An Evaluation of the KiVa Anti-bullying Program in New Zealand

Abstract

This paper describes the introduction of the KiVa anti-bullying program in New Zealand. KiVa is a whole-school program developed in Finland that includes both indicated and universal actions for children aged 7 to 15 years. The program focuses on the group context and seeks to alter the peer group culture by motivating bystanders to take action. There is a growing body of evidence that suggests it is successful in reducing bullying and victimization in a range of countries outside its country of origin. However, its impact in countries with a particularly heterogenous population such as New Zealand is yet to be determined. This paper presents data after one year of implementation in 7 New Zealand schools. The sample included 1175 students from Years 2-6 (~6 to 10 years). The students completed an anonymous online survey prior to the implementation of the program and again after one year. Significant reductions were reported after KiVa implementation in self-reported rates of bullying and victimization as well as a reduction in experiences of being bullied via the internet. These reductions however varied by gender and year level in that KiVa had a more significant effect on most girls and young boys. In addition, there was a significant increase in the number of children feeling safer at school. Given the heterogeneity of the sample, these early results are promising, but the gender differences also highlight the need for further evaluations and investigations regarding the implementation of KiVa in New Zealand.

Pelajaran Yang Didapat Dari Olweus Bullying Prevention Program dan KiVa: Review Naratif

“…Zealand (Green et al, 2019), and France (Garandeau & Salmivalli, 2018). OBPP is in use in Latin America (Limber et al, 2018;Olweus et al, 2019) and Germany (Ossa et al, 2020).…”

Suicides in Nunavik: a life course study

“…To our knowledge, there are no anti-bullying interventions designed specifically for work with Indigenous populations. However, KiVa is a school-based program that has been shown to work well with Indigenous students [39]. This program also uses a combination of universal and individualised strategies.…”

Estudio comparativo de género sobre el acoso escolar: estrategias y acciones (Gender comparative study on bullying: strategies and actions)

“…Su prevención y tratamiento ha sido foco de atención para académicos y profesionales en los últimos años, de ahí que se haya tratado de determinar unas pautas u orientaciones para disminuir la violencia, diseñando, aplicando y evaluando programas de intervención (Gaffney et al, 2019;Limber et al, 2018). Existen numerosos programas que han sido creados para luchar por la prevención del acoso escolar como «NoTrap!», «KiVa Anti-bullying Program» o «Olweus Bullying Prevention Program» y han sido desarrollados en países y contextos diferentes (Garandeau et al, 2021;Green et al, 2020;Zambuto et al, 2020). Sin embargo, en repetidas ocasiones los padres y profesores desconocen estas situaciones de acoso, ya que la víctima siente vergüenza de ello y no lo comunica, quizás por el miedo que sienten a las represalias que puedan tomar contra ellos las personas agresoras (Alonso et al, 2017).…”