Why School Anti-Bullying Programs Don't Work » (1st Edition)

Stuart W. Twemlow is professor of psychiatry at Baylor College Medicine. Frank C. Sacco is president of the Community Services Institute, Agawam & Boston (MA).

This book serves as a guide for readers who are interested in improving school climate. Using fifteen years of consultation and research in a variety of U.S. and foreign schools, the authors strip down the elements needed to create a healthy and productive school climate. The book challenges many commonly held notions about violence prevention and outlines a simple and inexpensive formula for creating sustained change in any school. The book stresses the importance of understanding the underlying processes involved in the bully-victim-bystander power dynamics, the value of altruism, and the use of natural leaders to begin a way to create substantial change in any school.

About the Author:
Stuart W. Twemlow, M.D., is professor of psychiatry, Menninger Department of Psychiatry, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas

About the Author:
Frank C. Sacco is president of the Community Services Institute, Springfield and Boston, Massachusetts

Introduction 1

1 Myths, Fallacies, and Truths About School Violence Prevention 5

2 Buy In: Nothing Happens Without It 31

3 Understanding Power Dynamics, Power Struggles, and Power Issues 51

4 Bystanding: The Forgotten Causal Factor in Violence 67

5 Feeling Safe at School 81

6 The Natural Leader: Mentalization and Altruism 93

7 Creating a Game Plan 103

8 Discussing the Undiscussables 117

9 Evaluating What We Do 133

10 Community and Institutional Resources 155