Evaluation Report of Zippy’s Friends Program in the … · Evaluation Report of Zippy’s Friends...

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1 Evaluation Report of Zippy’s Friends Program in the Czech Republic Žufníček J., Gricová J., Běláček J., Dosoudil P., Čermáková M., Papežová H. Groundwork for the Study This research study is based on the implementation of Zippy’s Friends methodology, which was supported by Ministry of Health of the CR in 2015–2016 as a part of Norway Grant scheme Psychiatric Care. The methodology represents a long-term, systematic and structured programme for 5–7 years old children in the area of emotions, communication, conflict agreement and strategy for solving difficult situations. The programme has been established in more than 30 countries worldwide. The Zippy’s Friends programme focuses on the prevention of mental illnesses and their consequences. The aim of the methodology is to increase skills and competences of children at the age of 5 to 7 (i.e. pupils of lower grades of primary schools in our case) in the area of emotions, communication, self-confidence and social interactions, which helps to lower the risk of incidence of mental illnesses and risk behaviour of these children, especially in adolescence and adulthood. Nowadays, there are many preventive programmes for late and middle school age and adults, focusing on suppressing demonstrations of specific areas of risk behaviour (such as racism, xenophobia, extreme aggression, drug abuse etc.). However, there is a critical lack of such programmes, especially those targeted at mental health, for children of early school age. In early school age children enter a new environment and group, diametrically different from their previous experience. They are mature enough to learn new things, accept new behaviour patterns, form their own attitudes and opinions, and to assert themselves in the group. This age is ideal for forming healthy attitudes and relationships with peers and towards authority figures. Design and the Methodology Used The aim of the research was to assess the effectiveness of the Zippy’s Friends programme, using a prospective, controlled and randomized study. The study comprised 14 schools randomly divided (randomized study) into two groups of the same size – the experimental and control groups (controlled study). In the school year 2015/2016 the experimental group worked with the Zippy’s Friends methodology, the control group did not. The entry level of the monitored phenomena was detected by pre-testing in both the groups. The comparison was carried out after post-testing after the end of programme implementation.

Transcript of Evaluation Report of Zippy’s Friends Program in the … · Evaluation Report of Zippy’s Friends...

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EvaluationReportofZippy’sFriendsProgram

intheCzechRepublicŽufníčekJ.,GricováJ.,BěláčekJ.,DosoudilP.,ČermákováM.,PapežováH.

GroundworkfortheStudy

Thisresearchstudy isbasedonthe implementationofZippy’sFriendsmethodology,whichwas supported byMinistry of Health of the CR in 2015–2016 as a part of Norway Grantscheme Psychiatric Care. The methodology represents a long-term, systematic andstructuredprogrammefor5–7yearsoldchildren intheareaofemotions,communication,conflict agreement and strategy for solving difficult situations. The programme has beenestablishedinmorethan30countriesworldwide.

The Zippy’s Friends programme focuses on the prevention of mental illnesses and theirconsequences.Theaimofthemethodologyistoincreaseskillsandcompetencesofchildrenattheageof5to7(i.e.pupilsoflowergradesofprimaryschoolsinourcase)intheareaofemotions,communication,self-confidenceandsocialinteractions,whichhelpstolowertherisk of incidence of mental illnesses and risk behaviour of these children, especially inadolescenceandadulthood.

Nowadays, there are many preventive programmes for late and middle school age andadults, focusingonsuppressingdemonstrationsofspecificareasof riskbehaviour (suchasracism,xenophobia,extremeaggression,drugabuseetc.).However,thereisacriticallackofsuchprogrammes,especially those targetedatmentalhealth, for childrenofearly schoolage.

Inearlyschoolagechildrenenteranewenvironmentandgroup,diametricallydifferentfromtheirpreviousexperience.Theyarematureenoughtolearnnewthings,acceptnewbehaviourpatterns,formtheirownattitudesandopinions,andtoassertthemselvesinthegroup.Thisageisidealforforminghealthyattitudesandrelationshipswithpeersandtowardsauthorityfigures.

