33 percent drop in physical bullying in schools using Steps to Respect

trix0r, Flickr “The results of our study show that there is something that we can do to prevent bullying in schools,” said <a href=" Brown , who led the study. “Over half of the targeted outcomes in our study showed significantly better results for schools that used Steps to Respect than for control schools. The results provide strong evidence for the efficacy of the program.” Brown is a research assistant professor in the <a href=" Development Research Group , which is part of the <a href=" School of Social Work . The theory behind Steps to Respect is that bullying behavior is a social process strongly influenced by peer attitudes and reactions. The program changes those attitudes by cultivating a school-wide sense that bullying is unfair and wrong, increasing empathy for kids who are bullied and teaching kids what they should do if they see bullying. The study, published in the fall 2011 issue of <a href=" Psychology Review , shows that schools using <a href=" to Respect reported: 33 percent less physical bullying. 35 percent fewer teachers reporting fighting as a major problem. 20 percent more staff members reporting that their school is promoting a positive environment. Conducted during the 2008–2009 school year, the study included 33 California elementary schools, 1,296 staff members, 128 teachers and 3,119 students. Schools were randomly selected to either implement the program immediately or wait a year. Researchers gave the schools Steps to Respect materials, staff training and data collection reminders, but were otherwise uninvolved in program implementation. Eric Brown, UW Eric Brown, a research assistant professor at the UW School of Social Work, led the study of Steps to Respect’s effect on bullying.