Following a pilot project in 2015, the course «Prevention and intervention of bullying in learning environments» started in the 2016 autumn semester.
The universities that make up the European Consortium of Innovative Universities (ECIU) network are co-operating in several areas, including online education, a mutual master's degree programme and other exchange opportunities for students and staff.
Both UiS (Universitetet i Stavanger – the University of Stavanger) and DCU (Dublin City University) are members, and both universities have research groups that study bullying.
Last year Læringsmiljøsenteret (Centre for Learning Environment) at UiS and the Anti-Bullying Centre (ABC) at Dublin City University began working together to develop a joint master's level course. The master's level course is called 'Prevention and intervention of bullying in learning environments' and runs every autumn semester. Students from Stavanger and Dublin have the same online lectures, and discussion groups will allow for an international exchange of experiences. "The students will gain new and different perspectives here, in addition to what they are exposed to in their regular research group. This may lead to exciting discussions and give a broader understanding of the subject", says Professor Hildegunn Fandrem, the course co-ordinator on the Norwegian side.
The study programme consists of 12 lessons. Students who take the course can have it approved as part of their master's degree in the area of education science and special needs education. As well as their co-operation on the master's programme, the two centres are also collaborating on research. The Stigma project examines different types of bullying and uncovers processes in bullying incidents. A central goal is to develop more knowledge about how schools and school managers can become better at uncovering and finding solutions to cases of bullying. Thus far in the project, data has been collected from pupils that were bullied both in Ireland and Norway. Additional data from parents, teachers, headmasters and school owners has also been collected.