Quest for the Golden Rule
Content
Computers & Education 56 (2011) 166– 166–175
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Quest for the Golden Rule: An effective social skills promotion and bullying prevention program Alice Rubin-Vaughan a , Debra Pepler b, Steven Brown c, Wendy Craig d ,
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a
Graduate Psychology Department, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M3J 1P3 York University and The Hospital for Sick Children, 555 University Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5G 1X8 c Practi-Quest Corp, Canada d Queen’ s University, 99 University Avenue, Kingston, Ontario, Canada K7L 3N6
b
a r t i c l e
i n f o
Article history: Received 28 April 2010 Received in revised form 4 August 2010 Accepted 9 August 2010 Keywords: Bullying prevention prevention Program evaluation evaluation E-learning Educational computer gaming Elementary school age
a b s t r a c t
Everyday many students face bullying situations that they are ill equipped to manage. E-learning has recently emerged as a potentially effective tool in teaching children social skills, in addition to academic subject matter. Quest for the Golden Rule is one of the rst bullying prevention e-learning programs –
available, designed the Practi-Quest Corporation, children in grades 2 assurance 5. The purpose of the current study was toby explore data collected as part of for standard program quality practices to evaluate the impact of the gaming modules on how much children learned through interacting with the modules. Sample sizes ranged from 226 to 438 depending on the module; with approximately equal numbers num bers of boys and girls. girls. Followin Following g thei theirr inte interact ractions ions with each module module,, chil children dren’s knowledge of bullying and their identication of strategies to prevent bullying improved signi cantly. The majority of children reported that they enjoyed the game and felt con dent that they could help solve bullying problems. Quest for the Golden Rule is an engaging, effective, and ef cient means of raising awareness, fostering positive attitudes, and promoting effective problem-solving for bullying prevention in schools. 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
Everyday many students face bullying situations that they are often ill equipped to manage. Bullying has repercussions, not only for children’s social and emotional well-being (e.g., Arseneault et al., 2006), 2006), but also for academic achievement and school absenteeism (e.g., 2004). ). Adults must support children in managing these Kshirsagar, Agarwal, & Bavdekar, 2007; Nansel et al., 2004; Ybarra & Mitchell, 2004 ’
situations, as they often require skills exceeding children s developmental capacities. Teachers and caregivers alike are charged with the responsibility of educating children in both academic and social domains. Although Canadian children are performing well on the international stage in terms of academics, ranking 3rd, 4th, and 7th out of 57 countries on science, reading, and mathematics, respectively (Bussiere, ( Bussiere, Knighton, & Pennock, 2007 2007), ), the same is not true in terms of children ’s social experiences at school. Based on responses to the World Health Organization –Health Behaviors in School Aged Children survey, Canadian girls ranke ranked d 26th an and d boys rank ranked ed 21st 21st out of 40 coun countries tries on mea measure suress of bull bullying ying and victimiza victimization, tion, resp respectiv ectively ely (Cra Craig ig et al. al.,, 2009 2009). Giv Given en the discrepancy between students’ academic and social experiences it is clear that we must focus on further supporting children ’s social development at school. There are several ways in which adults can support children individually and in the context of their peer groups. According to Pepler (2006),, adult (2006) adultss can provide suppo support rt to individual individual child children ren through scaffold scaffolding ing or coac coaching, hing, which child children ren require require to achie achieve ve skills beyond bey ond their their dev develo elopme pmenta ntall lev level. el. Sca Scaffo ffoldi lding ng is a cri critic tical al ele elemen mentt of bullyi bullying ng preve preventi ntion on ini initia tiativ tives es for childr children en who bully bully,, childr children en who ar are e victimized, and children who witness bullying (Pepler, ( Pepler, 2006). 2006). Scaffolding can be provided in innovative and engaging ways through educational gaming. The current study provides a preliminary evaluation of a pioneering suite of web-based bullying prevention games, called Quest for the Golden Rule: Bullying Prevention Software . These games are designed to engage children in bullying prevention exercises
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Corresponding Corresponding author. author. Tel.: þ 1 416 678 6661. E-mail addresses: [email protected] (A. [email protected] (A. Rubin-Vaughan), Rubin-Vaughan), [email protected] (D. [email protected] (D. Pepler), Pepler), [email protected] (S. [email protected] (S. Brown), Brown), [email protected] (W. [email protected] (W. Craig).
0360-1315/$ – see front matter 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 10.1016/j.compedu.2010.08.009 doi: doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2010.08.009
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through computer-based gaming modules, and are based on the principle of scaffolding through the provision of tailored and progressive support for each student. Although many students experience bullying and can benet from educati education on and support in addr addressin essing g these challenging challenging soci social al dynami dyn amics cs,, the there re is a sma small ll gro group up of childr children en (1 (10%) 0%) who rep report ortss co consi nsiste stentl ntly y hig high h levels levels of bullyi bullying ng over over tim time e and who req requir uire e more more intens intensive ive Jiang, ng, Cr Craig aig,, & Con Connol nolly ly,, 2008 2008). ). Bec Becaus ause e pub public lic sc schoo hools ls tend tend to suppo support rt inc includ luding ing pract practice ice and coach coaching ing to lea learn rn ess essent ential ial soc social ial ski skills lls (Pepler Pepler,, Jia be under-resourced, it is often beyond the capacity of classroom teachers to provide the intensive and unique learning opportunities that some students require. Quest for the Golden Rule may provide an alternative means to provide intensive support to students in school through individualized experiences, an opportunity not typically provided through traditional approaches to bullying prevention. Early prevention and intervention for bullying problems are crucial to support children in developing healthy academic, social, and emotional coping skills (e.g., Mitchell, Ybarra, & Finkelhor, 2007). 2007). In a comp comprehe rehensive nsive revie review w of thirty strin stringent gent studie studiess of bullying prevention programs, Tto programs, Tto and Farrington, (2009) demonstr (2009) demonstrated ated the effectiveness in reducing bu bullying llying and victimization by an average of 20–23%. There is modest evidence to support the effectiveness of bullying prevention programs for elementary school students (e.g., Craig, Pepler, & Shelley, 2004; Smokowski & Kopasz, 2005); 2005 ); however, in their meta-analysis, Tto meta-analysis, Tto and Farrington, (2009) found (2009) found that programs for chi childr ldren en old older er tha than n ele eleve ven n wer were e mor more e eff effect ective ive.. Becaus Because e of the imp import ortanc ance e of preve preventi ntion on and ear early ly interv intervent ention ion,, it is ess essent ential ial to inc incre rease ase the effectiveness of bullying programs for young children to support them before early adolescence, which is a developmental period of increased risk for bullying (Pellegrini (Pellegrini & Bartini, 2001; Pepler, Jiang, Craig, & Connolly, 2008 ). Quest for the Golden Rule was designed to incorporate many of the effective characteristics of established bullying prevention programs (as reco recommend mmended ed by Tto & Far Farringto rington, n, 2009 2009). ). In add additio ition n to the pri primar mary y ele elemen ments, ts, Quest for the G Golden olden Rule pro provides vides an enhan enhanced ced learni learning ng experience through the use of interactive gaming technology, which is individualized, accessible, and attractive for younger children. Few computer-based bullying prevention programs have been developed for students in elementary school. An objective of the current study wa wass to provi provide de preli prelimin minary ary data data reg regar ardin ding g the eff effect ective ivenes nesss of int intera eracti ctive ve bullyin bullying g preve preventi ntion on softw software are des design igned ed to inc incre rease ase kno knowle wledg dge e and change attitudes. 2. Why use educa educationa tionall gaming?
