A group of Canadian researchers have set out to analyze the effectiveness of bullying prevention programs in schools, finding that they would ultimately only recommend one of the programs out of seven studied.

"The analysis, which has been delivered to school boards across the province and Canada in the form of a toolkit, can...be used to better streamline resources dedicated to school-based bullying prevention programs,” said MedicalXpress.com.

The Dalhousie University researchers performed the analysis due to the fact that bullying prevention programs are abundant in schools and require significant investment of both time and money.

"Currently, schools implement bullying prevention strategies without clearly knowing whether or not they'll provide good value for the precious human and financial resources devoted to them,” said one of the researchers, Dr. John LeBlanc, to Medical Xpress.

"Our analysis was done to help schools – and other organizations working with youth – evaluate these programs with respect to effectiveness, cost, and overall fit.”

The analysis found that most of the programs studied required a significant time and financial commitment but were not found to reduce bullying perpetration or victimization.

The only program the researchers determined to be effective is WITS- or walk away, ignore, talk it out and seek help .

"We found that WITS delivers stronger effects than other programs at a lower cost, and shows long‐term benefits. The program also has components that promote healthy relationships,” Ashley Chisholm, master's candidate in the Department of Community Health & Epidemiology told Medical Xpress.

While the study occurred in neighboring Canada and not the U.S., the U.S. has similarly made bullying prevention programs a priority in schools without necessarily looking into what is effective. Such a study could be beneficial in U.S. schools, as well.

Read the full story.

Nicole Gorman, Education World Contributor

5/13/2016