The Bullying Literature Project: Using Children’s Literature to Promote Prosocial Behavior and Social-Emotional Outcomes Among Elementary School Students

The current study evaluated the effectiveness of the Bullying Literature Project on social-emotional and behavioral outcomes among elementary school students. The Bullying Literature Project is a five-session classroom-wide intervention that uses children’s literature as a springboard to promote adaptive social-cognitive process, teach social skills, and encourage bystander intervention for bullying among elementary school students. A quasi-experimental design with random assignments by classrooms was used to assess the intervention’s effects on students’ involvement in bullying/victimization, prosocial behavior, social emotional assets, and peer friendships. A sample of 168 third- and fourth-grade students from seven classrooms and their teachers participated in this study. The results indicated significant intervention effects on prosocial behavior and social emotional assets. The findings are discussed in terms of school-based interventions to foster students’ social emotional well-being.