KiVa Anti Bullying Program 

KiVa includes both universal actions to prevent the occurrence of bullying and indicated actions to intervene in individual bullying cases. The program has three different developmentally appropriate versions for Grades 1-3 (Unit 1), 4-6 (Unit 2), and 7-9 (Unit 3). The Blueprints for Healthy Youth Development registry has certified the evaluation evidence for grades 2-6 only, as there was No consistent pattern of results in grades 8-9 with more Non-significant findings than significant findings and bystander behavior was in an unfavorable direction.

Indicated actions. In each school, a team of three teachers (or other school personnel), along with the classroom teacher, addresses each case of bullying that is witnessed or revealed. Cases are handled through a set of individual and small group discussions with the victims and with the bullies, and systematic follow-up meetings. In addition, the classroom teacher meets with two to four prosocial and high-status classmates, encouraging them to support the victimized child.

Universal actions. The KiVa program includes 20 hours of student lessons (10 double lessons) given by classroom teachers during a school year. The central aims of the lessons are to: (a) raise awareness of the role that the group plays in maintaining bullying, (b) increase empathy toward victims, and (c) promote children's strategies of supporting the victim and thus their self-efficacy to do so. The lessons involve discussion, group work, role-play exercises, and short films about bullying. As the lessons proceed, class rules based on the central themes of the lessons are successively adopted one at a time.