Educational counseling provides guidance and helps students excel in their academics, career, and personal life.

An educational counseling practice of interest that Dorthy Espelage talks about and is of interest to me is increasing bystander intervention in students/children. Bystander intervention is when those who are witnesses to wrongdoing- bystanders, intervene or stand up to the perpetrator. As Dr. Espelage explained, the bystander intervention program increased bystander intervention in its participants-the kids changed their behavior and stepped up to help or intervene. In contrast, the kids who were not placed in bystander intervention groups(control groups), did not step up to help as bystanders. The bystander intervention programs led to changes in behavior and increased bystander intervention.

This leads us to the theory of behavior change.

The theory of behavior change is when individuals pre-contemplate behavior changes, meaning our behaviors occur because of our intentions.

Kids also have intentions. Intensions to intervene or step up but then something blocks that intention. They may see that others around them, friends or adults may not intervene or step up so they back down and don’t intervene.

What was discovered was that the environment greatly impacted the chances of intervention. So if the adults modeled intervention, if the adults intervened, then it was more normalized for the kids to do so as well. Girls were also more likely to intervene along with younger kids.

Kids need skills and to value intervention. Kids should be shown effective skills when it comes to intervention- how to intervene or address conflict without violence along with resolution skills. Kids also need to be able to trust that the adults around them have their backs and will stand with them for what is right and promote social justice in an impactful way.

This is of relevance to me as I excel in my career, I have seen teachers and instructors show favoritism. This can be highly problematic as, many times, the perpetrator gets away with no consequences or faces very little consequences due to being the teacher’s or instructor’s favorite. This demotivates other students from intervening or standing up for others or even themselves. This also causes mistrust of the teacher/ instructor. Our educators must stay impartial and fair. When students see their teacher/educator practicing fairness and upholding morals, they will trust them and also partake in behavior that reflects these practices, resulting in shared values and morals.

Helping students develop a sense of trust and developing a strong sense of shared values and morals in the classroom not only leads an increase in bystander intervention but also helps develop Vector 1. This should be especially utilized in high school kids as they are about to enter college. As Dr. Hood explained; there are three kinds of competence that individuals develop in college, intellectual, physical and manual skills, and interpersonal.

Intellectual competence is mastering content and learning skills to problem solve and analyze, along with discovering new point of views. If kids are encouraged to use these aspects in their thinking from a young age, they will have an easier time assimilating in college. Promoting bystander intervention through modeled behaviors will build trust in the classroom community and train students to be mindful of others’ point of views leading to an easier time in comingling and assimilating with others.

Physical and manual skills is having disciple of self, developing athletic, artistic skills. Promoting bystander intervention early can help students develop self-control and demotivate violence. It can help students develop outlets to manage stress such as art or sports. This can also help manage aggression and teach team building skills- leading to a sense of community and shared values. This will increase the intention to intervene as a bystander and promote social justice leading to more college students or young adults who stand up for others and uphold their morals.

The last kind of competence in vector 1 is interpersonal competence, which means developing skills in listening, communicating, working together, and strategizing to reach a resolution in group settings. Teaching students interpersonal skills earlier will help them develop deeper connections in their communities and later on in life when they get to college and start their adult lives. Such skills will teach them how to interact with those around them and connect with them leading to a sense of community and shared goals.

Promoting Bystander intervention will help develop vectors in students, leading to college students/young adults who are mentally flexible and have an easier time assimilating and adapting to their environments. It will also help promote a sense of community and lead to adults who feel a sense of social justice and intervene when witnessing wrongdoing.

Educational counseling can help develop these skills and promote early career guidance not only to be utilized in educational environments but to also navigate everyday life situations. As mentioned by Dr. Hood, no two students are exactly alike. Students are individuals, and one theory does not apply to everyone. Instructors and those in charge should take into account the different perspectives and also address their own biases, the developmental process is not linear and does not always follow stages. With this being said, educational counseling should be designed around these takeaways to help ensure equity and fairness.

We can promote bystander intervention and develop vector skills through educational counseling and modeling such behaviors leading to young adults who are better equipped with mental skills to tackle life and be responsible adults who promote and practice societal awareness and wellbeing.

References:

Taylor, M.E., Weaver, N.L., Weaver, T.L. et al. Evaluation of Support Over Silence for KIDS: A Bystander Training Program to Address Public Child Maltreatment. J Fam Viol 38, 309–320 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-022-00376-8

Thornberg R, Tenenbaum L, Varjas K, Meyers J, Jungert T, Vanegas G. Bystander motivation in bullying incidents: to intervene or not to intervene? West J Emerg Med. 2012 Aug;13(3):247-52. doi: 10.5811/westjem.2012.3.11792. PMID: 22900122; PMCID: PMC3415829.

Moran, M., Midgett, A., Doumas, D. M., Porchia, S., & Moody, S. (2019). A Mixed Method Evaluation of a Culturally Adapted, Brief, Bullying Bystander Intervention for Middle School Students. Journal of Child and Adolescent Counseling, 5(3), 221–238. https://doi.org/10.1080/23727810.2019.1669372

Farley J. Teachers as obligated bystanders: Grading and relating administrator support and peer response to teacher direct intervention in school bullying. Psychol Schs. 2018; 55: 1056–1070. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.22149

Eldridge, Morgan A., "Teacher Characteristics and Influence with the Bystander Intervention Model" (2017). Masters Theses. 2669.
https://thekeep.eiu.edu/theses/2669

Shimizu, Y. (2022). Learning Engagement as a Moderator between Self-Efficacy, Math Anxiety, Problem-Solving Strategy, and Vector Problem-Solving Performance. Psych, 4(4), 816-832. https://doi.org/10.3390/psych4040060

Wigfield, A., Lutz, S. L., & Wagner, A. L. (2005). Early Adolescents’ Development across the Middle School Years: Implications for School Counselors. Professional School Counseling, 9(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/2156759X0500900206 (Original work published 2005)