The The issu issue e of “play” may be par partic ticula ularly rly sal salien ientt in wo work rk wit with h childr children en and pre-a pre-ado doles lescen cents. ts. At thi thiss dev develo elopme pmenta ntall sta stage, ge, the imp import ortanc ance e of play in facilitating learning has long been recognized. Vygotsky (1978) (1978) posited posited that play creates the opportunity for children to experiment with acting more maturely than their developmental stages, thus creating a “zone for proximal development ”. Children’s social development can be fostered through play and experimentation with new social skills. Despite recognition of the importance of play in teaching children, there is a dearth of software programs that are acceptable to both children (as being fun and engaging) and adults (as providing “serious” education) (De Jenson, n, 2003). 2003 ). (De Castell & Jenso 3. Learni Learning ng and educati educational onal gaming
Active learning, metacognition, and transfer of knowledge have been identi ed as crucial components of learning (Huffaker ( Huffaker & Calvert, 2003;; Shih, Feng, & Tsai, 2008 2003 2008). ). Huffaker Huffaker and Calvert (2003) (2003) reviewed reviewed the literature and concluded that e-learning may support the critical component comp onentss of learn learning ing thro through: ugh: 1. child children ren’s mo motiv tivati ation on to eng engage age in the learni learning ng pro proce cess; ss; 2. self-d self-dire irecti ction on suc such h tha thatt childr children en learn learn to pla plan n and monitor their learning; and 3. collaborative activities and entertainment features that encourage the application of learning to situations outside the classroom. Educational gaming programs capitalize on experiential learning by actively engaging students with the computer program. Recently, researchers have begun to address the gap in the literature regarding whether elementary and secondary school students fare better in educational gaming environments versus traditional or combined programs. Much of this research has focused on secondary school students with mixed results regarding whether the students learned more from a traditional versus combined curriculum (Annetta, ( Annetta, Minogue, Holmes, & Cheng, 2009; Chandra & Lloyd, 2008). 2008 ). Only engagement and motiv motivation ation were consiste consistently ntly found to be higher with the inclusion of educational gaming experiences. Research on elementary school students ’ acquisition of sun safety knowledge revealed that learning was heightened, for younger students, by a combination of traditional teacher presentations and computer programs compar compared ed to traditional presentations. In comparison, there was no difference between combined and traditional programs for older students ( Buller et al., 2008). 2008). Given that the development of language skills is an essential task for early elementary school students, the presentation of 2008). ). learning materials through both traditional and audiovisual and graphic means may augment the learning process ( Buller et al., 2008 4. Bully Bullying ing preventio prevention n through education educational al gaming
The detrimental consequences for those involved in bullying, as the child who bullies, the child who is victimized, or children who witness bullying incidents provide the impetus for the development of bullying prevention programming through educational gaming. Although overall, traditional bullying prevention programs have been found to be effective, there is considerable variability in the results, particularly for younger students (Baldry ( Baldry & Farrington, 2007; Tto & Farrington, 2009). 2009). Early prevention is critical because of the potential during early childhood to build skills at a developmental stage during which students tend to be more accepting of adult-directed curriculum, more willing to talk to adults about bullying, and have more trust that adults are able to help with bullying problems ( Craig, Pepler, & Blais, 2007; Rigby, 2002). 2002). Educational gaming may be one new direction to pursue in bolstering the effectiveness of bullying prevention programs for young children. There Elementary are several areas social skills and bullying prevention that are ripe for education geared forincluding: younger t from learning children. schoolofstudents benepromotion a variety of skills that are readily reinforced byprograms teachers at school, 1. empathy, 2. emotional and behavioral regulation (e.g., recognize emotions, stop to regulate emotions through strategies like counting or deep breathing), 3. coping with feelings of sadness or anxiety, 4. social skills (e.g., joining group of peers, turn taking, getting positive attention), 5. positive leadership skills – to engage power dynamics positively, 6. alternative problem-solving, and 7. withstanding peer
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2007). ). Skill-building computer games have been pressure (awareness, stop and think, explore responses to peers) (Vaughan ( Vaughan & Pepler, 2007 developed to achieve both bullying and more general violence prevention goals for elementary and secondary school students. Specic educational lessons are required in considering bullying, which represent a unique social problem involving challenging dynamics and a pattern of behavior that signify a power imbalance in the relationship with multiple players in different roles ( Olweus, 1993). 1993 ). The current review yielded only two published articles with data regarding bullying prevention programs including multimedia components. McLaugh components. McLaughlin, lin, Laux, and Pesc Pescaraara-Kov Kovach ach (2006) (2006) designed designed a uniq unique ue experimental experimental study to explore the impac impactt of addin adding g multimedia interventions (CD-ROM with relaxation exercises and a quiz show) to the traditional counselor/teacher bullying prevention program for grade three children. The ndings suggested that the interventions were effective in signicantly reducing bullying and victimizatio victim ization; n; how however ever,, were inconcl inconclusiv usive e regar regarding ding whether the degre degree e of chang change e was related to the addit addition ion of the multi multimedia media 2006). ). Although multimedia programming was used, the format failed to meet the components (McLaughlin, (McLaughlin, Laux, & Pescara-Kovach, 2006 recommendations of Huffaker of Huffaker and Calvert (2003) in terms of how e-learning may facilitate the educational process. The multimedia component was not animated nor was it interactive or self-directed, therefore, it may not have led to increased motivation for students to engage in the learning process. FearNot! (Fun with Empathetic Agents to Reach out Novel Outcomes in Teaching) is a virtual role playing bullying prevention program (Hall, Woods, Hall, & Wolke, 2007). 2007). The FearNot! Program, developed for students aged 8–12, focuses on helping children to develop a deeper understanding understanding of bullying issues and coping sstrategies, trategies, thr through ough their ability to empathize with the virtual ccharacters haracters and act as an Students were found to benet from this program, such that FearNot! invisible friend to a child who was victimized (Paiva ( Paiva et al., 2005). 