Autumn 2007

Early childhood education & care

Better buddies

The vision of The Alannah and Madeline Foundation is to keep children safe from violence and break the cycle of violence in children’s lives. The Foundation approaches its vision through its Care and Prevention teams. The Care Team responds to the needs of children whose lives have been dislocated by physical, sexual or emotional violence—acts that can be interpreted as extreme bullying. The Prevention Team aims to break this bullying cycle in part through the work of the National Coalition Against Bullying, which is an initiative of The Alannah and Madeline Foundation and through the Foundation’s ‘Better Buddies Framework’.

Every child has a right to be safe from victimisation, violence and abuse at school. Pioneer bullying researcher Dan Olweus says: ‘It is a fundamental democratic right for a child to feel safe in school and to be spared the oppression and repeated, intentional humiliation implied in bullying’ (McGrath, 2006). Weinhold, in The Teacher Educator, highlights the strong link between domestic violence and school bullying: ‘school bullying is a process through which the more powerful dominate the less powerful; it underpins domestic violence, child abuse, workplace violence, hate crimes and road rage’.

The Alannah and Madeline Foundation’s Better Buddies Framework

Buddy systems are a common feature of Australian schools. They recognise that teaming younger with older children as ‘buddies’ results in positive benefits for individual students and for the school community as a whole. The Alannah and Madeline Foundation’s Better Buddies Framework supports primary schools to deliver a buddy system. It was developed and refined based on recent research into buddy systems conducted by the Foundation. There had been virtually no Australian research into buddy systems until the Foundation’s study, and the Better Buddies Framework aims to address the gaps in current buddy programs identified in this research.

It was also informed by and rewritten to complement three government initiatives: The Australian Government’s National Safe Schools Framework and Values Education Framework; and the Victorian Department of Education’s Safe Schools are Effective Schools policy, based on research conducted in 2005 by Deakin University and The Alannah and Madeline Foundation. These initiatives show how whole school approaches focusing on student wellbeing, consciously taught values, and positive student management, relationships and engagement help to create environments where students flourish socially and academically and in which bullying is reduced.

Why Framework, not Program?

Teachers know that programs put into schools to fix or improve things, usually don’t! Research also demonstrates that short-term programs are ineffective and waste precious time and resources. The Better Buddies Framework outlines a series of strategies to help schools embed a buddy system into school structures and processes, e.g., curriculum, pedagogy, policies, funding, discipline and welfare.

What does The Better Buddies Framework contain?

The Better Buddies Framework consists of the ‘Better Buddies Box’ with two manuals: The Better Buddies Framework, containing the ‘how and why’, the Activity and Training Manual, two complementary teddy bears as well as stickers and bookmarks reinforcing Better Buddies’ values.

In the Framework, student buddies have structured time weekly as well as unstructured contact in the playground. During their timetabled buddy session, students are involved in cooperative activities in which older children help and guide younger children. Schools often plan events for the whole community such as a Teddy Bears Picnic, or a ‘Buddy Day’, where parents and other community members share food and games.

The Better Buddies Framework contains a wide range of engaging buddy activities prepared by teachers for teachers. These cover core curriculum areas and require different levels of preparation and degrees of physical activity. The research identified that teachers felt that most buddy systems did not incorporate enough varied and engaging activities for buddies to share. Some activities are designed for classroom use, while others can be run as a lunchtime or whole school activity.

What does The Better Buddies Framework do?

The Better Buddies Framework fosters positive relationships by focusing directly on the systematic development of positive relationships, not only between buddies but also within the whole school community. The Better Buddies Framework directly teaches important pro-social skills and values which contribute to friendships and other social relationships. Research shows that this is more effective than assuming that good social skills ‘emerge’ indirectly from the ‘buddy’ experience. Older students are given opportunities to develop responsibility and leadership, and younger students experience a safe and happy start at primary school. Students look out for and take care of one another in the playground, and school culture is improved. Through the involvement of parents in activities like picnics and special events, a sense of community develops within and beyond the school.

The Foundation’s research identified that one problem with most buddy systems was the negative effect of an older buddy being absent from school. The Better Buddies Framework features an ‘understudy buddy group’, which addresses this problem and provides a support group for older buddies in which they can work collaboratively to support each other in being good buddies (e.g., by solving problems that arise in their buddying role, such as when ‘little buddy’ is making excessive demands on their energy, emotions and time).

Teachers often assume—wrongly—that children naturally understand what being a buddy involves. The Prevention Team thinks training older students is important because being an older buddy is a very responsible leadership and modelling role. The Better Buddies Framework has a specific training program for older buddies that can be implemented by teachers. Students are taught the skills needed to be an effective buddy, how to deal with problems that might arise and about the limitations of their role. Younger buddies are provided with a simple introductory session. Rubrics included with the kit encourage students to plan, track and reflect on their experience of being a buddy.

The mascot of The Better Buddies Framework is Buddy Bear, a cute purple teddy bear to which all children can relate. Buddy Bear represents the core pro-social values of friendliness, respect, care, including others, accepting difference and responsibility. In Western cultures, teddy bears are still a powerful symbol of childhood, and familiar playmates for most Australian children. Teddy bears represent feelings of being safe and have equal appeal to both girls and boys.

Some schools put Buddy Bear on the booklist for each student. Other schools use Buddy Bear as a class mascot and send him home to ‘sleep over’ at children’s houses, with a camera, diary sheets and possibly a change of clothing! Either way, Buddy Bear becomes a loved friend and a reminder for the children of the important social skills and values of The Better Buddies Framework.

Strong positive connections between children discourage anti-social behaviour. The Alannah and Madeline Foundation’s Better Buddies Framework aims to reduce bullying behaviour through the development of empathy, pro-social values and positive pro-social relationships between children of different ages. In this way, the whole school culture becomes more positive, compassionate, supportive and caring and it is very difficult for bullying to get a foothold.

References

Craig, S (2007).The Better Buddies Framework, The Alannah and Madeline Foundation.

McGrath, H (2006). Making Schools Safer—A Report on The National Safe Schools Framework Best Practice Grants Programme, DEST, Canberra.

Weinhold, B K (2000). ‘Bullying and school violence: the tip of the iceberg’, The Teacher Educator, Vol. 35 (3), pp. 28–33.

To ensure that all children are safe from violence, The Alannah and Madeline Foundation provides the necessary support to train teachers and parents in roles of responsibility and leadership. Sandra Craig reports on the benefits of using the Better Buddies Framework in schools.

Sandra Craig is the major author of the Better Buddies Framework for The Alannah and Madeline Foundation.

Information about The Alannah and Madeline Foundation’s Better Buddies Framework can be obtained from www.amf.org.au or by phoning 1300 720 747.

The author owns the copyright in this article. For information related to the reuse of this work in any form please contact the publisher denise.quinn@curriculum.edu.au