A Social Justice Perspective in Anti-Bullying Program Implementation

摘要

Oppression is in our everyday lives. Children get to experience it first hand in school by simply being different than others. Bullying has become a serious problem in American schools and many programs have been implemented to address it. This thesis grew out of a large evaluation study of anti-bullying program implemented in a large school district located in the Pacific Southwest. The main goal of this thesis is to continue the research process of the large evaluation study by focusing on the theme of implementation. Another goal is understand social justice as it relates to anti-bulling program evaluation. In so doing, isms (e.g. racism, sexism, and heterosexism) will be examined as indicators in how oppression exists in schools, how they manifest in bully behaviors, and how they dictate the success of an anti-bullying program implementation. A potential outcome of this thesis is to propose ways in which future program implementation can address issues of evaluating bullying interventions. Both pre-implementation and post-implementation criteria that address the oppressive environment will be considered for the process of anti-bullying program evaluation. One important consideration in this thesis is the deconstruction of various forms of oppression from a social justice perspective. Multiple forms of oppression are pervasive in the school environment and are expressed through bullying behaviors. This thesis will utilize a restorative justice approach to conceptualizing bullying, and postulate ways in which the restoration of justice can occur. The hope is that future research can expand on this idea to create anti-bullying program implementation guidelines that address oppression at is exists in schools.