Managing Conflict at Central Florida

Managing Conflict at Central Florida High School a. Needs Assessment, Purpose & Goals: What is the purpose of the evaluation? The purpose of the evaluation is to assess the potential value of the Challenge Day program in connection with the overall effort to reduce all forms of school violence by addressing the social and interpersonal issues at their root. The Challenge Day programs are sponsored by for-profit Resource Realizations of Scottsdale, Arizona and are operated jointly by a nonprofit organization, Challenge Day.

The Challenge Day program is designed to be implemented jointly with its follow-up Challenger program that builds upon initial improvements through additional integrated exercises that are conducive to long-term maintenance of shorter-term benefits and changes in perceptions and behavior. As Resource Realizations founder David Gilcrease emphasizes, "While Challenge Day is a critical first step, a one-day learning experience only goes so far. To create truly lasting transformation in their lives, most teens need more" (quoted in Maklin, 2002 at p. 45).

The day-long Challenge Day program will initially be implemented for three days with the intention of accommodating 100 students per day in the future. Successful results will allow the expansion of the initiative to serve the entire targeted student body community.

The ultimate goal of the effort is to foster an encouraging environment of acceptance, love, and respect made possible by implementing tools capable of tearing down existing impediments or "walls" between and among individuals from diverse backgrounds to enable all students to flourish and achieve their full potential both academically and as contributors to a positive community off-campus as well as within the educational environment. Why is the program or policy being evaluated? (i.e., needs assessment).

The subject high school located in central Florida consists of a very ethnically diverse student population of approximately 3,000 with a 10-to-1 student-faculty/staff ratio administrated by a principal and six assistant principals. The school is plagued by ongoing issues of violence, aggression, gang affiliation and gang-motivated conflict, and both in-person and cyber-bullying behavior. What is the structure and context of the program? The Challenge Day program requires about 6-1/2 hours to complete and is administered during a normal school day.

According to their promotional literature, the program administrators at Challenge Day report that the program is intended to "help young people learn to connect through powerful, life-changing programs in their schools and communities. The day-long, interactive Challenge Day program provides teens and adults with tools to tear down the walls of separation, and inspires participants to live, study, and work in an encouraging environment of acceptance, love, and respect" (Frequently asked questions, 2008, p. 3).

The 6-1/2-hour program is devoted to a progressive set of exercises that help students relate to each other and is specifically designed to improve student relations in a highly diverse cultural and racial setting. What are the goals and objectives of the program? One of the most important attributes of the Challenge Day program is its flexibility in achieving different goals and objectives.

For example, although the general goals and objectives of the Challenge Day program are to promote an enhanced sense of self and others among student participants, as well as the larger community in which these schools exist, the specific goals and objectives of the Challenge Day program will vary according to the needs of the schools in which they take place.

In this regard, the Challenge Day organization states, "The types of students you recruit for Challenge Day may vary depending on the goals you intend to accomplish in your school/community" (Frequently asked questions, 2008, p. 3).

What do you want to accomplish with the evaluation? Because resources are by definition scarce and the Challenge Day program is not inexpensive in application, it is critically important that the effectiveness of this initiative be evaluated in a timely fashion to ensure that it is accomplishing what it is intended to and opportunities for improvement identified whenever possible.

The Challenge Day organization offers a number of follow-up and extension programs that supplement the Challenge Day program itself, and the decision as to whether to invest in these initiatives would therefore depend on the evaluation of the effectiveness of the original program during its first administration to determine if it was worth the costs involved, which are not insignificant. b.

Evaluation Plan & Implementation: What evaluation model will be used? The proposed research will examine the full spectrum of individual components previously identified as causal factors associated with on-campus aggression, intolerance, oppression, harassment, bullying, and overt violence.

Therefore, the questions proposed for examination include the measurable reduction of the following types of negative conduct identified by Neill (2002) in relation to all forms of adolescent aggression, bullying, and violence in schools: Attitude and Negativity, defined as negative posturing exhibited through externally observable mannerism including purposeful gait, exchanges of aggressive eye contact such as staring, and negative verbal comments expressed toward others or about others, particularly in a manner intended to be perceived in intimidating fashion.

Rumors and/or Gossip, defined as fabricating or perpetuating negative observations, associations, claims, beliefs, and specific occurrences about individuals or groups of individuals. Cliques, Stereotypes and Exclusion, defined as purposeful associations of groups intended to exclude others or resulting in their separation and/or isolation.

Verbal Abuse and Teasing, defined as any purposefully disrespectful verbal communication whether directed at individuals or groups of individuals or directed to others with the intention of being overheard or perceived by targeted individuals or groups as a means of intimidating or otherwise impacting negatively on them. Bullying and Intimidation, defined as any pattern of repeated harassing, coercive, or abusive conduct on the part of individuals or groups perpetrated against others by virtue of greater relative power, social status, or physical strength.

Physical Violence, including all forms of actual or threatened offensive physical touching of another individual. Gang Violence, defined as actual acts of physical violence or threatened violence or intimidation of other individuals or groups arising from affiliation with gangs or other established social group affiliations. In addition, the proposed study will examine changes in personal perceptions and beliefs about others as well as attitudes and measures of self-esteem.

Specifically, the proposed study will attempt to quantify and characterize positive changes in student with regard to the following issues: Self-described perception of personal safety and acceptance on campus. Self-described perception of anxiety levels attributed to aggression-related factors previously detailed. Self-described perception of racial and ethnic social tensions and/or antagonism between and among various student groups. Self-described perception of non-race-related and non-ethnicity-related tensions and/or antagonism between and among various student groups.