DesignandtheMethodologyUsed

TheaimoftheresearchwastoassesstheeffectivenessoftheZippy’sFriendsprogramme,using a prospective, controlled and randomized study. The study comprised 14 schoolsrandomlydivided(randomizedstudy) intotwogroupsofthesamesize–theexperimentalandcontrolgroups(controlledstudy).Intheschoolyear2015/2016theexperimentalgroupworkedwiththeZippy’sFriendsmethodology,thecontrolgroupdidnot.Theentrylevelofthemonitoredphenomenawasdetectedbypre-testinginboththegroups.Thecomparisonwascarriedoutafterpost-testingaftertheendofprogrammeimplementation.

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For the needs of study, we prepared a questionnaire (Appendix 1) monitoring thephenomena which were the focus of Zippy’s Friends modules and which we expected toinfluence the children in the experimental group during the implementation of theprogramme.Thequestionnaireconsistedofasetof31questionsforteachers’assessmentofthe individualbehaviourofpupils intheareasofself-managementandsocialskills.All thequestions had a 4-point scale answers assessing the frequency of the incidence of themonitoredphenomenon(1=never,4=almosteverytime).

Besides this, the questionnaire also monitored whether the children made progress inacademic skills and what the success of the children with special educational needs wasduringtheprogrammeimplementation.

Theteachersfilled inthequestionnairebeforethestart (pre-test)andaftertheend(post-test)ofworkingwiththemethodology.Foreachchild,auniquecodewascreated,enablingmatching the completed questionnaires and securing anonymity and safety for individualchildrenandschoolstakingpartinthestudy.

After the end of implementation, the questionnairewas also given to the pupils’ parentswhocouldprovideanotherviewofdevelopmentalprogressoftheirchildren.

In the study, statisticalmethods for comparisonof experimental and control groupswereused. We expected a comparable level in the monitored phenomena in the control andexperimental groups when comparing a pre-test of both the groups. Furthermore, weexpected a significant difference in the monitored phenomena in the control andexperimental groups when comparing a post-test of both the groups.ScheduleoftheStudy

The programme Zippy’s Friends (ZF) was realized in the school year 2015/2016 in ourproject.

In the preparatory period, before the start of the school year, we designed the researchsurveyandcreatedthequestionnaire,whichwasusedinthestudy.

Theteachersfromboththeexperimentalandcontrolgroupswereinformedindetailaboutthequestionnaire contentandmethod fordata collection.All uncertaintieswere resolvedcontinuouslyandimmediately.

In September andOctober2015data from thepre-testwere collected– thepre-test hadbeenfinishedbeforetheactualimplementationoftheZFprogrammestarted.

The teachers from the experimental group (from 7 primary schools) were trained in themethodologyattwoworkshopstakingplaceatthebeginningoftheschoolyear.Theyused6modulesdividedinto24unitsintheworkwiththeZFmethodology.

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Thepre-testdatawereprocessedandevaluatedintheautumn2015andatthebeginningof2016.

During the work with the programme 3 methodological meetings of teachers from theexperimental group took place – every two months so that they could work withapproximately2modulesinthemeantime.

InJune2016,aftertheendoftheZFmethodologyimplementation,thepost-testinboththeexperimentalandcontrolgroupswascarriedout.

Finally, processing and analysis of data collected from thepre-test and thepost-test tookplaceandwasfinishedinOctober2016.Themainconclusions,importantfortheevaluationoftheeffectivenessoftheZFprogramme,aregiveninthisfinalevaluationreport.

DescriptionoftheResearchSample

Therespondentsinthepre-testandthepost-testwereteachers,inthepost-testalsoparents.Theteachersgaveanswersforindividualpupils;datafromthepre-testandthepost-testwerematchedbyidentificationcodes.Thesamplecharacteristicsarederivedfromthenumberwegotaftermatchingthequestionnaires;thesedataweretheinputforprocessingandanalysis.

Table1Characteristicsoftheresearchsample

Number(N)

Filled-inquestionnairesinthepre-testandthepost-testintotal

807

Questionnairesintheexperimentalgroup 466

Questionnairesinthecontrolgroup 341

Schoolsintheexperimentalgroup 7

Schoolsinthecontrolgroup 7

Teachersintheexperimentalgroup 25

Teachersinthecontrolgroup 18

Questionnairesfilled-inbyparents 114

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Results:SuccessRateofChildrenfromtheExperimentalGroupComparedwiththeControlGroup

Inthefollowingfigurethereisanobviousdifferenceinthesuccessrateoftheexperimentalandthecontrolgroup.Afterimplementationoftheprogramme,thechildrenfromtheexperimentalgrouphadbetterevaluationinalmostallthemonitoredareasinthepost-test.

