A Pilot Evaluation of a Brief School-Based Bullying Prevention Programme in Secondary Education: Changes in Bullying, Cyberbullying and Self-Esteem
This pilot study of a brief school-based psychoeducational intervention for 13 Year 9 students found favorable descriptive trends in reducing bullying and cyberbullying, though the small sample size, lack of a control group, and non-significant statistical results preclude definitive conclusions about its effectiveness.
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School is often remembered as a place of learning facts and solving equations, but for many teenagers, the most pressing lessons happen in the hallways and online, where social dynamics can turn cruel. When a student is repeatedly targeted by peers, whether through physical shoves, hurtful words, or exclusion, it creates a heavy burden that can damage their sense of self and their ability to learn. This behavior, known as bullying, is not just a series of isolated incidents but a complex social problem influenced by the entire group atmosphere. In recent years, this aggression has spilled over into the digital world. Cyberbullying shares the same core traits as face-to-face bullying but is amplified by the ability to hide behind screens and the fact that hurtful messages can be seen by anyone, anywhere, at any time. Both forms of aggression are linked to anxiety, loneliness, and a drop in self-worth, making the search for effective ways to stop them a critical priority for educators and families. While many schools try to address these issues with strict rules or one-off assemblies, researchers are increasingly looking for programs that teach emotional skills and help students understand their role in the group, hoping to build a culture where aggression simply cannot take root.
In a small but thoughtful experiment, a researcher named Maria Bellmunt Borràs tested whether a brief, seven-week course could help change these dynamics for a group of thirteen-year-olds. The study took place in a single class at an international school in Catalonia, Spain, involving thirteen students in their ninth year of schooling. The goal was not to punish bad behavior but to teach students how to recognize bullying, understand the feelings of those being hurt, and learn how to step in as a supportive witness rather than a passive observer. The program was designed to fit into the regular school schedule, running for about an hour each week over seven weeks, and it focused on building empathy, resolving conflicts, and strengthening the students' belief in their own worth.
The intervention unfolded through five distinct sessions, each with a clear purpose. The first two sessions were dedicated to understanding the nature of bullying and cyberbullying. Students watched short films, discussed common myths about why people bully, and reflected on the real consequences of these actions. The third session shifted the focus to the role of the bystander, teaching students how to move from watching silently to becoming "upstanders" who actively support victims. In the fourth session, the students practiced these new skills through role-playing, acting out scenarios where they had to navigate difficult social situations and choose how to respond. The final session was a quiet moment of self-reflection, where each student wrote a letter to their future self, considering their own values and how they could contribute to a kinder school environment. Throughout the process, the students filled out surveys before the program began and again after it ended to measure their experiences with bullying, their involvement in cyberbullying, and their feelings about themselves.
When the researchers looked at the results, they found a clear, positive trend, even though the numbers did not reach the strict threshold usually required to declare a scientific victory. The average scores for both being bullied and bullying others dropped noticeably after the seven weeks. The biggest improvements were seen in face-to-face interactions, where reports of being hurt and of hurting others decreased more sharply than in the online world. The students' self-esteem, which measures how much they value themselves, remained steady throughout the study, neither dropping nor rising significantly. This stability is actually a useful finding, suggesting that while the program did not instantly transform how the students felt about themselves, it did not harm their self-worth either, and it successfully targeted the aggressive behaviors without causing unintended side effects.
The study also revealed how closely connected the offline and online worlds are. The data showed that students who reported being bullied in person were also very likely to experience bullying online, and those who bullied others in the hallway were often the same ones doing it on their phones. This overlap confirms that these are not separate problems but different sides of the same social coin. Interestingly, the students' self-esteem did not seem to be directly linked to how much bullying they experienced or caused in this specific group, suggesting that a teenager's sense of self-worth is a complex trait that might not shift quickly with a short course, even if their behavior changes.
Because this was a pilot study with a very small group of students and no separate control group to compare against, the researchers cannot say with absolute certainty that the program caused the changes. The small number of participants made it difficult to prove that the drop in bullying was not just a random fluctuation or the result of other things happening in the school. However, the fact that the numbers moved in the right direction for every single measure of bullying and cyberbullying is a promising sign. It suggests that a short, well-structured program that combines learning, discussion, and practice can be a feasible way to start shifting the culture of a classroom. The researchers conclude that while this specific test was too small to prove the program works definitively, it provides a strong foundation for future studies with larger groups. The findings indicate that schools can successfully integrate these kinds of emotional and social lessons into their regular schedule, offering a practical path toward creating safer, more supportive environments for adolescents.
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