Development, Feasibility, and Post-Training Outcomes of the STAC Teacher Training: A Companion Program for a Brief, Bystander Bullying Intervention

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to develop a companion Teacher Training for a brief, bystander bullying intervention (STAC) and to assess feasibility and post-training outcomes. Although research supports the efficacy of the STAC intervention, training teachers to support student “defenders” may enhance the program’s impact. A mixed-methods design with sequential sampling was used with qualitative focus group data and quantitative survey data. The researchers used Consensual Qualitative Research to analyze qualitative data and independent sample t-tests to analyze qualitative data. Teachers (N =18) from one high school in an urban community were recruited for the study. We used a phased research approach to meet the study aims. In Phase 1, teachers participated in focus groups to develop content for the training. Qualitative themes that emerged included identification of barriers to intervening in bullying, gaps in teacher knowledge, suggestions for supporting students to report bullying to teachers, the need for a supportive school culture, and attitudes toward students who bully. In Phase 2, we created the STAC Teacher Training based on the literature and feedback from participants in Phase 1. The 50-minute training includes 1) normative feedback regarding beliefs about bullying, 2) a didactic component that includes information about bullying, a description of the student STAC strategies, and corresponding teacher strategies used to support student “defenders” and 3) an experiential component for strategy practice. In Phase 3, we trained a sub-set of teachers (N = 8) in the STAC Teacher Training to evaluate feasibility and post-training outcomes. Results supported training feasibility and teachers reported an increase in knowledge, confidence to support students to act as “defenders”, as well as confidence, comfort, and self-efficacy in intervening in bullying situations. This study serves as a first step in developing a companion Teacher Training for the STAC intervention.