Who are the stakeholders? The immediate affected stakeholders in the Challenge Day program are the students (both participating and nonparticipating), school faculty and administrators, parents and caregivers, and the central Florida community in which the school is located. As the Challenge Day organization emphasizes, virtually everyone at the local is affected by the quality of schools: "Local community foundations, civic groups, police departments, businesses, service clubs, school safety funds, drug use prevention funds, and private donors have all provided funding for the implementation of Challenge Days" (Frequently asked questions, p. 5).

From a broader perspective, though, all of the citizens of the United States are affected by initiatives intended to improve the quality of the learning environment in the nation's schools, and this is the case with the proposed study as well.

What are the evaluation questions? The Challenge Day Student evaluation questions to be used in the proposed study are modeled after a comparable survey designed to assess the effects of the program on students for eight factors related to Challenge Day's theoretical foundation as follows: Relationship Skills; Respect & Safety; Bullying Reduction; Academic Skills; Loneliness Reduction; Emotional Expression; Substance Avoidance; and, Low Substance Culture. The survey authors report high internal reliability scores for the evaluation questions (Ferber et al., 2007).

The Challenge Day Student survey is comprised of a series of 34 questions, which are divided into the eight factor categories noted above. The questions for the first six factors used a scale of -3 (strongly disagree) to +3 (strongly agree); questions for the 7th and 8th factors concerning substance abuse used a scale of 0 (not at all) to 10 (a lot). The factors and corresponding questions for each factor are provided in Table __ below. Table ____. Challenge Day student survey eight factors and corresponding questions. Factor Corresponding Questions Scale Relationship Skills 1.

I speak up when problems arise. 2. I can easily express feelings. 3. I am good working w/others. 4. I am good at improving relationships. 5. I ask others for feedback. 6. I provide feedback to others. 7. I am comfortable being a leader. 8. I am good at facing conflicts, and resolving them. (strongly disagree) to +3 (strongly agree) Respect & Safety: 9. I am open minded. 10. I respect people. 11. I am a loving person. 12. I feel safe here at school. 13. I am accepting of fellow students. Bullying: 14. I see students tease each other. 15.

I see teachers tease students. 16. I tease other students. 17. I see students hurting others physically. 18. I hurt others physically. 19. I hurt others emotionally. Academic Skills: 20. I am interested in coming to school. 21. I am a good listener. 22. I am involved in extra-curricular activities. 23. I do my homework. 24. I get good grades. 25. Adults listen to me. Loneliness: 26. I am lonely. 27. I feel lonely when I'm at school. Emotional Expression: 28. I share my feelings easily. Substance Avoidance: 29. I used tobacco within 2 weeks. 30. I used alcohol within 2 weeks. 31. I used drugs within 2 weeks.

(not at all) to 10 (a lot). Low Substance Culture: 32. Students in this school use tobacco. 33. Students in this school use alcohol. 34. Students in this school use drugs. What methods will be used to answer the evaluation questions? The 100 students selected for the initial administration of the Challenge Day program will be requested to complete the questionnaire above, which is provided with the Challenge Day coordinator packet, prior to their participation. Following completion of the program, students will again be requested to complete the questionnaire.

Finally, the questionnaire will be administered just prior to the conclusion of the academic school year. Paper-and-pencil versions of the questionnaire will be used throughout the evaluation process. The purpose of the evaluation is to measure quantifiable changes that take place across the above continuums of student behaviors rather than individual changes. Therefore, although the questionnaires will be coded to identify pre- and post-test versions, there will be no personal identifiers included on the survey instruments and student anonymity will be maintained at all times.

The statistical data that develops from the pre- and post-test administrations of the Challenge Day survey will be analyzed using SPSS Version 11.0 (Student Version), and the results reporting in tabular, graphic and narrative fashion. What resources are needed? (i.e., budget, staff, timeline). The Challenge Day authorities recommend allowing at least 3 months for the planning phase of the initiative and for ensuring the effectiveness of any follow-up initiatives taken as a result of the initial program administration.

The Challenge Day organization provides some useful planning tools for this purpose as shown in Tables __ and ____ below. Table ____. Pre-Challenge Day planning tool. Activities/Goals What will be done? Activity Leader Who is responsible? Resources Funding/Time/ People/Materials Timeline By when? (Day/Month) Source: Be the Change Action Plan, 2008. Post-Challenge Day planning tool. Activities/Goals What will be done? Activity Leader Who is responsible? Resources Funding/Time/ People/Materials Timeline By when? (Day/Month) Source: Be the Change Action Plan, 2008.

In addition, there should be at least one adult (parents or teachers) in attendance for every four students; therefore, there should be at least 125 participants (100 students and 25 adults) in the Challenge Day program envisioned herein.

The price sheet provided by the Challenge Day organization states that the cost is $3,200 per day during the 2008-2009 school year; this charge includes the following: Pre-program coaching; One six-hour program for a maximum of 100 youth and a minimum of 25 adults; Two trained Program Leaders; Unlimited phone consultation; Banners to promote the teachings of Challenge Day; Post-program follow-up (Price sheet, 2008). c. Data Collection Plan & Reporting Results: The statistical data for the pre- and post-program questionnaires will be analyzed and reported as described above.

The results of the analysis will be used to identify areas where significant improvements were made as well as areas where problems remain so that follow-up measures can be implemented where necessary. How is the program implementation being assessed? As noted above, the implementation of the Challenge Day program is not necessarily complicated, but it does require some time to accomplish effectively.

The recruitment of a sufficient number of adult volunteers, for example, will require coordination with the school's parent-teacher organization as well as direct solicitations for adult volunteers to participate in the school newsletter and through press releases to the local media.

Therefore, the program implementation will be assessed along the 3-month timeline allotted, and milestones (i.e., budget, number of volunteers secured, number of students secured, etc.) will be monitored to ensure that a sufficient number of participants will be available by the scheduled start date and a sufficient amount of resources.