Date of Award

4-2008

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Department

Sociology

First Advisor

Dr. Thomas Van Valey

Second Advisor

Dr. Susan Carlson

Third Advisor

Dr. David Hartmann

Access Setting

Masters Thesis-Open Access

Abstract

This research is an evaluation of the Challenge Day anti-bullying program conducted in four Kalamazoo County schools. An analysis was conducted of survey data collected as part of the Challenge Day intervention. T-test comparisons of means were prepared for pre-test and post-test survey responses. This was done for each school that participated in the program: Vicksburg Middle School, Vicksburg High School, Parchment Middle School, and Parchment High School. Changes were noted as either positive (an increase in positive behaviors, attitudes, perceptions or a decrease in negative behaviors, attitudes, perceptions) or negative (a decrease in positive behaviors, attitudes, perceptions or an increase in negative behaviors, attitudes, or perceptions). Results were classified as significant if their two-tailed p-values were less than .05 alpha.

A review of results by individual school provided a ranking of effectiveness, with the program showing the most desirable change for Vicksburg Middle School, followed by Parchment Middle School, then by Vicksburg High School, while Parchment High School showed the least desirable change. Discussion of possible reasons for the program's varying effectiveness included variations in the implementation model and survey sampling, as well as differences in bullying behavior characteristics as provided by a literature review on this topic.

Download

Share

COinS