2005). Students signicantly increased the likelihood that students reporting victimization at baseline would escape victimization by the rst follow-up assessment asses sment compar compared ed to the contr control ol grou group, p, particula particularly rly those who interact interacted ed more with the chara character cterss (Sapoun Sapouna a et al. al.,, in pr press ess). ). Furthermore, greater levels of empathy and story comprehension occurred when animated characters were of the same gender as the 2007). ). Evaluation of the FearNot! program provides participan parti cipant, t, particu particularly larly for boys (Paiva et al., 2005; Woods, Hall, Dautenhahn, & Wolke, 2007 evidence for the utility of educational gaming in addressing bullying, though it does not extend our understanding of the contribution of educational gaming over the traditional bullying prevention approach. Based on the immense success of the gaming industry and the clear appeal that gaming holds for children, the use of gaming may facilitate engagement with educational content. Children are tech-savvy, with 94% having access to computers with the Internet at home. Furthermore, online games are a favorite pastime for younger children – particularly among grade four students, 89% of whom report playing games online (ERIN (ERIN Research & Wings, 2005). 2005). Despite the prominent societal role of technology in education, recreation, and business, and the subsequent opportunity to explore the utility of e-learning for intervening in serious social problems such as bullying, innovation into bullying prevention gaming has been slow to emerge. Although there is a relative dearth of research, emerging evidence from social skills promotion and bullying prevention programs using interactive computer software provides support for the potential eff effect ective ivenes nesss of an edu educat cation ional al gam gaming ing app appro roach ach in te teach aching ing stu studen dents ts soc social ial skills skills and cop coping ing str strate ategie giess to man manage age bullyi bullying ng sit situat uation ions. s. In the present study, we expected that Quest for the Golden Rule would be effective in teaching children bullying prevention messages. 5. Progr Program am descrip description: tion: QUEST for the Golden Rule
The current current stud study y pro provides vides a prel prelimina iminary ry evalu evaluation ation of a new set of innov innovative ative pr prevent evention ion and inter intervent vention ion tools desig designed ned by the PractiPracti), in consultation with leading researchers in the area of bullying from PREVNet (Promoting Quest Corporation (www.practiquest.com (www.practiquest.com), Relationships and Eliminating Violence Network). Quest for the Golden Rule uses principles of effective bullying prevention, translated into a modality of particular interest for children and youth – interactive, animated web-based web-based games. The games are designed in such a way as to encourage experiential learning within a virtual and interactive format, facilitated through a safe and private virtual environment free of peer pressure. Children interact individually with animated characters in virtual role-plays, which provide them with the opportunity to learn and practice social skills and try out different strategies to cope with bullying. Students are unable to move on from a social problemsolving situation until they are able to provide a prosocial solution, ensuring that children are supported supported in learning skills that they may be lacking. Quest for the Golden Rule provides a solution to the typical problems of providing bullying prevention education within traditional classroom settings in which teachers are often overwhelmed, resources are not available to identify students who may need additional support, supp ort, or teac teachers hers lack the time to pro provide vide the inten intensive sive coac coaching hing and prac practice tice req require uired d by some stud students. ents. Comp Companion anion guide guidess for teac teachers hers accompany the software and include targeted curriculum and follow-up activities. Students are encouraged to participate in additional act activi ivitie tiess at hom home. e. Thr Three ee mo modul dules es hav have e bee been n des design igned ed for stu stude dents nts in grade gradess two to ve each addressin addressing g a differen differentt topi topicc related to bullyi bullying ng prevention. 5.1. 5.1. Bark Academy
This module provides an introduction to social justice, safety and fairness in school, introduces bullying and depicts three forms of bullying behavior (social, verbal, and physical). Students are invited to attend Bark Academy, a dog school where bullying manifests itself in a variety of unfair behaviors, where they help solve cases of bullying by using the concept of The Golden Rule. Captain Fairness, a super-dog super-dog who helps address bullying and creates fair environments for kids, assists students as they work through the module. In the rst case, Farid, a much bigger and stronger student, is bullying Kate and Kerri. Upon closer investigation, students learn that Farid is upset at being disrespected and excluded from play by Kerri and Kate. The students must help Kerri and Kate realize they were participating in social bullying and help Farid discover more appropriate ways to respond when he feels left out. In the second case, Jermaine is physically bullying Hershey while a number bystanders andbystanders laugh. Jermaine is also how verbally Hershey by making comments about his weight. The students mustof help Jermainewatch and the understand theybullying contributed to the bullying situation and explain the importance of following The Golden Rule. The module ends as the bystanders are confronted with their roles in the bullying situation. Stu Students dents are left to question what impact the bystanders have in Hershey’s case and are encouraged encouraged to return return for part two of Bark Aca Academ demy y to nd out what the bystan bystander derss should should have have done differ differentl ently. y. In the nal case, Bobby
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participates in social and cyber-bullying by threatening to send an email to the entire school that teases Yong about his ugly coat. The students must help Bobby realize that he should not send the email by using the concept of The Golden Rule. Moreover, the students help Yong learn that reporting bullying is not tattling. 5.2. Miss Mission ion to Mar Marss
This module teaches students about the social skills involved in making friends. The role-play begins as the students, as space cadets, travel to Mars to be interviewed by a group of astronauts called the “eXplorers”. If the students impress the eXplorer astronauts, Wynona, Adam and Jessie, with qualities such as kindness, and respect, they are invited to become the newest eXplorer and walk on Mars. Once the students arrive on Mars, they are introduced to Lionel, an assistant whom the students must mentor. Lionel and the students build a space helmett toge helme together ther.. Before being inter interview viewed ed by the eXplor eXplorers ers the studen students ts watc watch h Reggie, anoth another er candi candidate date,, complet complete e his inter interview view.. Reggie is unsuccess unsucc essful ful in bec becomi oming ng an eXp eXplor lorer er bec becaus ause e he tries tries to imp impre ress ss Wyn Wynona ona,, Ada Adam m and Jessie Jessie wit with h his tal talent entss rather rather tha than n listen listening ing and ask asking ing questions about the eXplorers. The eXplorers decide his self-centeredness could be dangerous on Mars. The eXplorers then interview the stu studen dents,and ts,and whe when n the corre correct ct optio options ns are are cho chosen sen,, the they y areinvit areinvited ed to bec becomethe omethe new newesteXplo esteXplore rer.Durin r.During g the inte intervi rview ew Lionel Lionel interr interrupt uptss to show how well he can blow bubbles. He accidentally drops a pile of bubble gum on one of the eXplorer ’s desks. The students must treat Lio Lionel nel wit with h kin kindne dness ss dur during ing this this incide incident nt in ord order er to win the res respe pect ct of the eXp eXplor lorer er team. team. Imm Immedi ediate ately ly afte afterr bec becomi oming ng an eXp eXplor lorer er,, stu studen dents ts are are give given n th the e ta task sk of re resc scui uing ng Re Regg ggie ie,, wh who o had had deci decide ded d to expl explor ore e Ma Mars rs on his his own own and and fell fell in into to a gi gian antt hole hole.. On Once ce th the e stud studen ents ts de deci cide de to us use e the help help of the eXp eXplor lorer er tea team m to save save Reggi Reggie, e, the tea team m the then n wor works ks to toget gether her to explo explore re a str strang ange e golde golden n ligh lightt see seen n on the pla planet net.. The stu studen dents ts and the team discover this light to be The Golden Rule. 5.3. Ghou Ghoull Schoo Schooll
