Evaluation of an Anti-Bullying Program: Student Reports of Knowledge and Confidence to Manage Bullying.

This research evaluates the effectiveness of an anti ‐ bullying program, Project Ploughshares Puppets for Peace (Woodfine, Lubimiv, & Langlois, 1995). Students in grades 3 and 4 ( N = 129, 69 boys, 60 girls) from two public elementary schools completed a questionnaire on bullying at both pretest/post ‐ test. Although Chi ‐ square results showed no significant increase in knowledge or skills to deal with bullying, responses to open ‐ ended questions indicated that half the students reported feeling more confident in managing bullying. These results suggest that evaluations should include student perspectives on the impact of a program that extends beyond specific program goals. Key words: bullying, peer aggression, program evaluation Cette etude evalue l’efficacite du programme de lutte contre l’intimidation Puppets for Peace de Project Ploughshares (Woodfine, Lubimiv et Langlois, 1995). Des eleves de 3 e et 4 e annees ( N = 129, 69 garcons, 60 filles) de deux ecoles primaires publiques ont repondu a un questionnaire sur l’intimidation avant et apres la mise en œuvre du programme. Bien que les resultats du test chi carre n’indiquent aucune amelioration notable des connaissances et des competences susceptibles de contrer l’intimidation, les reponses aux questions ouvertes mettent en evidence que la moitie des eleves disent se sentir plus surs d’eux ‐ memes face a l’intimidation. Ces resultats semblent indiquer que les evaluations de programmes de prevention devraient inclure les points de vue des eleves sur leur impact, sachant que ces derniers depassent souvent les objectifs initiaux. Mots cles : intimidation, agression par des pairs, evaluation des programmes.