The effect of bullying-themed literature on the bullying behavior of upper elementary students in Lebanon. (c2012)

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of bullying-themed literature, namely picture books that address the problem of bullying on reducing bullying incidents and changing students‟ attitudes towards bullying and related incidents. The sample consisted of 165 students taken from upper elementary classes in two private schools in Lebanon. The bullying intervention program was implemented for a period of eight months in the two schools that participated in the study. To evaluate the outcome of the intervention, pretest-posttest data were collected using the Revised Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire and the Student Experience Survey. In the implementation phase of the intervention, follow-up activities pertaining to the seven multiple intelligences were incorporated into the literature-related learning process, thereby enhancing learning and active involvement of students in a supportive and nonthreatening environment. The occurrence of a flaw in data collection limited the analysis to descriptive statistics. The literature-based intervention program achieved a slight victimizationreducing effect from pretest to posttest, but the students‟ bullying mean scores remained constant after the implementation of the program. Moreover, there was a slight decrease in the students‟ mean scores from pre- to post-test in the scales of perceived assertiveness and perceived adult responsiveness, relatively stable mean scores for bystander responsibility, and a slight increase in the students‟ mean scores from pre- to post-test in the scale on the acceptance of bullying. The implications are that due to the flaw in data collection, no claim could be made about whether or not the literature-based intervention program was effective.