This module addresses the important issue of how to respond when faced with bullying situations and empowers students to safely refuse and report bullying. In this module there is ample opportunity for students to explore, discuss, and practice appropriate and inappropriate responses to bullying. Students are taught three important strategies for responding to bullying: “ Lead with Respect”, “ Let an Adult Adu lt Help” and “Leav Leave e with Res Respect pect”. St Stude udents nts are als also o tau taught ght to mon monito itorr the their ir dec decisi isions ons to det determ ermine ine whe whethe therr the their ir action actionss mak make e bullyi bullying ng problems bigger or smaller. In the sec secondpart ondpart of Gho Ghoul ul Sch School ool,, stu stude dents nts are int introd roduc uced ed to Mo Mouse usey y. Mou Mouseyis seyis a two two-h -head eaded ed monste monsterr tha thatt enjoy enjoyss telling telling silly silly jokes.He jokes.He is often bullied bullied by Molna Molnar. r. Mo Mousey usey has trou trouble ble stayi staying ng calm and the stude students nts must rst help help Mous Mousey ey becom become e calm b befor efore e he can resp respond ond to the bullying. As Mousey calms down, the bullying nearly stops and Mousey is free to respond to his situation by either leading through assertiveness, letting an adult help, or leaving. The students help the monsters decide to incorporate The Golden Rule into their own lives, and in the end, they all seek out new professions where they are accepted for who they are. 6. Curren Currentt stud study y
Three key research questions were explored in this study, with corresponding hypotheses. 1. Were there any signicant gender or grade differences in the children’s initial levels of knowledge demonstrated in the Bark Academy, Mission to Mars, and Ghoul School modules? expected ed that boys and girls would have similar levels of knowledge but that average knowledge of bullying would increase with We expect each grade. 2. Did children’s knowledge of how to cope with bullying improve signi cantly following interaction with the Bark Academy, Mission to Mars, and Ghoul School and was this related to gender or grade? expecte ected d that students students woul would d demo demonstr nstrate ate signican cantt kno knowle wledge dge gains gains follow following ing int intera eract ction ion wit with h the gam games, es, and that that the deg degree ree We exp of learning would be related to gender and grade. 3. Did children enjoy the Bark Academy, Mission to Mars, and Ghoul School modules? We expected that the majority of children would favorably rate their subjective enjoyment of the software.
7. Method Quest Que st for the Gol Golden den Rule Rule was inve investigat stigated ed indep independe endently ntly of Prac Practi-Qu ti-Quest est by PREVNet PREVNet res research earchers. ers. The curr current ent stud study y represent representss a preliminary investigation with plans for subsequent formal evaluation in the upcoming years. 7.1. 7.1. Participants
The participant pool constituted children who received this interactive computer programming in fall 2008 and winter 2009. Although Quest for the Golden Rule was designed for children in grades two to ve, grade six students were also included in this study. Several sixth grade teachers in schools that were adopting the modules were interested in having their classes participate, thus it was left to their discretion to determine if the modules were developmentally appropriate for their students. Schools at arms-length from the software developers were targeted forboard r the sale of the so software. ftware. Sc Schools hools we were re to participate in preliminary tes testing ting of these m modules odules thr through ough the endorsement of schoolfo representatives or willingness ofrecruited the principal to adopt this new form of bullying prevention programming. min g. The mod module uless wer were e off offere ered d freely freely in a small small porti portion on of sch school ools, s, wit with h the rrema emainin ining g sc schoo hools ls having having purc purchas hased, ed, for a sma small ll fee, fee, the rrigh ights ts to use the software in their classrooms as part of their educational curriculum. Access to the program was provided to each student individually – with teachers having online access, enabling them to log in to see how their students were doing.
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Although Altho ugh data abou aboutt ethni ethnicity city were not collecte collected d syst systemat ematically ically,, the scho schools ols from which data were collec collected ted represe represented nted a large Canadian urban centre, populated by cultural, religious and ethnically diverse groups. Because students often only completed one module, we had different participants and sample sizes for each game. The number of students who completed each module was 307 for Bark Academy, 226 226 for for Mis Missio sion n to Mar Marss, and and 438 438 for for Ghou Ghoull Schoo Schooll. The break breakdow down n of par partic ticipa ipants nts with with data data at prepre- and postpost-mod module ule by gen genderand derand grade follows in Table in Table 1. 1. 7.2. Meas Measures ures
Practi-quest Practi-que st staff and PREVNet researchers worked collaboratively to develop questions to address the specic knowledge and attitudes related to the skills taught within each mod module. ule. Children were asked tto o respond to the questions fo forr each module prior to, and immediately following, their use of the module. For the majority majority of questions, questions, the response options were based on a ve-point Likert scale (ranging from “1 – strongly disagree” to “5 – stro strongly ngly agree”). Bec Becaus ause e the Bark Academ Academy y and Ghou Ghoull Schoo Schooll mod module uless wer were e found found to be toolong forchild forchildrento rento complete in one class session, they were broken into two sections that could be completed at different times. For these two modules, the questions were similarly divided into two sections depending on the information contained in each section. For the purpose of the current stu study dy,, only stu studen dents ts who compl complete eted d bot both h sec sectio tions ns of a mod module ule wer were e inc includ luded ed in the ana analys lyses es to und unders erstan tand d what what stu studen dents ts lea learne rned d from the full module. To assess engagement with each of the modules, students were asked at the end of each module to rate their agreement with the statement “This computer game was fun” on a ve-point Likert scale. 7.2.1. The Bark Academ 7.2.1. Academy y Commensurate with topic areas covered by the modules, the Bark Academy –Fairness Scale (BA: Fairness Scale) questions addressed attitudes about fairness and social justice and about bullying and coping strategies. The fairness and social justice items include ratings on statements such as: I should always be fair even to people who I do not like; I am willing to work harder to make my school fair for everybody; and I believe there is never an excuse to bully another person. The attitudes about bullying and coping strategies items include ratings on statements such as: Watching other students bully someone is always taking part; If I see someone getting bullied I would keep aski asking ng mo more re adul adults ts fo forr help help until until the the prob proble lem m is solv solved ed;; and and If I am beingbull beingbullie ied d I wi will ll alwa always ys ask ask an adul adultt to keep keep me safe safe.. Seve Seven n item itemss we were re combined to make a scale, labeled the BA: Fairness Scale; however, the reliability was best when one statement was removed (It is always