Figure1Thedifferencesbetweentheexperimentalandcontrolgroupsinthesetofquestionsinthepre-testvs.post-test;asummary

Experimentalandcontrolgroups.N=807,incl.Nexp=466,Ncont=341.

Thedifferencebetweenthepre-testandthepost-testfortheexperimentalandcontrolgroupsisalsoshowninFigures2and3.

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Figure2Differencesbetweenthepre-testandthepost-testintheexperimentalgroup

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Figure3Differencesbetweenthepre-testandthepost-testinthecontrolgroup

Experimentalandcontrolgroups.N=807,incl.Nexp=466,Ncont=341.

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Thedifferenceintheexperimentalandcontrolgroupswasnotprovedincaseofthefollowingphenomena:

• fights• isimpulsive• islonely• isnervousinthegroupofchildren.

Significantdifferencesappearinginboththegroups:

Inboththecontrolandexperimentalgroupsthechildrenargueandliemore.Thedifferencebetweenthepre-testandthepost-testissmallerintheexperimentalgroup.Thechildreninboththegroupsaremoreself-reliantandcompleteworkontimemoreoften;theycanapologizeandarebetterindescribingtheirfeelings.However,intheexperimentalgroup,thechildrenmademoreprogressinphenomena“Describeshis/herfeelings”and“Canapologize”.

Significantdifferencesbetweentheexperimentalandthecontrolgroupsappearedinthefollowingareas:(pre-posttestcomparisonshowedabiggerdifferenceintheexperimentalgroup)

§ Self-managementskills:

• canpostponeneeds• isself-reliant• managesschoolstress• maintainsorder• completesworkontime• adaptstosituations.

§ Socialskills:

• cooperateswithpeers• isabletoaskforhelp• resolvesconflicts• acceptscriticism• pointsoutinjustice• describeshis/herfeelings

(muchmoresignificantlydifferentinthepre-postcomparisonthaninthecontrolgroup).

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ThefollowingFigure4showsthedifferenceinevaluationofchildrenintheexperimentalandthecontrolgroupsinthepost-test.Figure4Differencesbetweentheexperimentalandthecontrolgroupsinthepost-test

Experimentalandcontrolgroups.N=807,incl.Nexp=466,Ncont=341.

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Results:AccordingtotheGradesAllthefigures,comparingsuccessrateintheparticulargrades,showasignificantprogressintheexperimentalgroup,withthemostsignificantimprovementinthemonitoredphenomenainthefirstandsecondgrade.Thiscanbecomparedwiththeteachers’observationsayingthattheeasiestworkwithchildrenisinthesecondgrade,seeSummaryofTeachers’Experience.Wecanconcludethatinthesecondgrade,theZFprogrammebringstheapparentbenefit(eventhoughnotsohighaoneasinthezeroandfirstgrade)andatthesametimechildrenhaveadaptedtotheschoolenvironment.InthecaseofzerogradewecanspeculatethattheprogressiscausedbyimplementationofZFprogrammeorthenaturaldevelopmentofchildrenatthisage.Wedonothavecomparisonwithacontrolgroupinthisgrade,astheystoppedcollaboratingduringtheperiodofdatacollection.Inthethirdgradethedifferencesarenotsobig;oneofthecausesmightbealowernumberofpupilsinthegroup,anotheronetheageofchildren(i.e.8–9years).ThesechildrenareolderthanthetargetgroupoftheZFprogramme(5–7years).

Figure5Frequencyofthemonitoreddemonstrationsofbehaviour

Ngrade0=41.

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Figure6Experimentalgroupgrade1

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Ngrade1=376.

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Figure8Experimentalgroupgrade2

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aintainsorder

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escribeshis/

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PRETEST-POSTTESTvsgrade3:Controlgroup

PRE_Kon_3 POST_Kon_3

12

Results:ComparisonofBoysandGirls

Figure12comparesthechangesofthelevelofthemonitoredphenomenabetweenthetargetgroupofboysandthegroupofgirlsintheexperimentalgroup.Ingeneral,theboysgotalowerevaluationthanthegirlsinthepre-test.AftertheimplementationoftheZFprogrammeandthepost-testitshowedthatboththegirlsandboyshadmadecomparableprogressinthemonitoredareas.ThuswecanconcludethattheimplementationoftheZFprogrammebringssimilarbenefitforbothgirlsandboys.

