Abstract
In 2002 the Prime Minister of Norway initiated a central Manifesto against bullying and invited all schools to participate in anti-bullying programs. Two programs were supported by the central authorities. This paper draws on a Norwegian project where six compulsory schools participated in one of those programs. Our focus was on the implementation process in the schools. We wanted to see how the schools’ readiness for the program influenced the implementation. Group interviews with the project groups at the schools and telephone interviews with the headteachers were used to collect data. Results indicate that the headteacher’s role is important, during both initiation and implementation of the program. The schools that were familiar with anti-bullying work and had firm leadership seem to have implemented the program most successfully. One lesson from this study is the need to investigate differentiated implementation support for different schools depending on their readiness.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Barbour, R. S., & Kitzinger, J. (1999). Developing focus groups: Politics, theory and practice. London: Sage.
Cuban, L. (1999). How schools change reforms: Redefining reform success and failure. Teachers College Record, 99(3), 453–477.
Day, C., Harris, A., Hadfield, M., Tolley, H., & Beresford, J. (2000). Leading schools in times of change. London: Open University Press.
Fullan, M. (1991). The new meaning of educational change (2nd ed.). London: Cassell.
Fullan, M. (1992). Visions that blind. Educational Leadership, 49(5), 19–22.
Fullan, M. (2001). The new meaning of educational change (3rd ed.). New York: Teacher College Press.
Fullan, M. (2002). The role of leadership in the promotion of knowledge. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 8(3/4), 409–419.
Geijsel, F., Sleegers, P., Van den Berg, R., & Kelchtermans, G. (2001). Conditions fostering the implementation of large-scale innovation programs in schools: Teachers’ perspectives. Educational Administration Quarterly, 37(1), 130–166.
Glaser, B. G., & Strauss, A. L. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. Chicago: Aldine.
Greenberg, M. T., Domitrovich, C. E., Graczyk, P. A., & Zins, J. E. (2001). A conceptual model of implementation for school-based prevention interventions: Implications for research, practice and policy: Draft copy.
Hargreaves D., & Hopkins D. (Eds.). (1994). Development planning for school improvement (pp. 1–23). London: Cassell.
Hargreaves, D. H. (2001). A capital theory of school effectiveness and improvement. British Educational Research Journal, 27(4), 487–503.
Henderson, N. R. (1995). A practical approach to analyzing and report focus groups studies: Lessons from qualitative market research. Qualitative Health Research, 5, 463–477.
Hopkins, D. (1996). Towards a theory for school improvement. In J. Gray, D. Reynolds, C. Fitz-Gibbon, & D. Jesson (Eds.), Merging traditions: The future of research on school effectiveness and school improvement (pp. 30–50). London: Cassell.
Hopkins, D., & Reynolds, D. (2001). The past, present and future of school improvement: Towards the third age. British Educational Research Journal, 27(4), 459–475.
Kallestad, J. H. (2003). Predicting teachers’ and schools’ implementation of the Olweus bullying program: A multilevel study. Prevention & Treatment, http://www.journals.apa.org/prevention/volume6/pre0060021a.html
Krueger, R. A., & Casey, M. A. (2000). Focus groups: A practical guide for applied research (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Larsen, T. (2005). Evaluating principals’ and teachers’ implementation of second step. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Bergen, Norway: University of Bergen.
Locke, E., & Latham, G. (1994). Goal setting theory. In H. J. Neil & M. Drillings (Eds.), Motivation: Theory and research (pp. 13–30). Hilldale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.
McLaughlin, M. W. (1990). The Rand Agent Study: Revised: Macro perspectives and micro realities. Educational Researcher, 19(9), 11–16.
McMahon, A. (1999). Promoting continuing professional development for teachers: An achievable target for school leaders? In T. Bush, D. Bell, R. Boham, & P. Ribbins (Eds.), Educational management, redefining theory, policy and practice (pp. 102–113). London: Paul Chapman Publishing Ltd.
Midthassel, U., Bru, E., & Idsøe, T. (2000). The principal’s role in promoting school development activity in Norwegian compulsory schools. School Leadership and Management, 20(2), 147–160.
Midthassel, U. V. (2002). Teacher involvement in school development activity. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Bergen, Norway: University of Bergen.
