The WITS Program: How is WITS different? What does the research indicate?
- 1. The WITS Programs How is WITS different? What does the research indicate?
- 2. Distinguishing Features of WITS Typical Conflict WITS Resolution Programs Programs • Focused on improving • Invite participation from parents children’s social and emotional and the community. competence. • Implemented across several • Based on written curricula contexts including delivered by classroom schools, playgrounds and families’ teachers. homes. • Focused on bullying behavior • Focused on preventing and the capacity to resist victimization rather than bullying bullying. as bullies are often themselves victims.
- 3. What is Peer Victimization? Peer victimization is the experience of being a target of a peer’s hurtful teasing and aggressive behavior Two subtypes of victimization: 1. Physical Victimization involves overt, direct actions aimed at causing a child bodily harm or threats of harm. 2. Relational Victimization involves covert indirect actions directed at damaging a child’s social status in the peer group.
- 4. Prevalence of Peer Victimization • Approximately 1 in 10 children are persistently victimized by peers • Frequency of victimization episodes is generally higher in the early elementary grades • Episodes of victimization become more chronic in the late elementary grades
- 5. How is WITS Different? Provides resources to parents, the community and school staff to promote common strategies and a consistent voice. Resources for the Community Manual and online resources for emergency services personnel and university or high school athletes Resources for Parents Pamphlets and online resources Resources for Teachers Recommended book list, lesson plans and online training
- 6. WITS: A Multi- Systems Approach The WITS Programs reduce peer victimization by: • Calling upon community champions including school personnel, families and emergency services personnel to promote pro-social behaviors and to help children deal with peer victimization • Taking a comprehensive, multi-settings approach to reducing peer victimization and enhancing social competence at the school- and classroom-level • Creating a common language for children and adults to use to resolve conflicts peacefully
- 7. Evidence that WITS Works Two studies have been conducted by University of Victoria researchers to measure the feasibility and effectiveness of the WITS Programs: • WITS Program Evaluation 1 (2000-2003) • WITS Program Evaluation 2 (2006-2008)
- 8. WITS Program Evaluation 1 Participants & Data Collection Data were collected from eleven program schools and six control schools Wave 1 Wave 2 Wave 3 Wave 4 Fall of 2000 Spring of 2001 Spring of 2002 Spring of 2003 N = 432 N = 423 N = 397 N = 385 Beginning of End of Grade 1 End of Grade 2 End of Grade 3 Grade 1
- 9. WITS Program Evaluation 1 Measures that were examined Children’s ratings of: • Physical Victimization How often are you hit by another kid at school? • Relational Victimization How often does another kid tell lies about you to make other kids not like you anymore?
- 10. WITS Program Evaluation 1 Rates of Decline for Physical Victimization This chart illustrates the rate of physical victimization over three years.
- 11. WITS Program Evaluation 1 Rates of Decline for Relational Victimization This chart illustrates the rate of relational victimization over three years.
- 12. WITS Program Evaluation 1 Understanding the findings Why do children in program schools report more victimization than children in control schools? • All of the program schools had the WITS Programs in place by the time the study was under way. Higher levels of reporting may reflect the program children’s greater awareness of what victimization is and their willingness to report it or “Seek Help”. • Rates of reported victimization declined over the three years of elementary school for children in program schools but not in the control schools.
- 13. WITS Program Evaluation 2 Goal: Assess the WITS Programs' effectiveness with a broader and more independent sample of schools Participants & Data Collection: Data were collected for Grade 1 to 3 students in six program and five control schools Wave 1 Wave 2 Wave 3 Fall of 2006 Fall of 2007 Spring of 2008 N = 829 N = 737 N = 732 (472 in program (422 in program (418 in program schools) schools) schools)
- 14. WITS Program Evaluation 2 Measures that were examined Children’s ratings of: • Physical Victimization (e.g. hitting, pushing) • Relational Victimization (e.g. exclusion, rumour- spreading) • Peer Support (e.g. receiving help, being cheered up by classmates) Teacher’s ratings of: • Social Responsibility (e.g. giving help to others, solving problems in peaceful ways)
- 15. WITS Program Evaluation 2 Rates of Decline for Physical Victimization The rate of decline in physical victimization was significantly greater in program than control schools
- 16. WITS Program Evaluation 2 Rates of Decline for Relational Victimization The rate of decline in relational victimization was greater in program than control schools
- 17. WITS Program Evaluation 2 Average Levels of Peer Support Levels of peer support did not significantly differ in program and control schools
- 18. WITS Program Evaluation 2 Average Levels of Social Responsibility Teachers of children in program schools reported higher average levels of social responsibility at each time point, compared to control schools.
- 19. Conclusions Peer victimization canbe reduced through: • Multi-setting programs and multiple systems of support that include visible (uniformed) community members, school staff and parents • Strategies that convey consistent and developmentally appropriate messages for peaceful conflict resolution across contexts
- 20. Conclusions The WITS Program evaluations join a growing number of studies demonstrating the promise of involving schools, parents and communities in interventions to reduce peer victimization among elementary school children. For more info on WITS research & evaluation, visit: http://www.witsprogram.ca/schools/research-evaluation/