KiVa® Antibullying programme
Kiva School® is an anti-bullying programme developed at the University of Turku. KiVa aims to prevent bullying. Creating an anti-bullying culture requires the commitment of the entire school community.
KiVa is evidence-based
The program is evidence-based which means that the effectiveness of KiVa has been proven scientifically. Professor Christina Salmivalli and her group at the University of Turku have done pioneering research on bullying since the early 1990s. The work has received both national (e.g. Finnish Prize for Science 2017) and international (e.g. European Crime Prevention Award 2009; Social Policy Award for Best Article 2012/Social for Research on Adolescence, USA) recognition. The research continues, continually producing new data to develop more effective prevention and intervention in bullying.
Strong evidence for the effectiveness of KiVa
The effectiveness of KiVa has been studied using a randomized trial control setup in extremely large (over 30,000 children and adolescents) studies during 2007-09. Since 2009, we have been collecting data in schools implementing the Kiva School programme across Finland, with both student and staff surveys.
Implementing KIVA can reduce bullying and increase school well-being and positive peer relationships — even learning motivation! KiVa has also been studied e.g. in the Netherlands, Chile, Italy, New Zealand and Estonia. In meta-analyses, it has been repeatedly identified as one of the most effective anti-bullying programs in the world.
Implementing KiVa
Kiva lessons, which are systematically held throughout the year, can be used to influence the norms of student groups and how children and young people act when they perceive bullying. This also requires a clear message from all adults in the community that bullying is not accepted.
Another goal is effective intervention in future bullying cases: for this, KiVa provides clear guidelines with strong research evidence behind it.
Thirdly, KiVa provides the tools for continuous monitoring of your own school situation in the form of annual online surveys and feedback from them. Kiva also contains material for parents. The input of all of us is needed to ensure that every child and young person’s right for a safe learning environment is fulfilled!
In Finland, over 900 schools are involved in the KIVA School programme and in addition to Finland, the programme is in place in more than 20 different countries.