|
During
the fall of 2003, Headlines Theatre, under the direction of David
Diamond, worked with students from two secondary schools within
the Vancouver School District to explore a drama-based approach
to raising awareness regarding harassment, bullying and discrimination
difficulties in school. The Headlines Theatre Anti-Bullying Forum
provided a unique opportunity for students to develop a greater
appreciation of the implications of harassment on others, as drama
offers a powerful medium through which students can be intensely
engaged in exploring the immediate and long-range impact of harassment
for both victim and perpetrator. This unique effort not only encouraged
students to add their own voice to this pervasive problem, it also
empowered them to become active in addressing the issue, while providing
adults and educators with insights into the nature and extent of
the problem in school. We are grateful for the opportunity to work
with the Headlines Theatre Staff on this project.
In both schools, informal feedback regarding the Forum has been
extremely positive, from both students and staff, underscoring the
power of this medium to bring issues of harassment to the forefront.
As part of an ongoing partnership between the Faculty of Education
at UBC and the Vancouver School Board (VSB), I consulted on this
project, and was asked by one of the schools to assist in a more
formal evaluation of the impact of this theatre-based intervention
on students using data collected as part of the school's own self-evaluation.
What follows is a report of our findings.
Overview
of Evaluation Design and Sample
In
one participating secondary school, we had the unique opportunity
to formally evaluate the impact of this theatre-based "intervention"
on students in grades 8-12 using the results of an extensive student
survey on bullying, harassment and discrimination that was completed
anonymously by all students as part of a school-based evaluation
just two weeks after the Headlines Theatre performances. A total
of 833 students (all who were present on the day the surveys were
distributed) completed the survey from this school. Given the fact
that not all classes or students in the school were able to participate
in or view the Headlines Theatre performances, we were able to compare
survey responses from students who had participated in this forum
(as a cast member or audience member) with students from the same
school and grade who did not participate in order to evaluate the
immediate impact of the experience on student reports of the prevalence
of harassment in the school as well as their own attitudes and beliefs
about such behavior. As part of our UBC-VSB partnership, I was able
to assist the school in analyzing the information collected on these
surveys, with particular interest in whether or not the Headline's
Theatre experience made any difference in how students viewed the
problem. In the paragraphs that follow, I summarize the findings
that emerged from this comparative evaluation of the impact of Headlines
Theatre on secondary students, with efforts to maintain the anonymity
of the students and school involved.
Our
goal was to compare students who participated in the Anti-Bullying
Forum with those who did not. To this end, one question on the survey
specifically asked students to indicate whether or not they participated
in the theatre experience and to what degree. Responses to this
item allowed us to identify three groups of students:
- cast
members (n=19 out of 20, 13 girls/6 boys)
-
"active" audience members who joined in and tried to change outcomes
in the play (n=14, 9 girls/5 boys)
-
"passive" audience members who just watched the performance (n=108,
68 girls/40 boys).
Participation
was mostly among girls in the sample and mostly among grade 10 students.
Specifically, 49 students (6 cast members) were from grades 8 &
9, 54 students (6 cast members) were from grade 10, and 38 students
(7 cast members) from grades 11 - 12.
For
comparison purposes, we identified, for each participant, another
"comparison" student from among all those who completed the school
survey who were the same age, the same grade and who were the same
in terms of whether or not English was their first language and
whether or not they could read/write English easily. If more than
one "comparison" student was available, a student was randomly selected
from those who qualified as a "match". This procedure resulted in
a sample of 141 "participants" that we could compare with 141 "matched
nonparticipants" who did not participate at all but who came from
the same population.
Results
Comparisons(1)
of the responses of students who had participated in the Anti-Bullying
Forum (as cast or audience members) with those who had not participated
revealed that involvement in the Anti-Bullying Forum served to increase
awareness about bullying, harassment, and discrimination, especially
among males. This was evident in the higher reports of many different
forms of harassment by students who had participated in the theatre
event relative to those who had not participated at all.
Specifically,
both male and female students who participated in the Headlines
Theatre Forum admitted to significantly more bullying of others(2)
as well as more victimization (being bullied by others)(3).
Boys and students in younger (grade 8-9) and older (grade 11-12)
grades who participated in the Anti-Bullying Forum were more likely
to report increased levels of victimization than those who did not
participate. In addition, participants also reported significantly
more sexual harassment from boys than did non-participants(4).
