

Olweus servey, Haugesund municipality 2002 – 2015 14 schools, grade 4 -10, aprox 5500 students

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

7,9 7,9 8,1 7,9 7,4 5,9 6,5 5,6 4,1 3,9 3,7

0,0

1,0

2,0

3,0

4,0

5,0

6,0

7,0

8,0

9,0

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

15,0

10,3

14,0

9,2

13,2

8,7

12,9

9,2

13,1

7,0

12,2

9,8

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

Oct2001

1 yearplus

May2002

1 yearplus

Oct2002

1 yearplus

May2003

1 yearplus

Oct2003

1 yearplus

May2004

1 yearplus

Axis

Tit

le

PERCENTAGE STUDENTS BEING BULLIED BEFORE (UPPER FIGURES) AND 8 MONTHS AFTER (LOWER FIGURES)

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE OLWEUS BULLYING PROGRAM (OBPP). SIX COHORTS OF SCHOOLS (n> 300), GRADES 4-7 WITH

MODAL AGES 10-13

Cohort 1

Cohort 2

Cohort 3

Cohort 4

Cohort 5

Cohort 6

10,5

8,3

8,6 9,2

9,7 9,4

12,1

8,3

6,8

7,7 7,3 7,5

9,2 9,8 9,9 9,7

4,0

5,0

6,0

7,0

8,0

9,0

10,0

11,0

12,0

13,0

14,0

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

B-schools (withoutcontinued use)

A-schools (withcontinued use)

National average

(Olweus et al, 2014)

Olweus Survey National Pupil Survey

BEING BULLIED: LONGTERM DEVELOPMENT FOR SCHOOLS

THAT STARTED WITH OBPP IN 2002/2005(HERE COMBINED) AND

CONTINUED TO USE/DID NOT CONTINUE TO USE THE

PROGRAM IN THE FOLLOW-UP PERIOD (2007-2010) COMPARED

TO THE NATIONAL AVERAGE

Instruksjoner:

Slett eksempelikoner,

og erstatt dem med fungerende

dokumentikoner på følgende måte:

• Lag dokument i Word

• Gå tilbake til PowerPoint

• Velg Objekt på Sett inn-menyen

• Velg Opprett fra fil

• Finn filnavnet i boksen Fil

• Kontroller at Vis som ikon er merket

av for

• Velg OK

• Velg ikon

• Velg Handlingsinnstillinger på

Lysbildefremvisning-menyen

• Velg Objekthandling og deretter

Rediger

• Velg OK

SOME CONCLUSIONS

Schools that continue to use the Olweus Survey and the OBPP, at

least to some extent (A-schools with continued use), have a much

better development with regard to being bullied 4 to 6 (up to 8) years

after implementation, compared with B-schools without continued

use.

The odds of being bullied for pupils in schools without continued use

are about 30 per cent higher than for pupils in schools with continued

use (OR= 1.31).

Based on the starting values in 2001-2005, pupils in Group A schools

with continued use have an average absolute reduction in the follow-

up period of five percentage points (12.5-7.1 per cent) and a relative

reduction of 41 per cent.

Instruksjoner:

Slett eksempelikoner,

og erstatt dem med fungerende

dokumentikoner på følgende måte:

• Lag dokument i Word

• Gå tilbake til PowerPoint

• Velg Objekt på Sett inn-menyen

• Velg Opprett fra fil

• Finn filnavnet i boksen Fil

• Kontroller at Vis som ikon er merket

av for

• Velg OK

• Velg ikon

• Velg Handlingsinnstillinger på

Lysbildefremvisning-menyen

• Velg Objekthandling og deretter

Rediger

• Velg OK

SOME CONCLUSIONS (CONT’D)

At follow-up, B-schools without continued use have almost

returned to their initial, higher levels of being bullied and are

then relatively close to the national average

The lower levels of being bullied in A-schools have been

maintained over the whole four-year follow-up period,

strongly suggesting that these schools have learned

something important and will therefore offer new cohorts of

students a more bullying-free school environment – a key

long term school level effect

one take-home message: in addition to getting considerable

short-term effects of the OBPP, schools can get important

long-term effects if they continue to use the program.

Meta-analysis Ttofi & Farrington (2009,2010)

• Metaanalysis of the total number

of evaluations of anti-bullying programs in the world with sufficient sientific quality; • 59 evaluations of 24 programs

• The largest and most systematic sientific analysis on this feeld that is published.

• The OBPP was the only program that had repetedly documented positive effects. • Five replikations – evaluating positive

results in new cohorts of more than 40 000 pupils

• The OBPP is suggested to be used as a model program for preventive work against bullying in school. • «Future interventions could be grounded

in the successful Olweus programme…»