Reducing Bullying in Jordan through an Edutainment Drama Series

Summary:

MAGENTA partnered with UNICEF Jordan to develop a Edutainment drama series to reduce bullying among adolescents ages 13-16 in schools in Jordan. To create a series that is resonant, entertaining and impactful, MAGENTA conducted formative research in the form of a literature review, key informant interviews and focus group discussions. During the research MAGENTA identified the main psychological, sociological an d environmental drivers of bullying behavior in Jordan and built a nuanced understanding of how bullying manifests in Jordan specifically. Script writers were directly exposed to the target audience during this process. The formative research served as the basis of the creative development of content that is resonant, culturally sensitive and accurately reflects the manifestations of bullying in Jordan. In order to reflect the media consumption habits of adolescents in Jordan, MAGENTA designed a mobile-forward drama series that is designed to be disseminated online and on social media. The series, дуЦThe Neighborhood,ду» is comprised of 12 short-form episodes, set in an average middle class neighborhood in Jordan, features Jordanian children as actors and utilises an integrated method of scripted content, to most directly reflect the language, attitudes and lives of children in Jordan. Along with the Edutainment series, MAGENTA developed training materials for teachers in Jordan to use to facilitate reflective discussions about bullying with students, promote positive behaviours and empower teachers to address bullying directly.

Background/Objectives

Bullying is an ubiquitous part of being a child in Jordan. The most common forms of bullying in Jordan are physical, verbal and social, occurring equally often among boys and girls. Adults often perpetuate this behaviour by encouraging children to defend themselves, display strength, and, in the case of teachers, by acting as bullies themselves. Furthermore bullying is poorly understood nor is it considered a serious problem. The series aims to promote awareness of bullying as a serious form of violence, change stigmas around bullying and provide children and adults with healthy, constructive ways of dealing with bullying.

Description Of Intervention And/or Methods/Design

The series is designed to target key behavioural drivers of bullying in Jordan and utilizes specific key messages, addressing each driver, throughout the series episodes. The episodes are short-form, social media forward content that reflect adolescentsду» media consumption habits in Jordan. The episodes depict a neighborhood fraught with bullying, where two friends start a secret anti-bullying group. The group links people of different backgrounds, with a common experience: being bullied. The series features interwoven stories of the different characters, sometimes the bully, sometimes the victim, emphasizing that bullying can happen to anyone and everyone has a role in stopping it. To facilitate dissemination of the series in schools, MAGENTA developed discussion guidelines for each of the 14 episodes, reiterating the key messages and supporting teachers to take a proactive approach to dealing with bullying.

Results/Lessons Learned

MAGENTA conducted formative research using focus group discussions, key informant interviews and a literature review of behavioural and social sciences research to inform the development of an Edutainment drama series targeting bullying among adolescents between the ages of 13-16 in Jordan. The formative research informed the development of a behavioural analysis matrix, in which MAGENTA utilized the MENARO Behavioural Drivers Model to outline the key behavioural drivers of bullying in Jordan. MAGENTA then used this matrix to derive key messages for each of the episodes, ensuring that the educational component of the edutainment drama series was rooted in research and principles from behavioural science. The series is composed of 14, 8-minute episodes, which depict adolescents in Jordan experiencing and coping with bullying in a positive way. The series reflects cultural and social realities, while challenging existing normative expectations and providing adolescents with positive alternative solutions to bullying.

Discussion/Implications For The Field

Using edutainment to tackle bullying is a novel approach in Jordan and reflects the need for creative and engaging solutions to changing behaviours and social norms. Media is critical for engaging adolescents with SBCC content and has a unique ability to challenge and redefine normative expectations. The creative development process, informed by robust behavioural change principles, can result in content that has impact. This impact will be utilized to further refine the use of the edutainment model in Jordan and the project itself is a first step in using SBCC principles to address the widespread issue of bullying in Jordan.

Abstract submitted by:

Mary Ivancic - Magenta Consulting

Sarah-Jean  Cunningham - Magenta Consulting