Course Title

Coping with School Violence and Bullying: An Online Course for Parents

Expected time involvement of students

Approximately 24-30 hours

Course description and learning objectives

The VISTOP Parents Pathway is a course that has been designed for Parents by Prof. Mona O' Moore and Dr. Stephen James Minton. The pathway includes:

• information on current research and practice about violence reduction and prevention;
• activities on conflict resolution, mediation, peer support;
• restorative approaches in schools;
• links to useful websites

The course looks at different aspects of bullying in the school and aims to provide the student with an understanding of the definition and context of school violence. The course equips the student with an understanding of the processes involved when embedding the whole school approach to violence in the school. The course outlines restorative approaches to bullying in schools and highlights the benefits of peer mediation in the school.

Overview of modules

• Module 1: Understanding the definition and context of school violence
• Module 2: Whole School Community Approach
• Module 3: Working with parents
• Module 4: Dealing with indiscipline and disruption
• Module 5: Children Helping Children : Peer Support
• Module 6: Restorative approaches in schools
• Module 7: School bullying and violence: The role of the Internet

Requirements for students

The student can undertake the seven self-study modules within an open time frame. The student should allocate between 4-10 hours per week for the course. There is a number of exercises included in each module which the student can complete in his/her own time. There is also a number of reflective exercises which will encourage the student to consider the modules content..

Developed by

Prof. Mona O’Moore

Mona O’Moore graduated from Trinity College, Dublin gaining her M.A in Child and Educational Psychology from the University of Nottingham and her Ph.D from Edinburgh University, and is a Fellow of Trinity College. She is also the founder and co-ordinator of the Anti-Bullying Research and Resource Unit. She has served on ministerial working parties which have drawn up guidelines on countering bullying in schools and in the workplace .She is a member of seven European Research Partnerships and is currently a member of the British-Irish Anti-Bullying Forum. She has published widely, in particular in the area of school bullying.

E-mail: momoore@tcd.ie

Dr. Stephen James Minton

Stephen James Minton is a lecturer in the Psychology of Education, and Co-Ordinator of the division of Continuing Professional Development at the School of Education, Trinity College Dublin. He is a graduate of the University of Glasgow (B.Sc (Hons)) and Trinity College Dublin (M.Sc (Couns.Psych) Ph.D) . Dr. Minton was the director of training of the Nationwide Intervention Programme against Bullying Behavior in Irish Schools, which ran from 2003 until 2006, and is the co-author (with Professor Mona O’ |Moore) of Dealing with Bullying in Schools: A Training Manual for Teachers, Parents and Other Professionals.

E-mail: mintonst@tcd.ie

Registration information

Participation at this online course is free of charge.

Access

The course’s URL: www.vistop.org/moodle/course/view.php