tattle-telling to tellthe an question adult if someone being question was reversewere coded so that higher scoresnegatively re ected atomore positive response, still mayisnot havebullied). t withAlthough the otherthis items because students more likely to respond this quest question ion tha than n the oth others ers.. With With the rem remain aining ing six items items (ma (maxim ximum um sca scale le to total tal of 30) the intern internal al con consis sisten tency cy wa wass sti still ll low low,, but ade adequ quate ate,, wit with h the Cronbach’s alphas being .55 and .68 at pre- and post-module, respectively. 7.2.2. The Missi 7.2.2. Mission on to Mars Friendliness Scale (MM: Friendliness Scale) questions addressed attitudes and knowledge about respectful treatment of friends and peers, and strategies to stay safe from bullying. Eleven items rated on a ve-point Likert scale were combined to make a total score for the MM: Friendliness Scale and included the following items about friendship: If a student is mean to me I should be mean back to them; If a student won’t talk to me it means they don ’t like me; I would like to learn how to be more respectful and friendly; I should learn to compliment others more often; I always deserve to be treated with respect and friendliness; I have thought about joining a new group of friends soon; I have thought about inviting a new person to join my group of friends; I will always treat someone with friendliness even if I don’t like him/her; The best way to stay safe from bullying is staying near good friends; and I feel comfortable making new friends. The reliability was best when one statement was removed (My friends could be more friendly and respectful to me). This item may not have t with the other items because students were more likely to respond negatively. The ten remaining items from this module were combined into a scale (maximum scale total of 50), found to have good internal consistency, with Cronbach’s alphas of .70 and .72 for pre- and postmodule scales, respectively respectively.. 7.2.3. The Ghou 7.2.3. Ghoull School Ghoul School was assessed using ques questions tions in several domains including children’s knowledge knowledge of how to ident identify ify bullyin bullying g and strat strategies egies to respond when faced with bullying situations, including safely refusing and reporting bullying. Fifteen items, each rated on a ve-point Likert scale were combined to make the Ghou Ghoull School: A Attitudes ttitudes Scale (GS: Attitud Attitudes es Scale), with a maximum sc scale ale total of 75. Items on this scale capture the attitudes of students toward their right to be treated respectfully, and strategies they might use in the face of bullying situations situ ations an and d includ included ed stat statemen ements ts such as as:: When bei being ng bullie bullied, d, the mos mostt impo important rtant thi thing ng for me to do is to make the pro problem blem sma smaller; ller; My
Table 1 Number and Percentage of Participants for each Module, by Gender and Grade.
Variable
Gender Girls Boys Grade 2 3 4 5 6
Number and Percentage of Participants Bark Academy
Mission to Mars
Ghoul School
142 (46.4%) 165 (53.6%)
113 (50.0%) 113 (50.0%)
220 (50.3%) 218 (49.7%)
37 0 ((1 98 .6.5 %% )) 5 108 (35.3%) 108 (35.3%) 4 (1.4%)
1 ((0 .5.% )) 49 21 5% 76 (33.6%) 99 (43.9%) 1 (0.5%)
26 5 ((2 51 .7.8 %% )) 9 144 (32.8%) 148 (33.9%) 25 (5.7%)
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171 171
friends should always treat me with respect and fairness; My friends always treat me with respect and fairness; I am a unique and special person; I would let an adult help me if a bullying problem is too big for me to handle on my own or if I feel unsafe; I think that respectful, calm people are less likely to be bullied; Showing that I am upset will make the bullying worse; I can avoid being bullied if I stay in a safe pla place ce or sta stay y nea nearr res respe pectf ctful ul fri friend ends; s; I can mak make e bullyi bullying ng probl problems ems smalle smaller; r; I wou would ld like like to pra practi ctice ce sta stayin ying g cal calm m whe when n being being bullie bullied; d; I wo would uld like to practice ways to respectfully say no to bullying; I have the right to always be safe; To leave with respect I should make eye contact then calmly calmly and pro proudly udly say I don’t accept being bullied and leave; Acting weak will always make the bullying worse; and Being aggressive will always make the bullying worse. This scale was found to have good internal consistency, with Cronbach ’s alphas of .88 and .91 for preand post-module scales, respectively. The Ghoul School: Strategies Scale (GS: Strategies Scale), which assessed strategies to prevent and cope with physical victimization, was based on the number of strategies endorsed through discrete responses ( “yes” or “no”) of students to the item “If someone has unfairly shoved me many many times this week, and just shoved me again, I will.”. Students were required to select all the ccorrect orrect ans answers wers given the ten possible options including: make myself calm before I do anything, push them back to show them that I am not afraid, ignore the pushing and quietly wait wait for the problem tto o go aw away, ay, if I feel u upset pset not show that I am upset, make sure I stay safe and even run away if that’s what’s needed, leave with respect, let and adult help if I can ’t x the problem alone, stand tall, shoulders back and use a calm clear voice while I make eye contact, calmly and proudly say I don ’t accept being bullied, or leave before the problem becomes bigger. The Ghoul School Preve Preventi ntion on sca scale le had a max maximu imum m sca scale le to total tal of ten ite items ms end endors orsed, ed, and was found found to hav have e go good od intern internal al con consis sisten tency cy wit with h Cronb Cronbach ach’s alp alphas has of .89 and .91 for pre- and post-module scales, respectively. Students ’ recognition of four key bullying prevention strategies were assessed through their responses to Item 9, “To make a bullying problem smaller, I can.”. The potential responses students could select, given the instruction to select all that apply, included: leave with respect by maintaining my own resp respect ect and respec respectt for others, be with others who trea treatt me with respect, let a tru trusted sted adult help, lead w with ith respect, and say that bullying is not cool. Finally, students ’ identication of elements of the bullying denition was evaluat evaluated ed through their responses to Item 10, “Veronica and Ibolya always point and laugh when Ivan gets on the school bus. How do we know if Ivan is being bullied?” Students were instructed to select all of the correct answers out of three options: it ’s not fair to Ivan, it keeps happening, and it hurts Ivan. Because these two items were comprised of a small number of discrete responses, with maximum scale totals of four and three, respectively, they were explored descriptively. 7.3. Proc Procedure edure
