Bullying in middle schools: Teachers' reports on the Operation Respect anti-bullying program.

摘要

The purpose of this single case study was twofold. First, the study aimed to elicit participants' descriptions of how they implemented the features of the anti-bullying program, Operation Respect. Second, the study aimed to reveal participants' perceptions of the practices (i.e., action or strategies) that were most effective in implementing features of the program.;The state of Connecticut adopted its program, Operation Respect, in September 2001 through a collaborative effort of the State Department of Education and the Neag School of Education at the University of Connecticut. As of March 2004, over five-hundred public and private schools throughout the state have implemented Operation Respect (Operation Respect Connecticut, 2005).;Twelve middle school teachers volunteered to participate in qualitative semi-structured interviews. The study conducted by Eslea and Smith (1988) regarding the Sheffield Anti-Bullying Project served as the conceptual framework.;The findings of the study supported the following conclusions, Northeastern Connecticut middle school teachers perceived the Operation Respect anti-bullying program as being effective: (1) when they practiced direct intervention with students identified as bullies and victims, (2) when students participated in bullying discussions and portrayed the role of the bully and victim in scripted and unscripted artistic formats.