Dr. Thomas Feeley awarded IES Grant to conduct NAB IT! Study

Published September 27, 2019

Dr. Thomas Feeley, Professor of Communication, in conjunction with Dr. Amanda Nickerson, has recently been awarded an IES grant from the National Center for Education Research. The grant will be used to conduct a study over the course of three years, in which high school students will be assessed on their attitudes, knowledge and behaviors towards bullying and harassment.

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Photo of Dr. Thomas Feeley.

Dr. Thomas Feeley, Professor of Communication, in conjunction with Dr. Amanda Nickerson, was recently awarded a $1,381,579 IES grant from the National Center for Education Research. The title of the grant is, Creating Upstanders: The Development of Norms and Bystander Intervention Training (NAB IT!) to Reduce Bullying and Sexual Harassment. The grant is a part of the Social and Behavior Context for Academic Learning program and will be awarded over a three year period that started in July 2019 and will end in December 2022. Dr. Feeley and Dr. Nickerson will be using the grant to conduct a study in which they will assess students’ attitudes, knowledge and behaviors related to bullying and sexual harassment in high schools. 

The purpose of the NAB IT! study is to develop and test a social norms and bystander intervention training to reduce bullying and sexual harassment in high schools. NAB IT! relies on influential peer leaders in high schools to establish social norms and bystander intervention training to promote peer intervention in instances of bullying and sexual harassment to improve school climate. Dr. Feeley and Dr. Nickerson will be working with high school students and staff to investigate the feasibility and promise of NAB IT! They will conduct a pilot study to assess the impact of the intervention on students’ empathy, knowledge, attitudes and perceptions related to bystander intervention behavior and bullying and sexual harassment victimization and perpetration. 

The products of this study include a social norms and bystander intervention to address bullying and sexual harassment in high schools. Dr. Feeley and Dr. Nickerson will develop manuals and other resources to support the implementation of NAB IT! and assess fidelity and outcomes. They will then produce an evaluation report for educators, policy makers, researchers and organizations who wish to further adapt and/or evaluate the intervention. Manuscripts and presentations will also be prepared for academic and practitioner audiences. Lastly, Dr. Feeley and Dr. Nickseron will share their findings through the website for the Alberti Center for Bullying Abuse and Prevention at the University at Buffalo, social media outlets, colloquia and an annual conference. 

 

View the full grant announcement here:

ies.ed.gov/funding/grantsearch/details.asp?ID=3303