International Organisations, NGOs, and Evidence-Based Programmes in Preventing School Violence and Bullying

Abstract

Violence and bullying among children are global problems. They have numerous negative social implications, and collaborative efforts are required to find effective solutions. In order to address this issue, many international organisations, foundations and NGOs (non-governmental organisations) provide different grants or implement various psycho-social and educational programmes aimed at preventing school violence and bullying. While they play an important role in supporting, transferring, or developing anti-bullying programmes worldwide, little attention is paid to this topic in the literature. This paper attempts to fill this critical gap by exploring the role, partnerships, funding mechanisms as well as programme evidence that these types of organisations incorporate into combating school bullying at the international, national, or local level. By presenting NGO-led anti-bullying and anti-violence programmes funded by three different international organisations and relating them to the Norwegian “Ungsinn” system for bullying research and review evidence, the paper identifies comprehensive school preventive and collaborative activities implemented at different levels. At the same time, these organisations face limitations in developing and implementing rigorously tested and effective evidence-based preventive programmes. A significant disparity exists between the outcomes of the programmes’ activities and the lack of evidence needed to demonstrate their effectiveness in preventing or combating school violence and bullying. As a result of the analysis, the paper challenges the reality that international organisations and NGO-led programmes rely solely on evidence-based practices for preventing bullying and school violence, and recommends an alternative approach based on evidence-informed practices and utilising a whole education approach.