Theboysmadesignificantprogressinthephenomena“Canappreciatehimself”andaccordingtotheteachers,theyarealsobetteratdescribingtheirfeelings,eventhough,incaseofthisitem,thegirlsgotahigherscore.Inthequestion“Pointsoutinjustice”thegirlsandtheboysgotthesameresultsaftertheimplementationoftheprogramme.

Figure12Gender

Nexp=466.

2.002.202.402.602.803.003.203.403.603.804.00

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PRE-POSTGender

PRE-"Boys"PRE-"Girsl"POST-"Boys"

13

Results:PupilswithSpecialEducationalNeeds1Whenwestartedtheproject,oneofourpointsofinterestwasalsothereactionofpupilswithSENtotheprogrammeimplementation.Thusweincludedseveralquestionsinthequestionnairehelpingustoidentifysuchchildren.Theywerefromthefollowinggroups2:

• childrenwithdisabilities(physicaldisability,visualimpairment,hearingimpairment,intellectualdisability,mentaldisorders,autism,speechimpediment,combineddisabilities,developmentallearningdisabilities,andbehaviourdisorders)

• childrenwithahealthproblemorhandicap(weakenedbytheirhealthstate,long-termillnessandlighthandicapsleadingtolearningdisabilitiesandbehaviourdisorders)

• childrenwithasocialhandicap(fromfamilieswithlowsocio-culturalstatus,threatenedwithsociallypathologicalphenomena,withinstitutionaleducationorprotectivecustody,pupilswithanasylum-seekerstatus).

ThefollowingFigures13and14showthechangesinthemonitoredphenomenalevelofpupilswithSENandcomparethembetweenthecontrolandexperimentalgroups.

Itisobviousthatinthecontrolgroupthelevelofthemonitoredphenomenadidnotchangesignificantly,unlikethecaseofexperimentalgroup,inwhichtheprogressbetweenthepre-testandthepost-test(i.e.aftertheendofprogrammeimplementation)isclear.

ThepupilswithSENmadesuchsignificantprogressinthemonitoredphenomenathatinthepost-testtheirresultsapproximatethoseofchildrenwithoutidentifieddiagnosis.

Inthecontrolgroup,nosuchprogresswasmadeandthepupilswithSENgotamuchlowerscorethantherestofclass.

WecanconcludethatZFprogrammeconsiderablycontributestotheadaptationofchildrenwithSENtotheschoolenvironmentandtheirintegrationamongpeers;thelatteroneisprovedbythephenomenonwiththehighestprogressmade“Isabletoaskforhelp”.

1Inthestudywemeanachildthathadbeendiagnosedbyschoolcounsellingdepartmentandbelongstothecategoryofchildrenwithspecialeducationalneeds.2Article16ofActNo.561/2004Coll.of24September2004onPre-school,Basic,Secondary,TertiaryProfessionalandOtherEducation.

14

Figure13Comparisonofthepupilswithdiagnosisandwithoutdiagnosisintheexperimentalgroup–pre-posttest

NexpDg.yes=97,Dg.no=369.

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PRE-POSTvsDg(YESvsNO)proExperimental

PRE_DgYES_Exper PRE_DgNO_Exper

POST_DgYES_Exper POST_DgNO_Exper

15

Figure14Comparisonofthepupilswithdiagnosisandwithoutdiagnosisinthecontrolgroup–pre-posttest

NcontDg.yes=75,Dg.no=266.

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PRE-POSTvsDg(YESvsNO)proControl

PRE_DgYES_Con PRE_DgNO_Noc

POST_DgYES_Con POST_DgNO_Con

16

Results:Academicsuccess

Theteachersratedindividualpupilsaccordingtotheirabilitiestomasterthecurriculumonthe4-pointscale(“excellent”,“verygood”,“average”,“belowaverage”).

ThefollowingTable2showstheevaluationbyteachersinthepre-test,i.e.beforetheimplementationofZFprogramme.

Table2Masteringthecurriculum:resultsofthepre-test.

Thedifferenceintheresultsoftheexperimentalandcontrolgroupsisnotstatisticallysignificant.

