Researchers at the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning awarded high marks to the Steps to Respect programs in 2002 in Safe and Sound.
How It Works
The Committee for Children approach: skills for students, solutions for adults
It can be hard to distinguish between all of the bullying prevention programs on the market. The Steps to Respect program is unique because it combines guidance for creating a safe, caring, respectful school environment with classroom lessons for student skill development.
The Steps to Respect program is based on the best available evidence and thinking in bullying prevention, and it has been rigorously evaluated. Look for the published results in an upcoming issue of Developmental Psychology.
A schoolwide approach sends a clear message
Since bullying is a schoolwide problem, it needs a schoolwide solution. Most bullying occurs out of sight and earshot of the adults in a school. Children are bullied:
In the hallways,
On the playground,
In the lunchroom,
In the bathrooms,
On their way to and from school,
And in the classroom.
The Steps to Respect program takes a whole-school approach to bullying, bringing all staff, students, and families into the picture. Experts in the field agree that a whole-school approach is the best way to tackle bullying. A schoolwide approach sends a message to students that adults take bullying seriously and that it's safe to come forward when there is a problem. And when children report bullying, adults can take steps to help them. The program also helps schools create policies and procedures to minimize bullying and proactively address environments where bullying is likely to occur.
Classroom teachers are the key
Classroom teachers' ability to reinforce prosocial behaviors is greatly enhanced if they are also the primary instructors of the classroom lessons. If a counselor or other staff member presents the lessons, the classroom teacher should be actively involved. This demonstrates the teacher's commitment and ensures student buy-in. Familiarity with program concepts enables teachers to promote student skill use in the classroom and respond effectively to bullying reports.
Easy-to-follow skill and literature lessons
Each curriculum kit includes 11 skill lessons and 2 literature unit selections, which contain 7–10 lessons each. Skill lessons are designed to be taught weekly and are broken into three parts, each of which takes 20–30 minutes to teach. Literature lessons are designed to last 30–40 minutes each.
The Steps to Respect program:
Promotes the development of empathy for children who are bullied.
Fosters emotion-management skills.
Improves children's recognition of bullying and their role in the problem.
Teaches children strategies that they can use to be "part of the solution" instead of "part of the problem."
