Promotion of human rights and equal treatment via bullying prevention in Estonian schools

Description

With this project the Bullying-Free School Foundation aims to support the valuing of human rights, equal treatment and related practices via bullying prevention in Estonian schools. To achieve the goal, the project includes three mutually supportive courses of action - 1) bringing and disseminating expert knowledge and best practices related to the prevention of bullying of minorities (LGBT+, national minorities, refugees) and cyberbullying to Estonia, 2) promoting bullying-free education with the help of a web-based teacher trainings, and 3) supporting the reduction of bullying in Russian-language instruction and language immersion schools by inviting  them to adopt the research and evidence-based KiVa program. The project helps to make anti-bullying know-how more accessible to teachers and specialists by enabling the development of web content, materials and e-trainings in Estonian and Russian language. Targeted communication will be carried out in the direction of school administrators and school personnel about the need for evidence-based prevention of bullying and the possibility of the continued expansion of the KiVa program into Estonian schools. The main target groups of the project are school administrators (local government, state officials), school principals, teachers and support specialists from schools teaching in Estonian and as well in Russian language. During the project, a training website with content that supports bullying-free education will be developed and launched in both Estonian and Russian languages (on site www.kiusamisvaba.ee), and in 2024 at least 5 new Russian-language and/or language immersion schools will be joining the KiVa program.

Summary of project results

The aim of the project was to support the appreciation of human rights and equal treatment and the implementation of related practices in Estonian schools through bullying prevention. To achieve this goal, the project followed three interconnected directions:

1. Enhancing bullying prevention competence in the education sector by introducing and disseminating expertise related to the prevention of bullying against minorities (LGBT+, ethnic minorities, refugees) in Estonia.
2. Promoting a bullying-free education environment through an online training platform.
3. Reducing bullying in Russian-language and immersion schools using the research- and evidence-based KiVa program.

Key Project Activities and Outputs

1. Bringing International Expertise to Estonia
   • Seven trainers participated in basic and refresher training for KiVa program trainers at the University of Turku to ensure the modernity and quality of training related to the KiVa program and broader bullying prevention efforts.
   • The project team attended the World Anti-Bullying Forum in October 2023, where they presented Estonia''s results in implementing the KiVa program from 2013–2022.
   • In March 2024, Tallinn hosted the "Stopping Cyberbullying is Everyone''s Responsibility" conference, raising awareness about cyberbullying and its prevention strategies.
2. Development of an Online Training Platform to improve accessibility to training via the organization’s website and Moodle e-learning platform

Two online training courses for teachers and support specialists were developed, first course was  the Introductory bullying prevention training, covering essential competencies for all teachers; second course an advanced training for KiVa school staff, empowering them to implement KiVa effectively.

KiVa also developed educational materials and lesson plans for teachers on cyberbullying prevention (four sets) and promoting diversity and tolerance (five sets), covering all school levels, including high school.

1. Supporting Bullying Prevention in Russian-Language and Immersion Schools

Although the initial aim was to increase participation of Russian-language and immersion schools in the KiVa program, then due to the transition to Estonian-language education, the focus shifted to providing methodological support to existing KiVa teachers in adapting to new circumstances.

For that purpose, language immersion support materials were developed for KiVa’s primary school prevention lessons, which received highly positive feedback. Due to high demand, additional language immersion support materials are being developed for higher school levels, with ongoing efforts to secure additional funding.

• The trainers who completed the additional training continue to offer bullying prevention courses that support human rights protection and equal treatment.
• The teaching materials, language immersion support, and online training courses developed during the project are just beginning to have a significant impact. These resources will contribute to bullying prevention for many years to come.
• The anti-bullying school training platform created as part of the project has an IT solution that allows for the easier future delivery of additional online courses to other target groups, such as parents. This will greatly increase the organization''s ability to raise awareness of human rights and equal treatment in society.

As a result of the project, the organization’s capacity to enhance bullying prevention competencies among Estonian teachers has grown. KiVa’s reputation as a reliable expert contributing to the benefit of Estonia’s education system has also improved, supporting the long-term increase in the appreciation of effective bullying prevention.