Campbell CEO Eamonn Noonan with Maria Ttofi and David Farrington

At the request of Norway's Ministry of Education, the authors of the Campbell systematic review School-Based Programs to Reduce Bullying and Victimization, David P. Farrington and Maria M. Ttofi, presented their research in Oslo recently. In Norway, reduction of bullying in schools is a high priority.

Speaking to representatives of government departments, they highlighted the importance of systematic reviews, stressing the value of independence, lack of bias and the careful high quality review of all existing research on effectiveness. As Farrington said, "A systematic review is the Rolls Royce of research."

The authors made it clear that they are not in the business of selling anti-bullying programs. In fact, they say that there is no one perfect program.  Rather they suggest the examination of which program elements are associated with higher success rates.

Campbell CEO Eamonn Noonan noted that we may not be doing things contrary to the evidence, but we are certainly doing things in the absence of evidence. Yet we have the skills and the tools needed to produce reliable systematic reviews of the effectiveness of interventions in education.

Farrington argued that "Our politicians must justify the spending of our tax money by getting the evidence." He urged an accreditation system for programs found to be effective and referred to one precedent for this approach in the prison service in the UK.

To access Farrington and Ttofi's presentation from this event, please go here. You can also read a short article Campbell has written about the review.