Action Research Topic-Bullying

Purpose

In August of 2008 I became the counselor of a primary school. Our campus serves prekindergarten through third grade students. I would never have imagined that bullying would occur at a level that would justify a structured curriculum. During my first year as counselor I was so focused on learning the multitude of responsibilities my position required that I wasn’t aware of a need. It was during the second semester of this year that it became apparent that bullying does occur at these young ages, even at a prekindergarten level. In researching this topic, I found one U.S. survey which reports that 18% of kindergarten children are bullied in one of three common forms of bullying: physical, verbal, or social. And sadly, children as young as four have learned the power of ‘I won’t be your friend anymore’.

After the parent of a third grade student made the principal and I aware that her son was being bullied by some classmates to the point that he was clinically depressed and no longer wanted to come to school, we examined discipline reports and found that 26% of discipline referrals were the result of bullying. We also realized that this number did not adequately reflect the rate of bullying on our campus because often times incidents are handled in the classroom and are not written office referrals. In consideration of this data, input from teachers, and the personal accounts of bullying that we were aware of, we decided a bullying program was needed.

Question

• In what ways can Tatum Primary School develop and implement an anti-bullying program that promotes positive pro-social behavior while decreasing incidences of bullying?

Subquestions

• Which bullying prevention program will meet the needs of Tatum Primary and successfully reduce the incidence of bullying?
• What do children who are bullied need?
• What are the principles of effective interventions for bullying prevention programs?
• Which interventions need to be implemented to help those being bullied and those bullying others?
• How can the effects of being bullied be limited?
• What do teachers know about bullying and how much training do they need to be effective in bullying prevention and intervention?

Methods

• Establish a Bullying Prevention Committee of teachers, staff, and parents
• Train all staff about bullying
• Administer surveys to staff, parents, and 3rd grade students to determine the nature,

extent, and location of bullying at Tatum Primary.

• Examine and analyze the data from the surveys.
• Initial meeting of the Bullying Prevention Committee
• Research Anti-Bullying Programs
• Choose and order a Bullying Prevention Program
• In-service training for Bullying Prevention Program
• Parent meeting and written notice concerning Bullying Prevention at Tatum Primary.
• Implementation of the Bullying Prevention Program
• Evaluation of the Bullying Prevention Program using end of the year surveys, discipline referrals, and a confidential reporting system.

Data Collection

• Analysis of discipline referral reports
• Analysis of confidential reports of bullying
• Analysis of stakeholder surveys concerning bullying and the presence of a safe and positive school climate.
• Comparison of available 2009-2010 data and 2010-2011 data.

Timeline 2010-2011

August

-In addition to the campus improvement team, decide which parents and community members to invite to be a part of the Bullying Prevention Program Committee. Make sure that the diverse population of the campus is represented.

Distribute the appropriate anonymous survey to all the stakeholders:

3rd grade students, Faculty, staff, and parents of pk-3rd grade students.

Examine the data to assess the nature, extent, and location of bullying on our campus.

September/October

-Using the data obtained in the surveys, the Bullying Prevention Program Committee

meets to explore the problem of bullying and devise possible solutions and identify

possibly divisive perspectives. . Identify “hot spots” on campus, prevention during

transitions and on the playground.

- Learn about good bullying prevention programs that are available, that fit the needs

of our campus and that are within our budget constraints. Identify possible

community partnerships to help with funding. Many sources of information can be

found through web searches, fellow colleagues, and other schools.

October

-The counselor/project coordinator and select committee members will present

gathered information on Bullying Prevention Programs to the committee. Through

collaboration, a program that meets the needs of the campus will be identified and a

plan for implementation will be outlined. Dates for in-service training will be set.

-The principal will examine possible sources of funding that include the counselor’s

budget, curriculum funding, grants, and donations. The counselor will determine the

amount of materials needed and will complete and turn in a requisition form for these

materials. The PEIMS clerk will assign a purchase order number and will order the

materials on the P.O. using the fund source identified by the principal. Donations

from community partnerships that have been identified as sponsors will be collected.