Practiquest software was adopted by whole schools, or classrooms within a school, to be used as part of the educational curriculum. Students within each classroom were assigned usernames and passwords to access the modules. Although the program was delivered at schoo sch ool, l, som some e stu studen dents ts too took k hom home e the their ir pas passwo sword rdss and lat later er acc access essed ed the games games and conti continue nued d to pla play y fro from m the their ir hom home e compu computer ters. s. As par partt of participation in this program Practiquest collected data for program research and development as well as for quality control. Data from every student who used the program were accessible to the program developers and these data were used in the current study. 8. Res Result ultss 8.1. 8.1. Data Screening
From the descriptive statistics, it was clear that before and after the games most children responded in a manner re ecting ample understanding of the denition of bullying, and with knowledge of some skills required to cope with bullying situations (see Table 2 for 2 for descriptive statistics). On average, before using the modules students “ agreed” with prosocial attitudes and knowledge on items contained within the BA: Fairness Scale, MM: Friendliness Scale, and GS: Attitudes and Strategies Scales. Children had some understanding of the denition of bullying, correctly identifying 1.8 of 3 elements of the denition. They were also able to identify, on average, 5.5 out of 10 strategies to cope with physical bullying and 2.4 out of 4 strategies to address bullying problems. Diagnostics were completed to explore each variable prior to statistical analyses. On the BA: Fairness Scale and GS: Attitudes and Strategies Scales, square root and natural log transformations were used due to concerns regarding violations of normality and equal variances. Analyses were run with and without these transformations. Because no substantive differences emerged for these scales, and giv given en tha thatt ANO ANOVA VA is rob robus ustt des despit pite e vio violati lationsof onsof the ass assum umpti ption on of equalvaria equalvariance ncess (pa (parti rticul cularl arly y giv given en rou roughl ghly y equal equal num number berss in eac each h gro group up), ), we decided to use to the original variables. To control for type 1 error, given the number of analyses conducted, we used a Bonferroni correction with a criterion of p p < .01. 8.2. Wer Weree there gender or grade differenc differences es in child children ren’ s initial levels of knowledge and attitudes? 8.2.1. 8.2.1. Bark Academy No signicant gender differences were found in knowledge on the BA: Fairness Scale prior to using the module, t (346) (346) ¼ .61, p ¼ .545. There were signicant grade differences on pre-module scores F ((4) 4) ¼ 4.39, p ¼ .002. Post hoc tests revealed that our hypothesis that Table 2 Descriptive Statistics: Means, Standard Deviations, and 95% Con dence Intervals. Intervals.
Variables
Pre Mean (SD) Condence Interval
Post Mean (SD) Condence Interval
BA: Fairness Scale ( n ¼ 307) MM: Friendliness Scale (n ¼ 226) GS: Attitudes Scale ( n ¼ 438) GS: Strategies Scale ( n ¼ 438)
26.32 (3.04) (26.00, 26.64) 40.37 (5.61) (49.62, 41.13) 63.70 (8.82) (62.88, 64.53) 5.66 (3.33) (5.34, 5.97)
26.88 (3.30) 42.20 (5.56) 66.24 (9.03) 6.04 (3.47)
(26.51, 27.25) (41.45, 42.95) (65.40, 67.09) (5.72, 6.34)
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Table 3 Descriptive Statistics for Pre Data Across Grade Level: Mean (Standard Deviation).
Grade 2 3 4 5 6 a
BA: Fairness Scale
MM: Friendliness Scale
GS: Attitudes Scale
GS: Strategies Scale
10.92 (4.25) 9.01 (2.51) 10.21 (3.24) 9.17 (2.77) 11.33 (3.55)
30.00 (n/a)a 18.57 (7.58) 19.90 (5.35) 19.87 (4.52) 15.00 (n/a) a
27.80 (12.34) 26.38 (9.99) 27.52 (8.46) 24.38 (6.78) 28.00 (10.15)
4.05 (3.46) 5.03 (3.63) 5.65 (3.21) 6.55 (2.97) 4.60 (3.91)
Standard deviation was not applicable because there was only one participant in the group.
knowledge would be greater among student in higher grades was only partially supported. Grade six students scored signi cantly higher than students in grades three and ve but there were no other signicant differences among grades (see Table (see Table 3 for 3 for descriptive statistics by grade). 8.2.2. Miss 8.2.2. Mission ion to Mar Marss No signicant gender or grade differences were found in knowledge on the MM: Friendliness Scale prior to using the module, t (212) ¼ .93, p ¼ .356 and F ((4) 4) ¼ 1.54, p ¼ .192, respectively. 8.2.3. Gho 8.2.3. Ghoul ul Schoo Schooll Across both GS: Attitudes and GS: Strategies Scales there were statistically signi cant gender differences suc such h that the girls’ pre-module knowle kno wledg dge e wa wass gre greate aterr tha than n that that of the boys, boys, t (436) ¼ 2.23, p ¼ .02 .026 6 and t (436) ¼ 3.17, p ¼ .002 resp respectiv ectively ely.. Each scale show showed ed signicant grade differences, F (3) (3) ¼ 3.76, p ¼ .011 and F (3) (3) ¼ 7.92, p < .000, respectively. Post hoc tests revealed that although grade ve students had the lowest average GS: Attitudes Attitudes Scale score, they were only signicantly lower than students in grade four. Conversely Conversely,, grade ve students sco scored red hig highes hestt on tthe he GS: Str Strate ategie giess Sca Scale le and the mea mean n sco score re was signi signican cantly tly h high igher er tha than n for stu stude dents nts in grades grades two and thr three. ee. Gra Grade de four four students, likewise, had the second highest mean score and were trending in the direction of knowing signi cantly more strategies to
3 descriptive statistics by grade). Our hypothesis that knowledge increased prevent bullying than students in was grade (see Table 3 for corresponding to advancing grade nottwo supported for the GS: Attitudes Scale but was somewhat supported for the GS: Strategies Scale, suggesting that knowledge of bullying prevention strategies increased with development. 8.3. Were tthere here impro improvements vements in child children ren’ s knowledge following interaction with each of the modules, and was this related to gender or grade? 8.3.1. Bark Academy 8.3.1. On the BA: Fairness Scale, a signi cant time by gender interaction was found, F (1, 307) ¼ 4.29, p ¼ .039. Effect size was estimated by partial h 2 ¼ .014 with observed power ¼ .542. Girls’ knowledge improved signi cantly more than boys’ knowledge (see Fig. (see Fig. 1). 1). Grade was included as a covariate in this analysis but was not signi cant, F (1, (1, 307) ¼ .20, p ¼ .657. 8.3.2. Miss 8.3.2. Mission ion to Mar Marss The MM: Friendliness Scale revealed a signi cant main effect of time, F (1, 214) ¼ 32.37, p ¼ .000. Effect size was estimate estimated d by partial 2 (1, 214) ¼ .031, p ¼ .861 .861,, the bullying knowledge h ¼ .132 with observed power ¼ 1.000. Because there was no time by gender interaction, F (1, of boys and girls improved similarly through this module (see Fig. 2 2). ). Grade was not included as a covariate because no signi cant differences were found between grades in the pre-module scores. 8.3.3. Ghou 8.3.3. Ghoull School Trends were identied for both the GS: Attitudes Scale and GS: Strategies Scales, in terms of a main effect of time, F (1, 430) ¼ 3.01, p ¼ .084 and F (1, (1, 430) ¼ 2.76, p ¼ .097, respectively. Effect size was estimated by partial h 2 ¼ .007 with observed power ¼ .409, and partial 2 h ¼ .006 observed power ¼ .383, respectively. No time by gender interactions, F (1, 430) ¼ .09, p ¼ .763 and F (1, 430) ¼ 1.79, p ¼ .193,
Fig. 1. BA: Fairness Scale changes in knowledge from pre to post-module.
