WHAT CONDITIONS DO MIDDLE SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS BELIEVE MUST BE IN PLACE TO CREATE AND SUSTAIN A SUCCESSFUL BULLYING PREVENTION PROGRAM IN A MIDDLE SCHOOL?

Abstract

ABSTRACT Bullying is recognized as a serious problem affecting children and adolescents in the U.S. and around the world. Recent school shootings and media attention surrounding them has thrust bullying into the forefront of our attention and has created a sense of resolve around the issue. As a result of the increased media attention around bullying, there has been a call for action and demands for schools to do what they can to decrease bullying. In an effort to deter students from participating in bullying behaviors many schools have been implementing bullying prevention programs to educate students about the negative impacts of bullying and to promote positive behaviors. As with any change, it is not uncommon for the implementation of a bullying prevention program to be met with some resistance by staff, and unfortunately, like many educational innovations they are short-lived. It appears that in order for the implementation of a bullying prevention program to see success and be sustainable within a school, there must be certain conditions in place at the time of the implementation. This study is designed to investigate why the same bullying prevention programs that are perceived to be successful and sustainable in some schools, are not successful nor sustainable in other schools. The goal is to determine what conditions, if any, are present in the schools with perceived successful and sustainable bullying prevention programs, that were not present in schools where the bullying prevention programs were unsuccessful and unsustainable.