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Bullying is a complex and relational issue. Teachers have a crucial role in addressing bullying in schools and they are typically the target of whole-school approach anti-bullying programs (Yoon, 2011). Teachers’ decision to prevent and intervene in bullying is predicted by several factors (knowledge about bullying, negative attitudes toward bullying, level of confidence, etc.). In the current study, we hypothesized that higher levels of teachers’ perceived effectiveness of the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program (OBPP) are positively associated with their practices for bullying prevention. We also assumed that teachers’ socio-demographics (gender, age, work experience) and schools’ characteristics (school size, Olweus-certified school or not), are related to their perceived effectiveness of the OBPP.
Teachers (n = 1576) of 99 Lithuanian schools implementing OBPP answered a standardised online self-administered questionnaire. A multiple regression analysis indicated the coefficient of determination R2 = .449, (F = 215.09, p < .001), where teachers’ perceived effectiveness of such program was positively related to their practices to prevent bullying at school (β = .22), classroom (β = .21) and individual (β = .30) level (p < .001). The results also indicated that primary school teachers (β = .07, p < .001) from the Olweus-certified schools (β = .13, p < .001) having less working experience as teachers (β = -.05, p = .02) had perceived more positively the effectiveness of the OBPP than teachers from the lower secondary education and non-certified Olweus schools. No association was obtained between teachers' perceived effectiveness and their age, gender, or school size.
| Please also indicate what kind of contribution it is: | Scientific |
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| Please indicate what type of scientific contribution it is | Quantitative method study |