November

-In-Service training for teachers, instructional aides, bus drivers, cafeteria personnel,

and janitorial staff. The training will include information about the current bullying

situation on our campus, the vision for implementing a bullying prevention program

the goals of implementation, the process of choosing a bullying prevention program,

the components of the selected bully prevention program, and the expected increase

in student achievement as a result of the program’s implementation.

-Hold an informational meeting for parents introducing the program. Define

bullying, its effects, and identify preventative measures as well as consequences for

bullying. Explain the procedures for reporting and quick investigation of incidents.

Identify the components of an effective Bullying Prevention Program and the

identified, measureable goals and anticipated increase in student achievement.

November –June

-Post and distribute clear rules and consequences related to bullying. Discuss the

with the students. Identify rewards for positive, pro-social behavior. Increase

supervision in areas that are “hot spots” for bullying. Implement confidential

reporting system for students. Make sure bullying policies and grievance procedures

are in place and are known to parents and students. Listen to parents and students

who report bullying. Investigate quickly and effectively.

May/June

-Evaluate the success of the program and the level achievement towards the set goals

using discipline referrals related to bullying, the confidential reporting system, and

surveys completed by teachers, staff, parents, and students.

This week in our Action Research course we read Chapter 2 of Nancy Fichtman Dana's Leading with Passion and Knowledge. This chapter described 9 related areas in which educational leaders seek inquiry and the benefits of performing action research in each area. The following gives an example of an action research inquiry for each of the 9 areas and an explanation of why action research is important to each of these areas:

1.Staff development Example: In what ways can I, as a principal help facilitate the professional growth of the teachers within my building through engagement in action research? How can the process of teacher research become a part of my teachers’ professional development plans? Importance: Action Research by principals in the area of Staff Development facilitates the professional growth of teachers. This in turn helps to keep teachers invigorated and keeps learning vibrant and alive for their students. It provides personalized professional growth that fits the needs of the teachers and in turn increasing student learning. Participating in action research in an ongoing school based staff development program is also one indicator of instructional leadership which is essential for meaningful school improvement to take place. 2.Curriculum development Example: How can I build my own knowledge of exemplary writing practice? How do I use learning communities as a tool for teachers and me to utilize in the transformation of the writing curriculum at Newberry Elementary? Importance: Action Research in the area of Curriculum Development is important because research shows that a quality curriculum is essential in achieving educational excellence and meaningful change at the school level. The quality of the curriculum is one of ten factors that influences student achievement. While good teaching methods are essential, delivery of poor content only results in a great deal of mislearning. 3.Individual teacher(s) Example: What types of support help my new teachers succeed? How can I best help an out-of-field teacher succeed? What is the relationship between changing a veteran teacher’s grade-level assignment and getting her out of a rut? Importance: Action Research provides the support and development to new teachers as well as veteran teachers. It can be used as a resource for mentoring to increase the quality of teaching which in turn increases the quality of the school. For new teachers, it is a way to provide the administrative support needed in making the transition from novice to experienced professional. For mid-career teachers, it is a way to meet the challenges of remaining fresh and energetic. Veteran teachers can benefit from action research as they are awakened to new ways of seeing things and as a powerful tool for improving their teacher. 4.Individual student(s) Example: What happens to struggling readers in our school after they leave intervention programs? In what ways are out-of-school or in-school suspensions as a consequence for discipline referrals affecting student performance? Importance: Action Research is tool that can be used to help reach those students who stand out for a variety of reasons. It can be used to evaluate effectiveness of curriculum as well as shape programs to meet the school’s and the student’s needs. It provides a form of problem solving in the development and enrichment of school-wide procedures and programs. 5.School culture/community Example: What role does a weekly school-wide meeting play in creating a caring school culture? Importance: Action Research can be used to help evaluate and understand a school’s culture and the need to shape or reinforce it. It is a valuable tool in determining the existing culture and the actions that are shaping it. Action Research can be used to evaluate both formatively and summatively to understand the impact of decisions or programs and then shape them to increase the effectiveness and quality of school-wide interactions. 6.Leadership Example: What do I learn from comparing and contrasting my own perceptions, my teachers’ perceptions, my leadership team’s perceptions, and my supervisor’s perceptions about my own instructional leadership as a principal? Importance: Principals can utilize action research to explore and develop their own leadership skills over the course of their administrative lifetimes. Group inquiry can provide the opportunity for exploration, reflection, collaboration and affirmation of ideas. This support and affirmation from group members provides opportunities for principals to set new goals for their own leadership development. Another benefit that participation in action research is the role-modeling it demonstrates for teachers in development of their own inquiry and learning. 7.Management Example: How can we all work together (students, teachers, lunch paraprofessionals, kitchen workers, custodians, and principal) to make lunchtime a cooperative and pleasant time for everyone? Importance: Action research in the area of management helps principals define and balance their role as manager with their role as a leader. It helps principals explore the duties, opportunities, and options concerning managerial duties such as daily planning, organizing, budgeting, and scheduling. Action research provides opportunities to explore alternative options for procedures in search of the best ways to utilize resources such as personnel, time and materials. 8.School performance Example: What actions can our faculty take to improve reading achievement of our lowest quartile students? Importance: Action research is important to school performance because it presents opportunities for principals to gain incite and explore their relationship to school performance and raising student achievement. Inquiry through action research helps principals gather information, formulate plans, develop policies, and determine a direction that needs to be taken to increase academic achievement and overall school improvement.. 9.Social justice or equity issues Example: In what ways does a whole-group book study on Ruby Payne’s A Framework for Understanding Poverty contribute to how we, as a Lake Butler Middle School administration and faculty, might create change and work toward breaking the cycle of poverty? Importance: Action research can be an important tool for promoting social justice and equity. Inquiry can help administrators understand how their available resources can be utilized to meet the needs of culturally diverse groups of students and teachers. Sometimes a passion for an aspect of social justice or equity is developed through action research. When this occurs, there is a willingness to invest more of one’s own resources and energy in an effort to reform classrooms and schools. Action Research in this area can help close gaps in opportunity and academic achievement between groups of students. It can be used to examine, improve, and change practices that neglect or limit the progress of some groups of students. It helps to explore how instructional practices help or hinder groups of students.

