Proactive measures in combating bullying in schools: examining the effectiveness of the Bucket Fillers program in character building education

Bullying continues to plague our schools. Some schools are implementing proactive solutions in the form of character building education to address bullying. The purpose of this research was to examine the character education program, Bucket Fillers, and its effectiveness on reducing bullying in one public elementary school by examining questionnaires containing homeroom teachers' evaluations. Data of behavioral incident reports from prior to the program's initiation and after were also collected and compared. The majority of teachers noticed more spontaneous positive interactions and less negative interactions between students after the establishment of the program. There was no significant correlation found between how teachers felt about the program and how often it was implemented or between how often the program was administered and changes witnessed in students. Likewise, there was no statistically significant difference between observations and teachers grade level. Sample size was small since the study focused on one elementary school's implementation of the program. A larger subject pool may have yielded statistically significant results. Discipline reports declined even with the new HIB laws. The findings of this research show the potential value of the Bucket Fillers program in character education.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.A. School Psychology-Professional School Psychology

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Psychology

Year dc:date.available

2013

Author dc:creator

• Katsikis, Karina

Contributors dc:contributor

• Dihoff, Roberta

• Bullying in schools; Moral education
• Child Psychology
• Student Counseling and Personnel Services

Repository record dc:identifier

https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/456

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:rdw.rowan.edu:etd-1455