#SchoolWithoutViolence: Effects of an integrative school-based intervention on child protection against violence through a quasi-experimental study

• In Event: Victimization of Underaged

Abstract

According to the World Health Organization, one in two children is estimated to have experienced violence in the last year. The school has an undeniable and unique protective and preventive role, but most of the programmes implemented focus on a single form of violence or have not empirically assessed their impacts on both teachers and students. #EscuelaSinViolencias (#SchoolWithoutViolence) is the first programme to comprehensively target violence against children in the context of primary school in Spain through the solid theoretical approach of Developmental Victimology, and it has been funded by Barça Foundation. The goal of this study was to assess its impact on the children’s psychological, family and school well-being and their knowledge of Children’s Rights and violence in 971 girls and boys from third to sixth grade (8 to 12 years old). It also tests school staff’s knowledge, preparedness to detect and respond to possible cases of child victimisation and confidence in the family and school as protective environments in 110 adult participants. All people engaged in the programme rated it very positively (satisfaction, usefulness, appropriateness, duration, and content). A pre-post design with a control group was used, and repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) and generalized linear mixed models (GLMM) were conducted. A significant increase in school well-being among students in experimental schools compared to control schools was found, as well as increased knowledge of Children’s Rights and access to report. School staff from experimental schools reported significant increases in knowledge of violence against children and in preparedness to deal with potential cases. At the same time, their perception of the family and school environments as protective decreased slightly but significantly. This programme is the first to address violence comprehensively with an empirical study that validates its positive impact for the integral protection of children.

Authors

• Irene Montiel Juan, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya

• Patricia Hernández-Hidalgo, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya

• Marc Balcells, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya

• Antonia Linde Garcia, Open University of Catalonia

• Ana M. Greco, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya