National initiative against bullying

More than 80,000 pupils in Norwegian primary schools are regularly affected by bullying. But now the Government is about to finance Professor Dan Olweus' action programme on bullying and violence in Norwegian schools.

In order to deal with bullying, the school system will have to deal with bullies actively and with authority, clearly setting out the limits of unacceptable behaviour. These are important aspects of the intervention programme on bullying that has been drawn up by the University of Bergen professor Dan Olweus.

Professor Olweus' research group is based at HEMIL, a research centre in the Faculty of Psychology that focuses on physical and mental health

Unlike most other intervention programmes on bullying and violence in schools, the Olweus programme is based on the results of many years of research. This research disproves many myths - not least about the bullies themselves.

"There is a widespread belief that bullies are struggling with a lack of self-confidence and that they are insecure behind a façade of toughness. This does not match our findings. In fact, most bullies are not lacking in self-confidence or certainty. On the contrary, they are generally aggressive, have a positive attitude to violence and have a powerful need to dominate, with poorly developed feelings for others. If they are boys, they are physically strong", says Olweus.

Weak limits

The family backgrounds of bullies have a number of typical features. "They have been poorly cared for and have been given weak or vague limits in their upbringing. Their parents have also used spanking more often than other parents. Bullies also have a more active and unruly temperament. But this is just a picture of the "typical" bully. In some cases other factors may be more important; for example, an aggressive father with alcohol problems", explains Olweus.

"As far as measures against bullies are concerned, it is important for teachers to build up a positive relationship with such pupils and to give them plenty of praise. However, at the same time they have to be shown very clear limits. The school's basic message must be that it will not tolerate bullying and that it is determined to put an end to it. If rules are broken, there will be negative consequences. It is essential that rules should not be "personalised", but that they should apply to everyone and have the same consequences for everyone", says Olweus.

Restoring teachers' authority

If this is to happen, teachers must have a certain degree of authority.

In the Seventies, everything that tasted of authority was felt to be negative. But after all, there is a legitimate authority whose tasks include protecting weak pupils against harassment by aggressive bullies. We wish to restore the authoritative (but not authoritarian) teacher and give him or her a reasonable degree of authority over the class", says Olweus, whose programme includes measures at school, class and individual levels.

"Generally speaking, it is important to create involvement among the adults at school. A specially developed questionnaire with an accompanying PC programme is used to map out the situation at the school and to create a greater degree of consciousness regarding bullying at school. The school also needs to co-ordinate and expand its superviser routines. We have demonstrated that less bullying takes place when more adults are out in the playground during play periods".

At class level, rules need to be introduced against bullying and regular class meetings should be held.

"Teachers need to provide clear signals about what is acceptable and what is not. If they suspect or find out that bullying is taking place, they should follow up a well-defined system, and draw up individual action plans. The adults in the school have the main responsibility for counteracting bullying among pupils" says Olweus.

The programme has both preventive and problem-solving aims.

Be prepared

In the course of the next few years all primary and junior secondary schools in the country will be given the opportunity to introduce the action programme. Implementation is based on a three-stage model.

"This year, my colleagues and I will train and supervise about 50 trainers, who will then pass on their training to key persons, each of them working in at least five schools. These key persons will be responsible for carrying out a programme in their own schools under the guidance of the trainer, who in turn will be supervised by my group at the HEMIL Centre. In this way, in the course of a single year we will be able to reach between 200 and 250 schools all over the country, if all goes as planned", says Olweus.

He is concerned that measures taken against bullying should not simply be of short-term nature.

"Our aim is that schools should be able to build up a permanent system of action against bullying so that the action programme will become part of the everyday life of the school. For this reason, it is important to carry out regular quality control measures. An important aspect of quality assurance will be to set up what we call educational discussion groups with teachers in each school. These groups will meet regularly and go through various aspects of the action programme in detail".

Good Results

Evaluations of the programme carried out since the 80s have produced very good results. The programme has been tested and evaluated in schools in Bergen, Oslo and Kristiansand, among other places.

"In primary schools, bullying was reduced by anything from 30 to 70%. We have also shown that there is a distinct reduction in other types of antisocial behaviour such as vandalism, theft and truancy - and pupils feel more secure. However, it is more difficult to achieve really good results in secondary schools", says Olweus. He believes that there may be several reasons for this.

"Teachers in secondary schools are more concerned with their own subjects and tend to focus less on the security and well-being of their pupils. No-one really takes responsibility for the social relationships of pupils in secondary schools". The group is currently trying to develop methods that will produce stronger effects in secondary schools. Olweus has already shown that being involved in bullying at this age can have very negative consequences later in life.

"We have carried out a long-term study of adults who were bullied for several years in secondary school. At the age of 24 they were still marked by the bullying they had received. Most of them had normal social contacts, but were struggling with poor self-confidence and depressive tendencies".

But it is not only the victims of bullying who may suffer problems later on. A similar follow-up study of bullies themselves showed that as young adults, they were highly over-represented in the criminal files.

"It is essential to do something, not just for the victims, but also for the bullies too. They are in real danger of ending up badly", says Olweus.

Wide scope

In addition to the 80,000 school children who are regularly involved in bullying, there is a much bigger group of pupils who are involved now and again. Some pupils actively support bullies, while others just stand aside and watch while bullying takes place.

"In fact, bullying affects all the pupils in a class. Even though it is first and foremost adults who have to accept responsibility, of course it is also very important to change pupils' attitudes to bullying as well. One of our aims is to influence more pupils to actively distance themselves from bullying and to take the part of the victims".

The latest studies by the group in the Oslo area suggest that bullying is a growing problem. Even though Olweus believes that a great deal of good work is being done in Norwegian schools, he emphasises that many teachers need more training and guidance to improve their expertise in this area.

"But as our data demonstrate, it is perfectly possible to greatly reduce this problem via an action programme that is relatively easy to put into effect. If the adult members of a school decide to seriously go in for stopping bullying on the basis of research-based knowledge, there is a very good chance that they will succeed", says Olweus.

In spite of the high figures in Norwegian schools, international studies have shown that Norway and Sweden suffer from relatively low rates of school bullying. The level lies 50 to 100% higher in the USA, the UK and the Netherlands, for example.

Exported to the USA

The background for the decision to go in for the Olweus programme lies in a wide-ranging evaluation of 57 different action programmes on bullying and other forms of problem behaviour in schools. An panel of experts appointed by the Ministry of Education concluded that this was the only programme that was good enough. An expert committee in the USA has recently looked at 500 actions programmes designed to prevent violence in schools. The Olweus programme was selected as one of 10 model programmes, and it was the only one not from the USA itself. The US Department of Justice has now allocated funds for more systematic implementation of these programmes.

Olweus has received wide-spread international recognition for his research. He is well-known for his book "Bullying at School", which has been translated into 15 languages, and in 2000 he was awarded the international "Spirit of Crazy Horse" prize in the USA, named for the famous Indian chief. This prize is awarded to persons who give courage to the discouraged. Olweus found himself in very good company as a prize-winner, since among the earlier awardees was a representative of Nelson Mandela.