The Center's School Violence Prevention Demonstration Program completed its first year in August 2000. The program includes a research effort that examines ways in which the teaching of civic skills and knowledge can have an effect on violence among youth. The knowledge test and attitudinal survey were administered to middle and upper elementary students in 54 schools during the months of September and October 1999 as a pretest and again in May and June of 2000 as the posttest. The tests were given to 4,200 experimental group participants and 2,200 control group students.
Results indicate statistically significant gains in knowledge in all seven sites.
The results of the attitudinal study were mixed. There were positive shifts in attitudes toward authority and the law in six districts. Qualitative information was gathered through focus groups, classroom observations, and teacher questionnaires. Improvement in teacher morale and confidence in teaching about the Constitution was recorded in all districts. First year teachers indicated they learned new skills and more experienced teachers indicated that they felt renewed by their participation in the program.