One School's Experience of Engaging with a Comprehensive Anti-Bullying Programme in the Irish Context: Adolescent and Teacher Perspectives

In this article, the authors report on the evaluation of an anti-bullying programme, the cool school programme (CSP), conducted in a secondary school in Ireland. The study explored how participation in the anti-bullying programme affected students and teachers in one second-level school. The programme focused on students' faith in the teachers' ability to deal with bullying effectively, their willingness and confidence in telling a teacher about bullying and whether they felt safe in school. Teacher confidence and behaviour with regard to bullying were also explored. The study found that 91 per cent of students felt that teachers took bullying seriously. Eighty-nine per cent thought that teachers knew how to deal with bullying and 75 per cent felt able to tell a teacher if they were bullied. Eighty-seven per cent said there was a better atmosphere in their class. Ninety-three per cent of students felt safe in school. Seventy-two per cent of teachers reported greater confidence in their ability to manage bullying and 84% reported increased vigilance. Ninety-four per cent thought that students felt safer in the school. Sixty-nine per cent said there was a better atmosphere in the school. Most felt that the programme was now part of the school culture (94%) and would continue in the school (97%). The authors acknowledge that relying on reported levels of bullying may not give a complete picture of the impact of an anti-bullying intervention. They argue that researchers may need to take into consideration teacher approachability, challenging the culture of silence, responding appropriately and ensuring student safety in school when evaluating programmes.