The Case for Pro-Social Behaviours:
Countering an Aggressive Adolescent Culture with Positive Community Building
Kathleen L. Wright, B.A. (Hons.), B.Ed, M.Ed.
Department of Graduate and Undergraduate Studies in Education
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education
Faculty of Education, Brock University
St. Catharines, Ontario
© Kathleen L. Wright 2009
Abstract
This study explores whether experiential education, specifically Adventure Based Initiative Tasks, will help Grade 9 students to develop the skills necessary to create positive communities in a classroom setting. The purpose of this method was to find a way to help youth to connect well to one another in a media rich culture that promotes aggressive behaviours. Students in Canada and the United States have shown an increase in their choice to aggress, either physically or socially, to achieve social power. The effects of bullying are wide reaching and, as a result, pull students into a cycle of harmful actions that can lead to extreme reactions such as violence, suicide and school shootings. This study, based in Action Research, explored a process of team building games within a Grade 9 Family Studies classroom. The students learned the skills to react to one another in a supportive way, and did so in an experiential fashion by solving team building games as a group. Through their personal journals, students expressed that they gained stress and conflict management skills and that they were able to develop the specific skills that they needed to overcome their own personal challenges. The success of the project lies in the fact that the students utilized these skills outside of the games. This helped them to tackle the challenges that came from their first year of high school within a positive and supportive community.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank my mother, sister and brother for supporting me through this process. My mother’s exceptional editing skills and strong and bold affirmations helped me through the most difficult parts of this process. To all my wonderful friends and family who I have neglected, thank you for your patience, and think of the parties to come! Specifically, to Andrew Moores and Brad Mahar who have helped by listening to my ideas and asking the right questions at the right time. I would also like to thank my friend Wil van Hal. Our connecting visions of the world pushed me onto this specific path, and his advice and ear have helped me to focus and guide this study.
I would also like to thank my professors from the Brantford Cohort of Brock’s Masters of Education program. Their insight, support, and advice have helped me frame this project, and grow academically and personally. I would like to specifically show gratitude to Michael Manley-Casimir, my project advisor, for his ability to calm and focus me, his encouragement, his humour and his insight throughout the process.
To the members of the Brantford Cohort, this journey together has been hugely fulfilling. The two years of this program has shown many personal life changes, and the support and guidance I have found has been wonderful. Each member brought something amazing to our group, and allowed for a hugely enriching times through intellectual stimulation, hilarious laughter and deep friendships.
Dedication
This project is dedicated to my late father, Jim Wright. He was the ultimate community member, working towards the betterment of all institutions that he was involved with, and both of the communities in which he lived. His fulfilling life was a testament to the richness that comes when you are connected to a group of people.
He proved to me that peace could be found within and, no matter how stressful a situation, he showed me that conflict could be solved calmly. He believed every human to be important, and relished in hearing their stories. His effect on my life has pushed me to focus on finding a way to build positive communities in schools so that conflict and challenges can be dealt with positively and effectively. These issues will undoubtedly continue to interest me throughout my career. His belief in institutions of higher education led me to this path, and his pride in my acceptance into this program has driven me to its completion.
This project is also dedicated to my chosen sister, the late Mimi Maza. She believed that through positive human connections and open dialogue, a world peace could be found. She was always emphasizing the similarities between all humans, particularly as a solution for religious intolerance. Her empathy was stronger than anyone I have ever encountered, and through this she was able to create rich and deep human connections with every person she met.
Table of Contents
Abstract......
Acknowledgements......
Dedication......