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173 173
Fig. 2. MM: Friendliness Scale changes in knowledge from pre to post-module.
respectively, nor covariate effects of grade emerged. These trends are suggestive that students’ attitudes towards empowerment and knowledge of bullying prevention strategies improved after interacting with the module. The additional items were explored using z -test -test of proportions. Knowledge of four strategies students could use to make bullying probl problems ems sma smalle llerr was mea measur sured ed in the Ghou Ghoull Scho School ol mod module ule.. Chi Childr ldren en we were re able able to ide identi ntify fy sig signi nicantl cantly y more bully bullying ing prev preventio ention n strat strategies egies after the mo module, dule, comp compared ared tto o befor before e ( z ¼ 6.45) 6.45).. After us using ing the mod module, ule, 3 315 15 (7 (71 1.9%) of the chi childre ldren n were were able to ident identify ify at least 3 out of 4 strategies compared to 222 (50.7%) before. Children’s knowledge of the elements of the bullying de nition was also m measured easured in the Ghoul School module. Children were able to identify signi cantly more elements of the bullying de nition after the module, compared to before ( z ¼ 6.23). After using the module, 299 (68.3%) of the children were able to identify at least 2 out of 3 elements of the bullying denition compared to 208 (47.5%) before. 8.4. Did children enjoy using the inter interactive active computer modules?
The majority of children reported that they enjoyed the modules. When asked if the computer game was fun, 93.4% who played Bark Academy, 93.0% 93.0% who playe played d Mis Missio sion n to Mar Marss, and and 83.6 83.6% % wh who o play played ed Ghou Ghoull Scho School ol “stro strongly ngly agree agreed d” or “agreed”. Of those those childr children en who pla playe yed d Ghoul School, 84.5% “strongly agreed” or “agreed” that they could make bullying problems smaller, re ecting condence in the skills that they learned or were reinforced through the computer game. In summary, there is evidence that children’s knowledge of bullying and their identication of strategies to prevent bullying improved following their interaction with each module. By the typical conventions of observed power analysis (greater than .8 representing adequ adequate ate power), we had relatively relatively low power for these statistical tests to detect detect signicant differences. With larger samples or over a longer followup period, the differences detected may have been stronger, and we may have had more power to detect gender or grade differences. Furthermore, the estimates of effect size (partial h 2) were small for all the scales examined, suggesting that although we found statistically signicant improvements, they were relatively modest, thus we must be cautious in our interpretation. 9. Discus Discussion sion
Bullying is a relationship problem that is challenging for both children and adults to manage. Early education and bullying prevention programs are crucial to provide children with opportunities to learn and practice skills so they are better equipped to manage bullying Quest st for the Gol Golden den Rule Rule, pro problems pro blems.. Educ Education ational al gaming gaming,, such as Que provid vides es a fun and intera interact ctive ive wa way y for stu studen dents ts to lea learn rn ind indivi ividua dually lly and for classes to have a collective experience that promotes a safe and positive climate. Because educational gaming – as a method of teaching socia sociall ski skills lls or bullyi bullying ng pre preven ventio tion n – is fai fairly rly new new,, the there re is limite limited d re resea search rch availa available ble to explo explore re whe whethe therr the these se progr programs ams are effect effectiv ive e and for whom. Evidence from the preliminary investigation of the suite of games in Quest for the Golden Rule shows signicant improvements in knowledge and attitudes across each of the three modules. Children gained knowledge about issues of fairness and safety in their schools (Ba (Bark rk Acade Academy my), ), soc social ial skills skills (Mi (Missi ssion on to Mar Mars), s), and stra strateg tegies ies to ref refuse use and cope wit with h bullyi bullying ng (Gh (Ghoul oul Sch Schoo ool). l). The vas vastt ma major jority ity of stu studen dents ts reported that they enjoyed using the games; further evidence of their enjoyment and engagement was provided through log-on records indicating that many students took their passwords home and played the games from their home computers. Based on research suggesting that boys and girls interact differently with online gaming environments (e.g., Paiva et al., 2005), 2005), we hypo hypothe thesiz sized ed tha thatt gen gender der wo would uld be a fac factor tor in unders understan tandin ding g stu studen dents ts’ lea learni rning ng thr throu ough gh the mod module ules. s. As childr children en compl complete eted d the gam games es the only evident gender difference in girls’ and boys’ responses was found on the Bark Academy, with girls’ knowledge of fairness and safety improving signicantly more than that of boys. On the MM: Friendliness Scale, knowledge of social skills increased for both boys and girls and,, des and despit pite e ini initia tiall gende genderr dif differ ferenc ences es on the GS: Att Attitu itudesand desand St Stra rateg tegies ies Sca Scales les a tre trend nd was was found found for bot both h boy boyss and gir girls ls towa toward rd an inc incre rease ase in knowledge of empowerment and physical victimization prevention strategies. Although gender differences were evident on the BA: Fairness in gains knowledge and changes attitudeinrelated to both respect and fairness, overall there weretomany commonalities indicatingScale that Quest forof the Golden Rule modules areineffective teaching boys and girls about issues related bullying and bullying prevention strategies. Before the children had experienced these educational games, there were signicant grade differences in children’s scores on the BA: Fairness Scale, GS: Attitudes and Strategies Scales. It is notable, however, that grade was not statistically signi cant in understanding how
