The International Network on School Bullying and Violence was founded after the international conference ‘Taking Fear out of Schools’ in 2004. The final meeting of the Network on Combating School Bullying and Violence was held in Dublin Nov. 11-12, 2008. The OECD has decided not to support the SBV Network after Dec. 31, 2008. The network will be exploring other options.
The website will be closed down April 1, 2009.
It is an OECD network with 21 participating countries:
Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom.
The former leader of the steering group, Mr. Simon Field, and the international co-ordinator, Dr. Alojz Nociar. Photo: Torunn Helene Fredriksen.
Objectives of the Network
The network aims to support countries seeking to combat school bullying and violence by:
- Sharing and disseminating information on experience, research and good practice in the field;
- Providing a platform for co-operation on particular issues, for example on the problems of implementation or evaluation;
- Facilitating contacts – for example among practitioners in different countries, or between researchers on the one hand and policy-makers and practitioners on the other;
- Providing a point of linkage with other international networks working in related fields
Activities in the network are based on three main categories
- Research
- Practice - Initiatives and Programs
- Policy (national, regional, local)
Besides offering the opportunity for discussions and an exchange of knowledge and experiences the network is intended to– as we see it - provide information that is of current interest for the target groups and that will support and stimulate effective measures to prevent and deal with school bullying and violence.
The structure of the network
Strategic management will be undertaken by an international steering group. This will include the OECD Secretariat, Norway as the international coordinator, and national co-ordinators from 2-3 participant countries (elected by all participant countries). UNESCO, the Council of Europe and the European Union will be invited to take part in Steering Group meetings which will take place according to a timetable to be determined by the Group.
Role of the OECD Secretariat
The OECD Secretariat will:
- Advise on the design of the initiative;
- Provide continued advice to the international co-ordinator and the Steering Group on the development of the network
- Maintain links between this and other OECD activities, and report back to the Education Committee on the progress of the work and the evaluation at the end of 2006;
- Advise on arrangements for the Steering Group
- Resource this work through 5 % of one A4 during 2005-6
Role of the international co-ordinator for the network
The task of the international co-ordinator is to:
- Actively encourage, sustain and develop communication among a network of national co-ordinators
- Develop a website to share information among participants;
- Maintain links with international bodies and networks engaged in complementary activities
- In close consultation with national co-ordinators, make proposals to the steering group on the scope of activity beyond the pilot phase
- Provide a secretariat for the steering group in consultation with the OECD secretariat;
- Maintain contact with OECD countries not initially involved in the activity and explore the scope for their involvement
Role of the national co-ordinators
The national co-ordinators will:
- Provide a national point of contact with the international network
- Feed information about national developments to the international network
- Within their countries feed back information from the network about international developments
- Provide input and advice to the steering group managing the international network
To fulfil these responsibilities the national co-ordinators should:
- Communicate readily with the international co-ordinator
- Distil and communicate in his or her country the complex information available through the network
- Contribute to the development of the network as a tool for his or her own country and others
- Create initiatives, motivation and interest in the topic
National co-ordinators need to be supported by effective liaison with Ministries of Education as well as local initiatives and independent researchers.
Read more:
The International co-ordinator, Alojz NociarThe History of the NetworkA letter from The Director for Education OECD, Barry McGaw, and The Norwegian Minister of Education and Research, Øystein Djupedal.