17

Table3Masteringthecurriculum:resultsofthepost-test.

Thedifferenceintheresultsoftheexperimentalandcontrolgroupsisstatisticallysignificant.

Inthecontrolgroup,therewasnochangeintheevaluationofacademicsuccess;thepercentageofpupilsclassifiedasexcellentstaysthesame,norarethereanysignificantchangesinothercategoriesinthepre-testandthepost-test.

Intheexperimentalgroup,thepupilsmadeasignificantprogressasfarastheiracademicskillsareconcerned.Thenumberofpupilswithexcellentscoregrewby11percent.

Theseresultsaccordwiththehypothesisthatthepositiveinfluenceontheenvironment,developmentofsocialskillsandself-managementskillshaveapositiveeffectonacademicsuccessofpupils.

18

Results:Parents’View

Parentsinboththecontrolandexperimentalgroupshaveaverysimilarviewoftheirchildren(seeFigure15,post-test).However,theviewofindividualchildrenbyteachersandbyparentsdiffersinboththecontrolandexperimentalgroupstoaconsiderableextent(seeFigures16and17).

Wecanconcludethatteachersandparentshaveadifferentviewofthechildren.Thismightbecausedbythefactthatteachersandparentsseethechildrenindifferentenvironmentsandsocialgroups.

Figure15Comparisonoftheviewofchildrenbytheirparentsintheexperimentalandthecontrolgroups–post-test

NParents=114.

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Posttestparentsexperimentalvs.control

PAR-Exper PAR-Control

19

Figure16Comparisonoftheviewbyparentsandteachersintheexperimentalgroup

Figure17Comparisonoftheviewbyparentsandteachersinthecontrolgroup

NParents=114.

2.002.202.402.602.803.003.203.403.603.804.00

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PRE-POST-PAR podleTypuSkoly

Teachers-Exper PAR-Exper

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PosttestTeachersvs.Parentscontrol

Teachers-Control PAR-Control

20

SummaryofTeachers’ExperienceBasedontheirTestimonieandSubjectiveEvaluationAsapartofimplementationofZFprogramme,regularmethodologicalmeetingstookplace.Theaimofthesemeetingswastoenabletheteachersimplementingtheprogrammeintheirclassestoshareexperienceandtohelpthemtoovercomedifficultiesthatmighthaveemergedduringtheirworkwiththemethodology.

Atthebeginningteacherswereworriedaboutthetimedemandedforindividualunitsandthewholeprogramme.Inthecaseoftheyoungestchildren,theyhaddifficultyinconcentratingforthewholesession,whichwassolvedbyspreadingtheunitintimeandswitchingitwithotheractivities.Incourseoftimemostteachersagreedthatthechildrencouldmanagetoconcentratebetterforthetimerequiredforthesession,andonlyexceptionallydidtheycontinuewiththeunitinthenextlesson.

Someteachershadapositivefeedbackonimprovementinthecollaborationwithparents,whichfrequentlyexceededtheirexpectations.Onlyexceptionallytheteacherssawsituationswhenparentssuggestedsolutionsthatwerecontrarytothemeaningoftheprogramme(e.g.fightbacketc.).Theteacher-trainersinchargeofthemeetingsandtheteachersagreedthatsimilarsuggestionsshouldbediscussedwiththechildren,usingthetoolsofferedbytheZFmethodology(e.g.“Rulesforchoosingagoodsolution–itmakesmefeelbetteranditdoesn’thurtmeoranyoneelse”),andthatteachersshouldavoidcriticizingtheparents.

Oneofthetopicsthatworriedteachersintheimplementationinclasswaslossanddeath.Thefeedbackfromthemethodologicalmeetingsdidnotconfirmsuchworries.Childrenconsideredthetopicsasinteresting,andfromtheirreactionwecouldconcludethattheywelcomedthepossibilitytosharesuchtopics(basedonthenumberoffeedbacks,activitiesandpayingattentionintheclass).

Theattendeesofmethodologicalmeetingsconsideredtheprogrammemeaningful;theyevenobservedchangesinconflictfrequency.TheyrefertoZFwhensolvingsituationsinotherlessons.Theworkwithyoungerchildrenseemstobemoredifficult.TheeasiestwayofimplementationoftheZFmethodologyseemstobeinthesecondgrade,basedontheteachers’experience.

