Every child and young person has the right to a good education, going to school in a relaxed manner. It is increasingly common for children to be bullied, with all the consequences that entails. It can result in deviant behavior, taking it out on friends or parents, withdrawal, but also causing harm to oneself. In the Netherlands, almost a hundred thousand children are probably bullied, a small proportion of whom commit suicide. In Finland, the KiVa (short Finnish for: There is no bullying in this school) system has been developed, which helps children through an anti-bullying program. How does KiVa work against bullying and why does it produce particularly good results?
KiVa against bullying
- Reason for entering it
- How does the system work?
- The basics of the support group
- Additional lessons in the classroom
- What are the experiences so far?
- Results KiVa against bullying
Reason for entering it
It is becoming increasingly common in the news that yet another young child has taken his own life for the reason that he or she is being bullied, teased or beaten. Systematic bullying by groups of students causes the child to fear going to school, sleep poorly, perform less well or poorly and show a general disinterest in the environment. The symptoms can be compared to depression, but in a child. Being structurally humiliated and not feeling accepted ensures that the child’s self-esteem is diminished and there is no way out. In some cases it leads to suicide. How can KiVa at school help to prevent this?
How does the system work?
In Finland there has already been considerable experience in taking action if bullying occurs. This means that there is no finger tapping as usual, but there is talk and consultation within a reflection or support group. It includes several students, the bully and the bullied person. The aim is to reach understanding and insight through consultation and to get to know each other better. It ensures that the bully understands the position of the bullied child more, and cooperation is also entered into. This gives the bully a responsibility towards the bullied to protect him or her from others, as it were. This bond results in closer cooperation between the children, which can also increase overall solidarity.
The basics of the support group
As mentioned, both the bully and the bullied child are in the reflection group. In addition, a number of permanent young people are part of the group and are also partly the point of contact should any further schoolyard problems arise. The group is guided by a teacher specialized in KiVa guidance. However, it is the group that must come to a solution and make agreements under guidance. To put this into practice, young people are instructed in advance about how the support group works, how bullying problems can be addressed and how solutions can be found through the group.
Additional lessons in the classroom
It is necessary that the group knows what can be done. If every child knows what his or her rights are, they can quickly go to the reflection group. To this end, all students receive several to regular lessons on how to apply the method in concrete terms. It ensures that collective awareness of the problem is created, so that bullying can be tackled structurally. In addition, it ensures that other children intervene more quickly if a child is the victim of bullying. Just go to the support group so that the problems are concretely addressed and resolved.
What are the experiences so far?
It prevents the child from being completely alone. Rather, the child feels supported by the support group but also by the collective of other children. The bully shows abnormal behavior and is spoken to about it. By quickly and timely confronting the bully with the facts within the reflection group, something can be done about it. So the collective speaks, but no one is pushed into a corner. It is precisely the cooperation between the bully and the bullied that makes the program bear good fruit. It therefore appears that there is more understanding for each other and the two grow closer together. Other children also notice a collective improvement. It is not bullying that is rewarded anymore, but doing good and being kind to each other.
Results KiVa against bullying
There is also a degree of pride when one is allowed to participate in the basic support group. It gives a sense of responsibility. In addition, the bullied child’s confidence increases because he or she has an appointment with the old bully. If something happens, he or she also bears joint responsibility. So some protection comes from that. As opposed to punishing the bully, liability is created, which better protects the weaker child. In Finland it has already been shown that forty percent or more of all bullying cases are prevented, which means that the program is already applied in more than ninety percent of all schools. By introducing this on a large scale in the Netherlands, a lot of annoyance and harassment can be prevented, but the number of suicides will also decrease. Apply KiVa against bullying within primary and secondary school levels, so that there is more respect for each other and children or young people go to school in a pleasant way.
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