INVESTIGATING THE EFFICIENCY OF EMPHATY TRAINING PROGRAM FOR PREVENTING BULLYING BEHAVIORS IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS

The purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness of empathy training as an intervention programme on bullying behaviours witnessed among forth and fifth-grade primary students. The empathy training programme implemented in one session in a week throughout ten weeks. The sample of the study included 18 students. In the study, Child Form of Bully and Victim Determination Scale and Empathy Scale for Children were used as data gathering tools. For data analysis Split-Plot Desing, which includes 2x2 factor and Repeated Measurements (ANOVA) were used. According to findings bullying behaviours of subjects in the experiment group decreased significantly compare to subjects in the control group. Furthermore, empathic skills of subjects in the experiment group increased significantly.