Theteacherstakingpartinourstudywanttocontinuewiththemethodology–e.g.todeepenacquiredskillsofthechildrenbyadditionalactivities.Italsofollowsthattheteacherswouldappreciatedtrainingofothercolleaguesfromtheirschools,andtheythinkafter-schoolcarecentresshouldalsobeinvolved.

21

Fromteachers’feedback:

“Irealizedsmallchildrenhavethesameurgetotalkabouttheirfeelingsandtroublesasadults.”(Lucie,teacher)

“Zippygivesallchildrenthechancetoexplainvariouslifesituations,learnhowtoanticipatethemandcopewiththem.”(Jaroslava,teacher)

“Thefacttheprojectworkscanbeobservedfromthechildren,sincetheyaresincereandcannotbefooled.MysoncouldnotwaitforthelessonswithZippyandenjoyedthemall.Ialsogotpositivefeedbackfromteachersatschool.”(2ndgradepupil’smother)

“Thewholeprojectiswell-prepared,itiscomprehensiveandattractiveforbothchildrenandteachers.”(2ndgradepupil’smother)

“WeusetechniquesfromtheZFprogrammeintheeverydaylifeoftheclassroom,e.g.conflictagreement.”(Veronika,teacher)

Thefollowingfigureshowsteachers’opinionsonthebenefitoftheprogrammefortheindividualchildren.

Inwhichareawastheprogrammebeneficialforthechild?

Teachers’opinions,post-test.Respondentscouldchoosemoreoptions.Nexp=467.

43%

37%

32%

31%

25%

25%

18%

16%

13%

10%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

Expressthemselves

Cooperateinagroup

Solveconflicts

Adapttonewsituations

Askforhelp

Createandkeepfriendship

Apologize

Helpothers

Copewithstress

Itwasnotbeneficialinanyarea

22

Conclusion

ThisresearchreportsummarizesbasicfindingsfromtheassessmentoftheeffectivenessoftheZippy’sFriendsprogrammebyarandomized,controlledstudy.TheaimofthestudywastofindoutwhethertheimplementationoftheZFprogrammebringssignificantbenefitsforthepupilsofzero,first,secondandthirdgradesofrandomlychosenprimaryschools,evaluatedbytheirteachersandparents.FortheevaluationweusedaquestionnairereflectingphenomenaonwhichtheZFprogrammefocusesinitsmodules.Besidesthatwewerealsointerestedinthequestionofwhethertheprogrammewouldhaveanyinfluenceonthepupils’performanceintheclassroom.

Thedataanalysisclearlyshowssignificantbenefitsinmostmonitoredphenomenaforchildrenworkingontheprogrammeoverthewholeschoolyear.Theonlyphenomenawithnotsosignificantdifferenceswere“Isimpulsive,Islonely,Isnervousinagroupofchildren”,howevernochangehappenedinthecontrolgroupeither.Wecanconcludethatthesemonitoredphenomenaareratherrelatedtothepersonaltraitsofthechildrenassessed,sothequestioniswhether,withsuchatypeofintervention,itispossibletosignificantlyinfluencetheminashortspaceoftime.

Onthecontrary,significantdifferencesbetweentheexperimentalandthecontrolgroupsappearedintheareaofself-management(inthepost-test).Aftertheprogramme,thechildrenmanagetopostponetheirneeds,theyarebetteratschool-stressmanagement,abletomaintainorder,finishworkintimeandtheyadapttotheschoolenvironmentbetter.Theyhadalsohigherscoresincooperationwithpeers,abilitytoaskforhelp,conflictresolution,acceptingcriticism,abilitytopointoutinjusticeandtodescribetheirfeelings.

TheevaluationofbenefitsafterfinishingtheZFprogrammeforindividualgrades(zero,1,2and3)showedthefollowingresults.Theimprovementinassessmentwasobviousformostmonitoredphenomenainallthegrades.Forthezerograde,wecouldnotcomparetheresultsoftheexperimentalgroupwiththeevaluationofthecontrolgroup,sincethecontrolgroupstoppedthedatacollectionduringtheprogramme.Eventhoughtheimprovementissignificant,itmightbecausedbynaturaldevelopmentofskillsinthecourseoftheschoolyear.Significantbenefitsshowedespeciallyinthecaseoffirstandsecondgrades.Inthethirdgradethebenefitsarenotsoobvious,whichmightbecausedbyahigherageofthechildren(8–9years)thantherecommendedageofthetargetgroup(5–7years),butalsobyarelativelylownumberofchildreninthisgroup.