Midthassel, U. V. (2004). Teacher involvement in school development activity and its relationships to attitudes and subjective norms among teachers: A study of Norwegian elementary and junior high school teachers. Educational Administration Quarterly, 40(3), 435–456.
Midthassel, U. V., & Bru, E. (2001). Predictors and gains of teacher involvement in an improvement project on classroom management. Experiences from a Norwegian project in two compulsory schools. Educational Psychology, 21(3), 229–242.
Mintzberg, H. (1979). The structuring of organizations. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Morgan, D. L. (1997). Focus groups as qualitative research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
Mullens, J. E., & Gaylor, K., Goldstein, D., Hildreth, J., & Rubenstein, M. (1999). Measuring classroom instructional processes: Using survey and case study field test results to improve item construction (Working Paper No. 1999-8): National Center or Education Statistics.
Patton, M. Q. (1990). Qualitative evaluation and research methods (2nd ed.). Newbury Park: Sage.
Reeves, J., McCall, J., & MacGilchrist, B. (2001). Change leadership: Planning, conceptualization and perception. In J. Macbeath & P. Mortimore (Eds.), Improving school effectiveness (pp. 122–137). Buckingham: Open University Press.
Retallick, J., & Fink, D. (2002). Framing leadership: Contributions and impediments to educational change. International Journal of Leadership in Education, 5(2), 91–104.
Reynolds, D., Teddlie, C., Hopkins, D, & Stringfield, S. (2000). Linking school effectiveness and school improvement. In C. Teddlie & D. Reynolds (Eds.), The international handbook of school effectiveness research (pp. 206–231). London: Falmer Press.
Roland, E., & Munthe, E. (1989). Bullying, an international perspective. London: David Fulton Publishers.
Rosenholtz, S. (1989). Teachers’ workplace. NY: Teacher College, Columbia University.
Ross, J. A., & Gray, P. (2006). Transformational leadership and teacher commitment to organizational values: The mediation effects of collective teacher efficacy. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 17(2), 179–199.
Short, P. M., Greer, J. T., & Melvin, W. M. (1994). Creating empowered schools: Lesson in change. Journal of Educational Administration, 32(4), 38–52.
Sim, J. (1998). Collecting and analysing qualitative data: Issues raised by the focus group. Methodological Issues in Nursing Research, 28(2), 345–352.
Stoll, L. (1996). Linking school effectiveness and school improvement: Issues and possibilities. In J. Gray, D. Reynolds, C. Fitz-Gibbon, & D. Jesson (Eds.), Merging traditions: The future of research on school effectiveness and school improvement (pp. 51–73). London: Cassell.
Stoll, L. (1998). Supporting school improvement. Paper presented at the First Follow-Up Conference on the OECD activity ‘Combating Failure at School’, Christchurch, New Zealand.
Stoll, L. (1999). Realising our potential: Understanding and developing capacity for lasting improvement. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 10(4), 503–532.
Stoll, L., Macbeath, J., Smith, I., & Robertson, P. (2001). The change equation. In J. MacBeath & P. Mortimore (Eds.), Improving school effectiveness (pp. 169–190). Buckingham: Open University Press.
Tikkanen, T., & Junge, A. (2005). Realisering av an visjon om et mobbefritt oppvekstmiljø for barn og unge. (Evaluation of the manifesto against bullying 2002–2004). Stavanger: RF-Report 2004/223.
Wan, E. (2005). Teacher empowerment: Concepts, strategies and implications for schools in Hong Kong. Teachers College Record, 107(4), 842–861.
Wasserstein-Warnet, M., & Klein, Y. (2000). Principal’s cognitive strategies for changes of perspective in school innovation. School Leadership and Management, 20(4), 435–457.
West, M., Jackson, D., Harris, A., & Hopkins, D. (2000). Learning through leadership, leadership through learning. In K. Riley & K. Seashore Louis (Eds.), Leadership for change and school reform (pp. 30–49). London: Routledge Falmer.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Midthassel, U.V., Ertesvåg, S.K. Schools implementing Zero: The process of implementing an anti-bullying program in six Norwegian compulsory schools. J Educ Change 9, 153–172 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10833-007-9053-7
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10833-007-9053-7