Moreover, boys (but not girls) who participated in the Anti-Bullying
Forum reported being recipients of higher levels of racial discrimination(5)
than boys who did not. Given previous evidence(6)
that effective anti-bullying interventions often lead to initial
increases in reports of such behavior, these elevated levels of
reporting by participants most likely reflect their increased awareness
of the problem.
Did
greater awareness of harassment, bullying and discrimination lead
students to feel less safe at school? Although participation in
the Anti-Bullying Forum did not affect students' overall feelings
of safety at school(7), male (but not female) participants
expressed significantly greater concern or fear that they might
be "physically attacked by other students" and "physically hurt
by a group of other kids from school", as compared with students
who did not participate at all(8).
Participation
in Headlines Theatre was also associated with a slight increase
in reported reported willingness to help others who were being bullied,
especially among cast members as opposed to passive audience participants,
but this effect was small and non-significant. However, students
who participated in the Anti-Bullying Forum were significantly more
likely to feel that they "know what they can do to stop harassment"
than students who did not participate(9). This
effect was particularly evident for younger students, grades 8 through
10, rather than older students (grades 11-12). In addition, for
a composite measure reflecting student beliefs about how important
it is and how much it is their responsibility to stop harassment
and bullying, younger (grade 8-9) students who participated reported
more willingness to respond and be responsible than did students
who did not participate.
Participation
in the Anti-Bullying Forum did not seem to change student perceptions
of the climate of the school (i.e., how much they see the school
as a community in which they are respected and valued) nor the degree
to which they feel that they "matter" in school.
Finally,
students in grade 8-9 and 10 who participated in the Anti-Bullying
Forum were more aware of the fact that "most forms of harassment,
bullying and discrimination are actually criminal offenses", as
compared to grade mates who did not participate.
Overall,
the impact of the Headlines Theatre Anti-Bullying Forum, as reflected
in student responses to a survey about harassment completed just
two weeks after the theatre performances, was primarily evident
in increased student awareness of the problem, as reflected in higher
reports of such behavior by both self and others in multiple forms,
as well as greater awareness that such behaviors were often "criminal
offenses". In addition, although there was only a slight (but nonsignificant)
tendency for participants to provide more help to others who were
being harassed, participants were more likely to report that they
"knew what to do to stop harassment". Overall, effects were particularly
evident for boys, who often show less awareness of the problem generally.
Given that these data were collected only a short time after the
Headlines Theatre presentation, these effects are actually most
encouraging. In just a few short weeks, this unique theatre effort
planted seeds that have already begun to grow in the minds of those
students who participated. Over time, the increased awareness that
is evident among participants should continue to affect how students
think and behave, as students apply what they have learned to their
own real-life situations.
Thanks
to you and the Headlines Theatre staff for making this possible.
Sincerely,
Shelley
Hymel, Ph.D.
|
|
(1)
Initial comparisons were undertaken using degree of participation
(cast member versus "active" audience member, versus "passive" audience
member) as an independent variable, but there were minimal differences
as a function of degree of participation. As a result, the majority
of analyses were conducted using univariate and multivariate analyses
of variance, with three independent variables: participation vs.
nonparticipation, sex of respondent (female, male), and grade level
(younger grades 8-9, grade 10, and older grades 11-12) given that
the majority of participants were grade 10 students. Variations
observed as a function of degree of participation are noted if significant.
(2)
(1,267) = 4.77, p < .04 for a composite on reported physical, verbal
and social bullying
(3) (1,263) = 5.60, p < .02 for a composite
on reported physical, verbal and social victimization
(4) (1, 238) = 9.38, p < .01 for a composite
for reported sexual harassment received from male students
(5) (1, 263) = 6.53, p < .02 for a composite
for reported racial discrimination received
(6) e.g., D. Olweus (1993) Bullying
in schools: What we know and what we can do.
(7) Item: "I feel safe at school" Response
options: NO no some yes YES
(8) (1,267) = 3.78, p = .05 for
"physically attacked by other students"; (1, 267) = 3.95,
p< .05 for "physically hurt by a group of other students from school"
(9) (1,269) = 4.64, p< .05 for the item
" I know what I can do to stop harassment"
|