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much muc h gir girls ls and boys boys lea learn rn abo about ut bullyi bullying ng preve preventi ntion on thr throug ough h the these se two gam games. es. Becaus Because e of the rel relati ativel vely y low powe powerr in the these se ana analys lyses, es, it may also be that the power to detect grade-based variations was limited. Another interpretation of these ndings is that because Quest for the Golden Gold en Rule is an int intera eracti ctive ve compu computer ter gam game e tha thatt childr children en com comple plete te in a sel self-d f-dire irecte cted d man manner ner,, it is equal equally ly effect effectiveacro iveacross ss ele elemen mentar tary y sch school ool grades in leveling out differences in understanding of bullying. These ndi ndings ngs hig highli hlight ght the uni univer versal sal app applic licabi abilit lity y of the pro progr gram am for stu studen dents ts in gra grade dess twoto ve, suc such h tha thatt childr children en wo work rk at the their ir own pace, pac e, att attend end to ele elemen ments ts tha thatt are of gre greate atest st int inter erest est to the them, m, exper experien ience ce suc succes cesss in res resol olving ving dif cult cult soc social ial sit situat uation ions, s, and spe spend nd additio additional nal ’ time acquiring skills and understanding in areas in which their skills are under-developed. under-developed. As a result, children s experiences with Quest for the Gol Golden den Rule Rule mod module uless ar are e tai tailor lored ed in a man manner ner that that suppo supportsoptim rtsoptimal al lea learni rning. ng. This This typ type e of ind indivi ividu dualiz alized ed sup suppor portt prov provide idess the sca scaffo ffoldi lding ng recommended by Pepler by Pepler (2006) that (2006) that is an integral element of bullying prevention. Given that teachers are often overburdened and do not have time to provide the individualized coaching that some children require, the design of this computer program enables students in need of additional support to receive more opportunities to practice their skills and develop social competence. This fun learning experience is (1978) 978) o observ bservation ation that thro through ugh play child children ren are able to deve develop lop skills and under understand standing ing beyond beyond their exis existing ting consisten consi stentt with Vygotsky’s (1 levels of competence. 9.1. 9.1. Limitations
Although the current study was not conducted using a full experimental design, results are generally consistent with those of the FearNot! program (Sapouna (Sapouna et al., in press press)) in the sense that improvements in knowledge and attitudes were found for students who used the games.Cauti games.Caution on mu must st be tak taken en in int interp erpre retin ting g the res result ultss dueto the low powerto powerto det detectchang ectchange e andmodes andmodestt effectsizes effectsizes.. The These se dif culties may be attributed, in part, to the post-testing immediately after the students had completed the modules. With a subsequent follow-up assessment after a period of time in which the lessons from the games can be reinforced by teachers, peers, and parents, we might nd an even stronger program effect. An important aspect of program evaluation is to determine for whom programs work and why. In the present study, we did not have information about students’ involvement in bullying, victimization, or witnessing bullying, which may have been a factor in successful learning through the program. Given the overall high level of bullying prevention knowledge demonstrated by these students, it would be helpful to understand the nature of students ’ involvement in bullying and their associated levels of knowledge. Conducting research using an exper experime imenta ntall desig design n wou would ld str streng engthe then n the ana analys lyses es throu through gh provi provisio sion n of a contr control ol gro group up wit with h whi which ch to mak make e com compar pariso isons. ns. An imp import ortant ant future direction will be to explore, through an experimental design, how bullying prevention games alone, traditional bullying prevention, or a combination of gaming and traditional bullying programs compare to a control condition in terms of children ’s acquisition of bullying prevention knowledge and skills, as well as the longer-term impact on the bullying experiences of students. 10 10.. Concl Conclusion usion
Educational gaming appears to be a promising area through through which to bolster the effectiveness of early bullying prevention programs for elementary school students. Bullying prevention computer games complement a whole-school approach by providing cumulative and individualized learning of prosocial knowledge, attitudes, and skills within the classroom context that may help shift the social norms within wit hin the class class and dec decre rease ase bullyi bullying ng beh behavi avior or.. This This prelim prelimina inary ry inv invest estiga igatio tion n of Que Quest st for the Go Golde lden n Rul Rulee prov provide ided d a uni uniqu que e oppor opportun tunity ity to explore the effectiveness of gaming in bullying prevention. One of the greatest strengths of this program is the individualized nature of the games, and subsequent support given to students in the form of scaffolding to help them develop skills above their existing levels of competence. This program shows great promise in teaching elementary school students about bullying and strategies to cope with these dif cult social situations. Supported through whole-school policies and adult guidance, Quest for the Golden Rule contributes important bullyi bullying ng preve preventi ntion on edu educat cation ion tha thatt will will help help set childr children en up forhealth forhealthy y socia sociall devel develop opmen mentt and hea health lthy y rel relati ations onship hipss thr throu ougho ghout ut the their ir lives. lives. Acknowledgments
Fir First st and for forem emost ost,, we wo would uld like like to tha thank nk the stu studen dents ts and te teach achers ers who par partic ticipa ipated ted in thi thiss stu study dy.. We ar are e gra gratef teful ul to the sta staff ff member memberss at Practi-Quest Corp who have engaged in this important and innovative effort to make appealing and educational bullying prevention gaming softw software. are. This pro project ject was also grea greatly tly supp supporte orted d by PREV PREVNet Net (Pro (Promoti moting ng Rela Relations tionships hips and Elimin Eliminating ating Viole Violence nce Netw Network ork), ), thro through ugh the researchers who collaborated in developing Quest for the Golden Rule, and in providing graduate student funding for research on this suite of bullying prevention games. References Annetta, L. A., Minogue, J., Holmes, S. Y., & Cheng, M. (2009). Investigating the impact of video games on high school students’ engagement and learning about genetics. Computers & Education, 53, 74–85. Arseneault, L., Walsh, E., Trzesniewski, K., Newcombe, R., Caspi, A., & Mof tt, T. E. (2006). Bullying victimization uniquely contributes to adjustment problems in young children: a nationally representative cohort study. Pediatrics, 118(1), 130–138. Baldry, A. C., & Farrington, D. P. (2007). Effectiveness of programs to prevent school bullying. Victims & Offenders. Special Issue on Early Intervention, 2, 183–204. Buller, M. K., Kane, I. L., Martin, R. C., Giese, A. J., Cutter, G. R., Saba, L. M., et al. (2008). Randomized trial evaluating computer-based sun safety education for children in elementary elementa ry school. Journal of Cancer Education, 23 , 74–79. Bussiere, P., Knighton, T., & Pennock, D. (2007). Measuring up: Canadian results of the OECD PISA study, the Performance of Canada ’ s youth in Science, Reading and Mathematics . Ottawa: Human Resources and Social Development Canada & Statistics Canada. –
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