Friday, 11 October 2013 16:53
Study: Anti-bullying Programs Increase Bullying
Written by Selwyn Duke

Well, bully for anti-bullying programs. After spending countless millions instituting them nationwide, a university study has concluded that it isn’t just that they don’t work.

They actually increase bullying.

The head researcher of the study, University of Texas at Arlington criminologist Seokjin Jeong, did not start out as a critic of anti-bullying programs, mind you; on the contrary, he expected to find that they’d mitigated the nation’s bullying problem. Much to his dismay, however, he learned that students in schools boasting anti-bullying programs were more likely to be bullied than those attending schools without such programs. CBSLocal.com reports on his explanations for the findings, writing:

Jeong says they [anti-bullying-program videos] may actually teach students different bullying techniques — and even educate about new ways to bully through social media and texting.

Jeong said students with ill intentions “…are able to learn, there are new techniques [and gain] new skills.” He says students might see examples in videos and then want to try it.

According to Jeong, some programs even teach students how to bully without leaving evidence behind.

In other words, the programs could perhaps be called Building a Better Bully 101
. . . .
In fairness, it’s not clear from the CBS article whether bullying actually increased in districts that instituted anti-bullying programs or if the incidence of it merely was greater than in districts that never took such measures in the first place; if the latter, the phenomenon’s explanation may simply be that localities more plagued by bullying are more likely to institute anti-bullying programs. Whatever the case, however, there’s much wrong with this approach.
. . . .


http://www.thenewamerican.com/reviews/op...crease-bullying