School program for prevention of aggressive behavior – 1st – 4th grade

Positive aggression, bad aggression, teacher, parent, management

National Project

Students from 1st to 4th grade, primary teachers and parents

Doc. D-r Ivanka Boncheva – psychologist – psychotherapist
K. Nikolova – chief expert, department “Prevention”

Bulgaria

English

Parents, Teachers, Young People.

This practice deals with the problem of intensified child aggression in early school age as a result of dynamic socio-economic changes in society and as a compulsory stage of reaching social maturity.
The program was introduced in Primary school 1 and in Primary school “Tsar Simeon the 1st”
At the moment in progress is the first stage of the program (June 2009 – May 2011). Education, training sessions and supervision of teachers in 1st and 2nd grade; development of a guidebook for parents of 1st and 2nd graders – “Constructive or destructive aggression” and a guidebook for students from 1st and 2nd grade; development of a presentation for parents, as well as for individual and group parents consultation.

Thematic scope of stage 1:
- What is aggression? Aggression as: an instinct and reaction; as an achievement; as a form of contact; as a life concept.
- Transaction analysis. Aggression among: individuals and in a group; among regular group members; between a leader and a formal leader; between representative of the members and a leader.
- Age crises: crisis of “stubbornness”; crisis of the “1st grader” – psychological problems of the specific crisis. The exit from the first crisis is a precondition for successful or unsuccessful management with the second crisis.
- Role of the parents, teachers and society in dealing with the respective crisis. Personal experience.
- Conflict. Forms of conflict. Dealing with external conflict: active – aggressive / auto-aggressive; passive - secretively.
- The right to be aggressive – the right of the child, the parent, the teacher; behavioral and/or verbal aggression.
- Models for dealing with the forms of aggression – standing one’s ground/position; reflecting emotions; behavior “stimulus – reaction”; developing long-term change.
- Constructive aggression – ways of creation and defending.
- Work in class with a guidebook for students “I am good – the good and the bad aggression”.
- Casuistry and supervision.

A guidebook for parents of 1st and 2nd graders – „Constructive or destructive aggression” - http://www.prevencii.com/PDF_OKBPPMN/Publikacii/gradivna.pdf, developing a presentation for parents, as well as for individual or group parents’ consultation.
A guidebook for students “I am good – the good and the bad aggression” - http://www.prevencii.com/images/stories/programi1/knijka_agresivno%20povedenie/knijka/agresiq_knijka2_pass.pdf - for 1st and 2nd grade. Issued by the municipality of Varna. Contains typical situations, in which the children find themselves; reasonable ways of dealing with the situations and easy rules helping them to be good and to find friends.
Teachers from 2 primary schools in the city of Varna have been trained for management of child aggression.

Intervention protocol, Help-line/counseling, Parent training/meetings, Playground supervision, Disciplinary methods, Classroom management, Teacher training, Classroom rules, Information for parents, Cooperative group work, Duration for teachers (4 days or more).

The evaluation of the practice is quite high because it demonstrates sustainability and tangible results. The program started in 2009 in Primary school N 1 in Varna with the training of 10 primary teachers. During 2010 under the same program a second group of primary teachers from Primary school “Tsar Simeon the 1st” goes through training. „School program for prevention of aggressive behavior 1st – 4th grade” has been provided with methodic materials for teachers, parents and students. The introduction of the second stage of the program is about to happen – with training, education, materials for 3rd – 4th grade, oriented towards the three components of the target group. pages

A useful practice with well developed materials, whose approach and method of information presentation predisposes the children to learn with a nice game-like feeling new ways of dealing with different situations without using aggressive methods.

No other evaluations.

Zornitsa Staneva

Zinev Art Technologies

Project manager