University of Hertfordshire

Our research programme is developing and evaluating anti-bullying initiatives using innovative technology. We are also interested in individual differences associated with bullying behaviour. Other research projects are investigating children’s peer relations and friendship behaviour among school and clinical populations.

 

We are currently involved in a European funded Framework 6 project called E-Circus that is investigating the use of virtual dramas and computer software that children can interact with to learn about, and aid the prevention of bullying behaviour. ICT applications are seen as a way of enhancing education by offering experiences that children might not get from other methods. There is currently a lack of applications focused at experiential social and emotional learning. Our school evaluation with E-Circus is also carried out in collaboration with ParentLine

 

Children find interacting with novel activities using IT exciting and motivating, and this is evident from the recent growth of the computer games market. Children use IT for many innovative tasks and activities, such as gaining new experiences within virtual environments. We believe that there is lots of scope for experiential learning with IT approaches for children to explore new ideas surrounding socially sensitive issues.

 

Other research projects under development include collaborating with Red Balloon Schools to carry out a service and user-led evaluation study of children who are victims of severe bullying, and a further study aims to consider the link between bullying and effective coping strategies.

References:

Woods, S., Hall, L., Dautenhahn, K., & Wolke, D. (2007). Implications of gender differences for the development of animated characters for the study of bullying behaviour. Computers in Human Behavior, 23, 770-786.
(download pdf file 1)

Woods, S., & Wolke, D. (2004). Direct and relational bullying experiences among primary school children, and academic achievement. Journal of School Psychology, 42(2), 135-155.
(download pdf file 2)

Woods, S., & White, E. (2005). The association between bullying behaviour, arousal levels and behaviour problems. Journal of Adolescence, 28, 381-395.
(download pdf file 3)

Hall, L., Woods, S., Aylett, R., Paiva, A. (2006). Using Theory of Mind Methods to investigate empathic engagement with synthetic characters. International Journal of Humanoid Robotics: Special Issue on Achieving Human-Like Qualities in Interactive Virtual and Physical Humanoids, 3, 351-370.
(download pdf file 4)