OLWEUS BULLYING

OLWEUS BULLYING

The Olweus Bullying Prevention Program (OBPP) has over forty years of research and successful implementation in schools all over the world. OBPP is a comprehensive, sustainable, systems change, whole-school program that focuses on changing the school climate through school, classroom, and individual levels and includes methods to reach out to parents, after-school programs, and the community for involvement and support.

OBPP is designed to give schools the tools and resources they need to effectively prevent and intervene in bullying behavior long term. School administrators, teachers, and other staff are primarily responsible for introducing and implementing the program.

OBPP is designed for students in elementary, middle, and high schools. All students participate in the program, while students identified as bullying others, or those students who have been bullied, receive additional individualized interventions.  All students are educated on roles involved in bullying situations and learn how to become proactive bystanders. Program objectives include the following:  reduce existing bullying among students; prevent the development of new bullying problems; achieve better peer relations at school and make the school a safer and more positive place for students to learn and develop.

Why the OBPP Works

There are many different reasons why the OBPP works in schools. Read about it HERE!

Program Recognition

  • Blueprints Model Program, Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence
  • Level 2 Program, U.S. Department of Education
  • OBPP was highlighted in the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Policy Statement: Role of the Pediatrician in Youth Violence Prevention.
  • Recent meta-analyses by Ttofi & Farrington highlighted that bullying prevention programs can be effective in Reducing bullying and that programs “inspired by the work of Dan Olweus worked best” (Ttofi et al., 2008, p. 69).

Program Evaluation

OBPP has been found to:

  • Reduce bullying among children 20% to 50%.
  • Improve the social climate of classrooms.
  • Reduce antisocial behaviors such as vandalism and truancy.
  • Significantly increase English, Math, Science, and History standardized test scores.

Program Implementation

The school’s Bullying Prevention Coordinating Committee is trained by a Certified Olweus Trainer to plan, coordinate, and sustain the ongoing implementation of OBPP. The committee then trains all adults within the school to implement and launch the following program components:

  • Weekly classroom meetings with students to discuss bullying and learn skills and strategies
  • Applying anti-bullying rules, policies, and procedures
  • Individual interventions
  • Enhancing supervision
  • Ongoing professional development
  • Parent and community involvement

Schools receive 18 school months of consultation to provide ongoing assistance in program implementation.

For more information about the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program, please contact the Education Department at 248-338-4280, ext. 210, or by contacting Megan McCoy at mmccoy@mediation-omc.org