Evaluating Research on Human Development Paper Example

Introduction

Scientific research has been depicted as a crucial aspect in the study of various topics or issues in the society or institution. It offers vital evidence to show the validity of a concept or theory. As such, it is relevant to undertake an evaluation of a study and establish the utilization of scientific evidence that may either be supporting or critiquing a program or theory. The essay will explore two articles about anti-bullying programs and describe the scientific evidence employed to either support or critique the program. It will also conduct a critical analysis of every program and offer a conclusion of the most useful program based on the evidence provided.

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Article 1

In the article, the idea behind the effectiveness of an anti-bullying programme in primary schools has been tested by conducting a cohort study. As such, one hundred national schools constituting of all the primary schools in district one of a single Ireland county partook in the study. For the efficiency of the program to be determined or supported, the pupils completed a pre-program or post-program modified Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaires. The class teachers issued the questionnaires during the normal school time, and its measures were undertaken to ensure that the different classes within the school filed them concurrently (O'Moore & Minton, 2005).

It is crucial to note that answering the questionnaires by students was done systematically. Learners who had responded to the post-programme questionnaires as fourth-class pupils the subsequent year and those who seemed as fourth-class students in the pre-test sample were required to answer the post-programme questionnaire as fifth class pupils. In this way, the results would be more effective (O'Moore & Minton, 2005).

Additionally, the teachers were also issued questionnaires and whose items were chosen by comparing the Olweus Bully/ Victim Questionnaire items that had been responded to by the students. Eighty-three teachers responded, and their pre and post-programme samples were closely matched concerning age, gender, employment positions and teaching experience (O'Moore & Minton, 2005).

Therefore, the scientific evidence as described entailed identifying questions to ask the participants and then developing an explanation behind their formation. The research was then conducted which aimed at depicting the effectiveness of the anti-bullying programme in primary schools (Feldman, 2011).

The pilot anti-bullying program can be described as useful due to its target on a small scale range, and anticipation of results once applied on a large scale. It is apparent that the program has offered a platform for the schools to examine logistics and show any deficiencies before various resources are channeled towards its utilization. On the other hand, the programme is effective due to its exploration of feelings and knowledge of teachers concerning bullying.

It is apparent that the pilot programme includes all the stakeholders in a school setting, that is, teachers, students, and other staff. In this way, it increased the awareness of bullying, thus a high rate of reporting among pupils. The initiative of including various parties, training bullying victims and enhancing the playground contributed to the success of the anti-bullying programme.

Article 2

The article has used the quantitative methodology to evaluate the effectiveness of an anti-bullying program referred to as Project Ploughshares Puppets for Peace. Questionnaires were issued to the participants who constituted grade three and four students from two public elementary schools at post and pretest. Chi-square was then used to test the associations between categorical variables (Beran & Shapiro, 2005).

A particular procedure was used during the data collection whereby students filled out the questionnaire at altered times. As such, half of them completed the measure before and again after partaking in the intervention group. On the other hand, for comparison to be conducted, the other half of the students completed the questionnaires twice. The performance was then viewed after the process was completed. No signed consent form was issued when students filled the questionnaires. Besides, the questions employed in the study were open-ended, thus giving students an opportunity to fully express themselves concerning the programme (Beran & Shapiro, 2005).

It is thus evident that scientific evidence has also been utilized in this article to support the anti-bullying programme. Similarly, questions have been designed concerning the program and areas of interest in it as well. They were then issued to the participants. It is also essential to note that theories were formulated and an extensive explanation given concerning the program before the quantitative research was undertaken (Feldman, 2011).

The Project Ploughshares Puppets for Peace program has focused on the confidence and knowledge of students to manage bullying. The open-ended responses given by students have then been used to examine whether the program attained its objectives of increasing students' awareness of the types of bullying and strategies to employ in its management. Additionally, the significance of the program to the students was evaluated and its impact on the rate of reporting by students (Beran & Shapiro, 2005).

The program has not attained its goal concerning the management of bullying since it was only half the students who reported to have more confidence in managing bullying (Beran & Shapiro, 2005). It thus means that the other half of the students did not believe in the programme to handle bullying or had other issues concerning its utilization, a number which is quite high.

Moreover, lack of incorporating other relevant stakeholders in the study may have resulted in the program not being quite useful. It would have been fundamental to include teachers and other school staff in the study. In this way, students' confidence in managing bullying would have increased as they would have more support.

Conclusion

The essay has explored two programmes aimed at managing or handling bullying in schools. They include the pilot anti-bullying programme and Project Ploughshares Puppets for Peace program. The pilot anti-bullying programme has involved students, parents and the entire community to design a solution to bullying. In this way, it has been purported that positive results will be achieved. However, the Project Ploughshares Puppets for Peace program has only considered students concerning bullying. As such, it has failed to recognize the role or relevance of the community and school staff as well. The pilot anti-bullying programme can thus be purported to be more useful than the Project Ploughshares Puppets for Peace program. It has assimilated all the relevant parties in a school environment to tackle the issue of bullying. Furthermore, the research undertaken to test the pilot anti-bullying programme is more extensive as compared to the Project Ploughshares for Peace program. The programme methodology has even included the past programmes to enhance its efficiency.

References

Beran, T., & Shapiro, B. (2005). Evaluation of an anti-bullying program: Student reports of knowledge and confidence to manage bullying. Canadian Journal of Education/Revue canadienne de l'education, 700-717. Feldman, R. (2011). Life span development (2nd ed.). Pearson.

O'Moore, A. M., & Minton, S. J. (2005). Evaluation of the effectiveness of an antibullying programme in primary schools. Aggressive Behavior: Official Journal of the International Society for Research on Aggression, 31(6), 609-622.