Action Research

Action Research Defined:

Action Research refers to the process of engaging in a systematic collection of information based on one's own practices, to be analyzed and processed. This intentional study follows a posed question by the action researcher who is seeking to take action for change based on what is learned as a result of the inquiry. Thus, action research can become a powerful tool for administrators and teachers in school and learning improvement.

Action Research vs. Traditional Research

While traditional research offers valuable insights and knowledge about teaching and learning, it does not include the people who are most familiar with the hands on processes of teaching and learning. Action research on the other hand, is a continual set of spirals consisting of reflection and action. It engages educational leaders in the practice of designing questions, data collection, and the interpretation of data around their posed questions. Each spiral involves the following:

• Clarifying and diagnosing a practical situation that needs to be improved or a practical problem that needs to be resolved
• Formulating action strategies for improving the situation or resolving the problem
• Implementing the action strategies and evaluating their effectiveness, and clarifying the situation, resulting in new definitions of problems or areas for improvement to the next spiral of reflection and action

Action Research Benefits

This educational approach to research has many benefits that include the following:

• Opportunities to be surrounded with other professionals conversing about practice in systematic and meaningful ways.
• Opportunities to become role models for teachers and students
• Engagement in action research helps best practices to flourish
• Participation in action research results in a slowed pace from the harried pace that typically characterizes a principal’s role.
• Engagement in inquiry forces you to devote sustained attention ot one issue, tensionk, problem, or dilemma. This focus enables you to vecome proactive rather than reactive to administrative practices.

• Through participation in action research, the principal develops a sence of ownership in the knowledge constructed which contributes to the possibilities for real change in schools
• Through participation in action research, principals and teachers benefit in the enhancement of their own professional growth

• Theories and knowledge are generated from research grounded in the realities of educational practice
• Practioners become collaborators in educational research by investigating their own problems, and

Practioners play a part in the research process, which makes them more likely to facilitate change based on the knowledge they generate