Utvecklings och forskningsprojekt för psykosocialt välbefinnande hos barn och ungdomar i den arktiska regionen

Cross-border Training Program for Supporting School education to Promote Psychosocial Well-being in the Barnets region

This article gives an account of the research, theory and empirical findings of a research and development project lasting nearly five years which took place within the framework of the ArctiChildren Project. In terms of background, bullying is viewed from an educational and societal perspective, in which developments and trends in research are elucidated. The control documents regulating the activities of schools are accounted for and the Equality of Treatment Act is extensively dealt with. The concept of bullying is discussed under its own heading. National and international research on the effects and consequences of bullying are accounted for. The theory section concludes with a survey of various different programmes, models, plans and methods for preventing and dealing with bullying in schools. Under the headings Development Work in the ArctiChildren II Project and Research in the ArctiChildren Project, the work done in the participating schools is reported.

The ArctiChildren project is a Interreg III Kolarctic project with the aim to enhance the psycho-social well being among children and youth in the Arctic. Finnmarkvidda College, Alta, Lapin Ylipisto, Rovaniemi, Murmansk State Pedagogical University, Russia and Unversity of Technology, Lule, Sweden are involved in the project. My task is to work with the participant schools as a lecturer and a consultant in the discourse of peer bullying. The development part is to help the schools to establish new methods to prevent and take measures against peer bullying. The research in the field of harassments is directed to a local Swedish school. This paper reports my work in the project between 2004-2006.

Since 2004 I am involved in the EU-project The Development and Research Project of Psychosocial Well-being among Children and Youth in the Arctic. The project includes universities north of the Arctic Circle in Finland, Russia, Norway and Luleå University of Technology, Sweden. The focus is to develop a supranational network model for promoting the psycho-social wellbeing, social environment and security of school-aged children in the Barents area. Urban and rural comprehensive schools are involved and one group of interest is the ingenuous, Sámi people. One common concern in all four countries is peer bullying. As an expert in research about peer bullying my task in the project is to work with participating Swedish schools staff to develop methods preventing peer bullying as well as taking measures against peer harassment and to do research in the field of peer bullying. My research will be investigating the prevalence and nature of the problem and to evaluate the school's development of new methods. So far I have carried out a peer bullying questionnaire and work as a consultant in two schools. This presentation will be a report of my work so far.

Since 2004 I am involved in the EU-project The Development and Research Project of Psychosocial Well.-being among Children and Youth in the Arctic. The project include universities north of the Arctic Circle in Finland, Russia, Norway and Luleå University of Technology, Sweden. The focus is to develop a supranational network model for promoting the psycho-social wellbeing, social environment and security of school-aged children in the Barents area. Urban and rural comprehensive schools are involved and one group of interest is the ingenuous, Sámi people. One common concern in all four countries is peer bullying. As an expert in research about peer bullying my task in the project is to work with participating Swedish schools staff to develop methods preventing peer bullying as well as taking measures against peer harassment and to do research in the field of peer bullying. My research will be investigating the prevalence and nature of the problem and to evaluate the school's development of new methods. So far I have carried out a peer bullying questionnaire and work as a consultant in two schools. I also am scheduling a plan for competence education for the staff in these schools and work implementing a course about conflict treatment in another school. My competence will also be used as a lecturer in the area of peer bullying in the other countries involved. My paper at the AARE-conference will be a report of my work so far.