At present, innovative and comprehensive materials are being developed for the first two years of secondary education, enabling schools to start using them from the first week of the school year. The materials consist of thematic lessons delivered during mentoring sessions, divided across the five periods between holidays.
A grant from the NRO (Netherlands Initiative for Education Research) makes it possible to test, together with schools, the extent to which the program combats bullying by creating a positive group atmosphere during the period from 2019 to 2021.
The test is being conducted at four pilot schools. During the 2019–2020 school year, pilot schools will be the first to work with the program and will critically assess its design. This is an important step in further refining the teaching materials. It is customary in scientific research to conduct a pilot study to determine whether the program works in practice as planned. The researchers are therefore keen to receive feedback on the program and would like to work with teachers.
Program in brief
All activities within the program are carried out within five themes that begin after each holiday (after the summer holiday, autumn holiday, Christmas holiday, spring holiday, and May holiday). Themes include, for example, ‘interaction within the group’ and ‘diversity’.
For the time being, the program has been designed so that the mentor devotes two mentoring lessons (of 45–50 minutes) to each theme, using the supplied thematic lessons. In addition, during each period the mentor conducts two shorter thematic activities (approximately fifteen minutes each) with the mentoring class. Teachers are also provided with materials for these activities. They can choose between different lesson formats that suit them and their class.
In addition to the mentoring program, a predetermined department (for example, the ‘languages’ department) contributes to the theme once a year. The subject department does this by using cooperative learning methods that support the theme and are linked to the subject matter.
The researchers ask mentors and teachers at the pilot schools to keep track of critical feedback on the materials. Teachers share and discuss this feedback during four scheduled evaluation sessions per year. These group discussions last approximately one and a half hours each.
Training sessions
To ensure a good joint start (with the entire team for the first two years of secondary education) and to enable effective use of the supplied materials, the researchers have developed introductory training sessions in cooperation with experienced and qualified trainers:
Training day 1
On the first training day, participants learn what the program entails and teachers practice using the available materials. This training consists of two half-days. Half-day 1 is for the entire team involved with classes 1 and 2. The more in-depth half-day 2 is for mentors and subject-department coordinators.
Training days 2 and 3
During these training days (four hours each), the trainers explain how to analyze the reports from the student monitor and discuss possible activities that teachers can use in the classroom. This training consists of two separate training afternoons for mentors and subject-department coordinators. Training day 2 focuses on conversation skills and the support-group approach that the school can use in cases of bullying and other unpleasant situations in the classroom. Training day 3 focuses on the student monitor.
Student monitor
Students complete a questionnaire three times a year about social relationships and situations in the classroom. Completing the questionnaire takes approximately half an hour each time and results in a report in November and May that provides insight into the social relationships in each class (comparable to a sociogram), including bullying relationships.
For more information, click here.