COREMatters: A Bullying Intervention Pilot Study

While bullying is a serious concern for students and educators alike, empirically tested interventions are needed. This study examined the impact of a bullying intervention curriculum at a public middle school in the Midwest. This intervention, COREMatters, was designed to reduce bullying behaviors, foster a greater sense of community cohesion and trust in the school, improve school climate, and increase student self-esteem. As such, the intervention required participation of teachers, administrators, students, and outside experts. COREMatters was modeled after theoretical frameworks of socioemotional learning and Bloom’s taxonomy. Additionally, components of This We Believe outlining successful schools were considered. Uniquely contributing to this intervention is the inclusion of martial arts instruction. The intervention was taught as a whole, integrated model. The t-tests indicated significant differences between the control and intervention groups on measures of school climate, student self-esteem, and school cohesion and trust. Students in the intervention group scored higher in measures of self-esteem and rated their schools more positively on measures of cohesion and trust and climate.