It’s a well-known fact that Finnish schools are a great example to follow in many ways, mainly because they’re concerned with the education of young children above all else.

Finland has once again become a role model for the world with the creation of KiVa, which is an anti-bullying program used in Finnish schools to end bullying. This educational program is extremely important because according to data released by UIS, 1/3 of young children worldwide have recently experienced bullying.

The KiVa is an anti-bullying program created by the Finnish Ministry of Education. KiVa stands for “Kiusaamista Vastaan”, which means “against bullying” in Finnish. It was created in 2007 and in that same year, this program reduced the bullying rates by 40%. Currently, 90% of Finnish schools have already implemented it and have managed to eliminate cases of bullying in classrooms.

The goal of KiVa is to make students aware of the danger of bullying and to help them to become the defenders of those who are being bullied. Children stop being witnesses and know that if they all face the bully together, it won’t happen to any other child again.

 

 

The program is based on intervention and prevention.

1. They use a virtual mailbox where cases of bullying can be reported anonymously.point 251 |

2. They have a teacher who can be trusted since children need an adult in school who listens to them, understands them, and takes care of them.point 127 | At recess time, teachers monitor their behavior.point 171 |
3. They support the victim and sensitize the witnesses.point 216 |

   There will be 3 teacher experts that will be in charge of reassuring the victim and dialoguing with the bully until the problem is solved.point 126 |

4. They work on emotions and values.point 156 | Children learn how to identify what their peers feel through non-verbal language and work on having empathy and respect for others.point 271 |

 point 6 | 1

 

Students who participate in this method receive around 20 classes at 7, 10 and 13 years. In this way, experts can identify different types of bullying depending on the age and work to end it.

Due to its success, this method has been implemented and being implemented in many other countries.point 86 | In 2015, the first phase of implementation of the KiVa anti-bullying program was accepted in the Latin American countries of Argentina, Colombia, Spain, Mexico, and Chile.point 242 |

At that time, the content was only available in English, so it started being used in bilingual schools.point 96 | Other countries such as The Netherlands, The United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Luxembourg, Estonia, Sweden, New Zealand, and Hungary have also started using this method in some of their schools.point 274 | 1

What do you think of the KiVa program? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

 

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