Be-Prox. An Effectiveness Study of Bullying Intervention in Norwegian Kindergartens.

With an overall aim to ensure a safe and sound kindergarten environment for all Norwegian children in accordance with the Kindergarten Act §§41-43, the objectives of the current project are: To evaluate the effectiveness of Be-Prox Norway to prevent and handle negative behavior and bullying among peers in Norwegian kindergartens. To examine implementation factors that promote and inhibit the effectiveness of Be-Prox Norway in Norwegian kindergartens. To describe the cost-effectiveness of the Be-Prox Norway intervention in Norwegian kindergartens. To generate knowledge on how the Be-Prox Norway intervention can be aligned and implemented in Norwegian kindergartens.

January 1st, 2021, new additions to the Kindergarten Act came into force in Norway introducing the right for all children to a safe and sound kindergarten environment. According to this act, Norwegian kindergartens shall systematically work to preventing bullying and social exclusion, including adopting a zero-tolerance for violations such as exclusion, bullying, violence, discrimination, and harassment. While relatively little is known about bullying at this age, a growing body of research suggests that bullying occurs also between kindergarten peers and that experiencing bullying at early age is associated with negative consequences. Currently there are few evidence-based interventions directly targeting bullying among kindergarten peers. Be-Prox, developed for Swiss kindergartens to prevent, uncover and handle negative behavior and bullying in kindergartens have been translated and adjusted to a Norwegian context in a previous pilot study. The current project is a close collaboration between two Norwegian municipalities, regional centres for child and youth mental health and welfare, and research and educational institutions. The project aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the Be-Prox Norway in a cluster randomized controlled trial, including process and implementation evaluation and cost-effectiveness analyses. Hence the project complies with the current call through introducing research on tools, systems and models that promote evidence-based practices in Norwegian kindergartens in general, and to prevent negative acts and bullying between kindergarten peers in particular. If proven effective, Be-Prox Norway can be offered to kindergartens nationwide as evidence-based practice to prevent, uncover and handle negative behavior and bullying among Norwegian kindergarten peers.