Prologue...... viii
CHAPTER ONE: BEGINNINGS
Research Problem...... 1
Justification for the Research Problem...... 1
Purpose of the Study...... 2
Research Questions...... 3
School Community and Course Overview...... 3
Methods...... 8
Outline of the Remainder of the Document...... 9
Terms...... 11
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
INCREASED ADOLESCENT AGGRESSION IN A MEDIA RICH CULTURE
An Aggressive Culture...... 14
The Media and Its Effects on Child and Teen Aggression...... 20
Summary of Literature Review...... 31
CHAPTER THREE: LITERATURE REVIEW: THE DEVELOPMENT OF PRO-SOCIAL BEHAVIOURS THROUGH EXPERIENTIAL EDUCATION
...... 33
Redefining What Needs to be Taught...... 33
A School Based Solution to Increased Aggression: Experiential Education...... 36
Adventure Based Initiative Tasks: A Method to Create Positive Communities.....40
The Reflection Process...... 47
Summary of Literature Review...... 54
CHAPTER FOUR: PROJECT METHODS...... 56
Research Design...... 56
Student Participation...... 58
Ethical Considerations...... 59
Efforts to Establish Trustworthiness...... 61
Data Collection...... 62
Data Analysis...... 67
Limitations...... 71
CHAPTER FIVE: FINDINGS: LEARNING TO BUILD POSITIVE COMMUNITIESTHROUGH ADVENTURE BASED INITIATIVE TASKS ...... 73
Positive Community Building...... 73
Eustress...... 85
Stress and Conflict Management Techniques...... 94
Self Learning Through Skill Building...... 104
Conclusion of Research...... 109
CHAPTER SIX: CONCLUSIONS: COMMUNITY BUILDING: TOWARDS A NEW WAY OF BEING ...... 111
Connecting Literature to Research Project...... 111
Concluding Thoughts on Research...... 126
Challenges Uncovered by the Research...... 128
Implications for Future Programming...... 129
References...... 133
Appendix A: Ethics Clearance Letter...... 137
Appendix B: Student/Parent Consent Form...... 138
Appendix C: Student/Parent Information Letter...... 139
Appendix D: Suggested Journal Questions...... 142
Appendix E: Adventure Based Initiative Tasks...... 143
Appendix F: Student/Parent Letter of Findings...... 149
Appendix G: Diagram of Themes Kolb's Experiential Learning Cycle...... 151
Appendix H: Kolb's Experiential Learning Cycle...... 152
Prologue
KENYA
In my third year of university, I spent a term attending field studies courses in Kenya. Nearing the end of the trip, I gave an oral journal for my Sustainable Development class. With tears streaming down my cheeks, I told my friends that the headspace that I was in made me feel like I was floating next to the world and watching it spin. From space, I could see a string dangling from the Earth. No matter how hard I tried, I could not catch the string. No ideology, solution,nor action seemed to let me get a hold of it. That string was my ticket back onto Earth, where I desperately wanted to belong. Before I could grab on, however, I had to find a new way of walking, talking and acting on our planet. These feelings, thoughts and experiences had caused me to feel horrible. I felt lost, confused and guilty. I explained in my oral journal that as awful as these feelings were, I hoped that I would never forget how I felt that day, so that I would never lose sight that both myself and the world needed to change.
The trip that I was on in Kenya was called the Canadian Field Studies in Africa Program. The trip’s educational methodology was that of experiential education and my focus was in international development and sustainability issues. In our classes, we would be asked to go to villages and discuss with its inhabitants such pertinent issues as water, education and health care. We met many people, and visited projects through the country. For some, Global Climate Change had created desertification, which had dried out their crops. For others, excess flooding stunted crop growth and pushed predators close to their homes, killing family members. For those living in the shanty towns of the city, snuffing glue was a common practice, in order to find the courage to make it through yet another day.
The opportunity to connect with the individualsthat I met, provided me with a unique window into each of their lives. This experience allowed me to learn deeply beyond anything that could have been created in a university classroom. I am astounded by the tiny details that I can still remember from a trip that occurred seven years ago.
The overwhelming emotions that came with this type of learning have defined who I am as a person. Luckily, after months of learning and soul searching, I was able to grab that string and jump back on to Earth as a changed person who acted in a much more honest and peaceful way. Since that day, I deliberately choose jobs, take actions and lead my life in a way that affect the world in the most positive way that I know how.
I believe that this sense of urgency I felt to create positive change was a direct result of our trip having been rooted in experiential education. Without putting my learning into context, I would have never been affected to the same level. The connections that I formed with the Kenyans I met helped spur the change that occurred within my own morals and values. These could never have been possible simply by reading information from a textbook.
The depth of what is learned is one of the huge benefits of experiential education. My university term in Kenya allowed me to see that it is through developing these rich learning environments that change will happen. Learning does not only exist in the purely intellectual academic sphere because of the personal and environmental engagement that also occurs. This type of learning, although also intellectual, has the extra ability to create deeply personal, social and emotional learning.
OUTDOOR AND EXPERIENTIAL EDUCATION
Once home from Kenya, I struggled through the end of my Concurrent Education degree. The regular classroom setting did not lend itself to teaching experientially. I was up for the challenge though, and tried to develop lessons in which my students were feeling, seeing and, most importantly, living their lessons. My students were always engaged in my classrooms and excited about what they might learn next. My co-workers however were a different story. I was constantly warned that I might burn ou,t and at every turn seemed to hit a brick wall within the education system. Schools seemed to be much more concerned with standardized tests, following the curriculum documents and testing as a means to an end. After a very frustrating three placements in my Bachelor of Education year, I decided that the only way I was going to teach in a meaningful manner was to do so outdoors. My dream of teaching shifted to creating and developing an Outdoor and Experiential Education Center.