Whencomparingthechangesinthelevelofthemonitoredphenomenaforboysandforgirls,itshowedthattheboysingeneralgotalowerscoreinthepre-testthanthegirls.AftertheimplementationoftheZFprogrammeitwasapparentthatboththegirlsandtheboyshadmadecomparableprogress.ThusweconcludethattheZFprogrammebringssimilarbenefitsforbothgirlsandboys.

23

Veryimportantresultswerefoundinthecaseofimplementationoftheprogrammeforchildrenwithspecialeducationalneeds.Thesepupilsmadesuchsignificantprogressinthemonitoredareasthattheyapproximatedtothechildrenwithoutanyidentifieddiagnosis.Therewasnosuchprogressrecordedinthecontrolgroup,inwhichthechildrenwithSENstayedfarbehindtherestofclass.WeconcludethattheZFprogrammeisanimportanthelpfortheadaptationofchildrenwithSENtotheschoolenvironmentandtheirintegrationintheclassroom.

Thedataanalysisconsideringacademicskillsandmasteringthecurriculumshowedthatintheexperimentalgroup,significantprogresshadbeenmadeintheevaluationofpupils’studyresults.Thisfindingaccordswiththehypothesisthatthepositiveinfluenceontheenvironment,andthedevelopmentofsocialskillsandself-managementskills,haveapositiveeffectontheacademicsuccessofpupils.

Anotherfindingofourstudyisthedifferentviewofindividualchildrenbyteachersandbyparents.Thismightbecausedbythefactthatteachersandparentsseethechildrenindifferentenvironmentsandsocialgroups.Parentsinboththecontrolandexperimentalgroupshaveaverysimilarviewoftheirchildren.

Apartoftheevaluationreportisalsoabriefdescriptionofmethodologicalmeetings,takingplaceinthecourseofimplementationofZFprogramme.Asfollowsfromtheteachers’feedbackfromthesemeetings,theyconsidertheprogrammemeaningful;theyevenobservechangesinconflictfrequency.TheyrefertoZippy’sFriendswhensolvingsituationsinotherlessons.Theworkwithyoungerchildrenseemstobemorechallenging.TheeasiestwayofimplementationoftheZFmethodologyseemstobeinthesecondgradeofprimaryschool.

1

Annexe 1: Questionnaire for the teachers

ID of a pupil (anonymized code)

No. of the school in the system: No. of the pupil in the classlist: Grade

0. Grade (5-7 years old, 0. grade is not compulsary education, it is aimed for children, who are not prepared for regular school attendance yet)

1. Grade (6-7 years old)

2. Grade (7-8 years old)

3. Grade (8-9 years old)

Gender:

female

male

How many modules of Zippy‘s friends did he/she finish?

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

2

Assess the pupil based on the following questions. Try to estimate his/her behaviour, if you did not experience the situation with the pupil.

Never Ocassionaly Often Almost always

Resolves conflict.

Can appreciate himself/herself.

Completes work on time.

Makes friends easily.

Solves harm.

Accept criticism.

Manages school stress.

Cooperates with peers.

Follows the rules.

Helps classmates.

Maintains order.

Adapts to situations.

Fights.

Intimidates.

Seems to be lonely.

Points out injustice.

Easily loses concentration.

Interrupts others.

Is nervous in a group of children.

Argues.

3

Never Ocassionaly Often Almost always

Easily upset.

Acts impulsively.

Is restless.

Manages failure.

Can apologize.

Is able to ask for help.

Describes his/her feelings.

Is self-reliant.

Responds to anger with agression.

Lies.

Can postpone needs.

4

Diagnosed by a specialist (e.g. Psychological-pedagogical centre, Centre for special pedagogy, a psychologist, a psychiatrist):

Please choose all relevant answers.

ADHD/ADD

Behaviour disorder

Learning disorder

Somatic disability

Mental disability

Autism

Speech impediment

Social handicap

Does not understand lessons (does not speak and understand Czech properly, not a diagnosis)

Other

No diagnosis

In mastering the curriculum I evaluate the pupil as: *

excellent

very good

average

below average