Teaching outdoors was an excellent experience. I first taught with the Otesha Project on a bike trip across Canada. Through theatre, storytelling, motivational speaking and workshops, we delivered the necessities of a more sustainable Canada to thousands of youth. I taught skiing in the Alps in Switzerland and life skills and leadership within a Tim Horton Children’s Foundation camps in Southern Ontario. I even worked at Kinark Outdoor Center, a camp bordering Algonquin Park that serviced any type special needs client. My professional learning for almost three years centered around ways to develop social skills, positive communities and peaceful problem solving skills with youth. I learned not only about the multitude of types of experiential strategies that existed, but honed my management skills by observing and working with some exceptional facilitators.
One of my last camping experiences was with the Tim Horton Children’s Foundation Youth Leadership Program at Onondaga Farms. The “Farm”, and the program set up, was one of the most profound learning environments I have ever experienced. Throughout each ten day session, deep bonds were created through workshops, sharing circles, activity planning and games and through learning group conflict management skills. Friendships were created for life, and self-discovery occurred at every moment. Campers were guided through these experiences, but were given ample opportunities to find their voices and discuss their new realizations about themselves. Reflection came in many forms: journal writing, sharing circles before bed, debriefs after adventure tasks and, if needed, during one-on-one conversations with other campers or counselors. These learning strategies helped to facilitate personal connections. The connections to themselves, to other campers and facilitators were strengthened through their curriculum.
Palmer (1998) so clearly defines my connections to my campers that first summer: “Small wonder, then, that teaching tugs at the heart, opens the heart, even breaks the heart – and the more one loves teaching, the more heartbreaking it can be” (p. 11). It was a summer of powerful realizations for my campers. These realizations were created by me because of my willingness to listen, my ability to read their need to communicate, my capabilities to problem solve, and my devotion to help. These powerful moments time and time again occurred with each group that I was fortunate enough to work with. As the summer moved on, I realized my gift of creating a space where my campers could say what they had buried deep down inside. With reality out in the open, we could process the information together.
I remember a very defining moment in my summer during the end of our fifth of six sessions. I was up at four am to say goodbye to my sixteen and seventeen year old boy campers going home to New Brunswick and Québec. I had five boys, all over six feet tall, in a group hug, sobbing at the prospect of their leaving the security of camp and nervous to return home. One boy said to me “You just have no idea… you have no idea what you’ve done for me. I’m going home this different person, and it’s because of you.” I thought for a minute, and responded, “But you have no idea what you have done for me. You are leaving me a changed person too.”
The care that I had for my campers broke my heart and rebuilt it a million times. The stories that I heard shattered me. I was in constant awe of the adolescents I worked with, recognizing their human strength in overcoming their life obstacles. My consistent comment to them was “I can’t ever tell you that I know how you feel, but I promise that I feel for you right now.” And feel I did. I cried often, I learned, and I cared. Most importantly, however, I changed. With each camper, each story, each success and each failure, I changed. As Alfred Tennyson so wisely wrote in his poem Ulyses (1842) “I am a part of all that I have met”. I became each individual experience, I learned from their lives, and interpreted them for my own. I was truly connected.
It was through this experience that I knew that it was time to move into the classroom. As much as I had loved working in camping, I felt the urge to work for longer periods with teenagers. My campers came from every corner of Canada and the United States, and I felt in some ways we were failing them by being so intensely connected for only ten days of their year, and then sending them back home to the same communities or families that had struggled to raise them. I wanted to be able to work closely with their parents or guardians, social workers and therapists. I felt that working with the same students over a longer period of time would enable me to make more effective differences in their lives.
TEACHING IN A CLASSROOM
My first year teaching was at a small rural farm school. Although I brought in many of my techniques that I used in camping into the classroom, I was unsure as to the level of change I was able to make in their lives. At the end of the year, I had the opportunity to go to a leadership camp with my Grade 7 and 8 students. Being on the other side of the coin was an excellent opportunity. I hugely enjoyed watching the students that I had got to know very well grow and change through the same experiential learning methods that I had used to help so many classes grow in my previous work in outdoor education. A very profound experience was had by one specific student:
Ben. Deeply intelligent, a perfectionist, intuitive, introverted, but… friendless. Ben’s mother said to me during that year’s parent-teacher interview “He just has no use for other human beings”. “Garbage,” I thought. I knew that Ben has been bullied since Kindergarten and I believed that as a result of seven years of being laughed at and ostracized, Ben had shut down. The bullying had subsided greatly that year, but the effects of it still seemed to dominate Ben’s inability to interact socially with others.