The program is built on the principle that relationship skills can and should be taught in our schools in much the same way as reading, writing and arithmetic. Developed at Western, The Fourth R is now being rolled out to 5,000 teachers in Ontario classrooms in Grades 7, 8 and 9, thanks to an investment from the Ministry of Education.
Education Minister Stephen Lecce and MPP Jess Dixon were on campus April 29 for the announcement.
"Thanks to the strong advocacy of Jess Dixon and many members of government, we are stepping up with an investment to introduce the Fourth R initiative designed to reduce teen violence and increase healthy relationships between students, families and schools across the province," said Lecce.
The Fourth R has been developed and refined over the last two decades based on extensive research at Western's Centre for School Mental Health in collaboration with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. It was founded by former and current Western education faculty members and lecturers Claire Crooks, Ray Hughes, Peter Jaffe and David Wolfe and is already being used in thousands of schools across North America.
It includes not just education and awareness resources about healthy relationships, but also provides tools to equip young people with the skills to build and maintain them. It teaches strategies for talking to each other about their relationships, how to intervene when needed and how to support their peers who may be in abusive or problematic relationships.
Peter Jaffe, education professor emeritus. (Christopher Kindratsky/Western Communications)
"There is recognition that when it comes to intimate partner violence, we need to be focused on prevention," said Jaffe, professor emeritus in the Faculty of Education at Western. "The Fourth R is focused on the next generation of youth and ensuring they understand the importance of relationships and the impact of abuse."
The founders of the program at Western emphasize that healthy relationships are linked to a wide range of positive outcomes, including reduced incidences of violence, improved mental health and even improved academic and career outcomes.
The funding will provide Ontario schools with The Fourth R resources plus professional development and ongoing support for educators and teachers to be able to effectively deliver the curriculum.
"It is wonderful that the Ministry of Education recognizes the importance of healthy relationship skills for all youth. Ultimately, the impact of this education extends beyond adolescent peer and dating relationships and sets them up for success in their future adult roles in their families, workplaces and communities," said Crooks, education professor.
Dixon, member of provincial parliament for Kitchener South-Hespeler has been a strong advocate for the Fourth R curriculum.
"As a former crown prosecutor with a deep commitment to crime prevention and violence reduction, I am thrilled to announce this investment in crucial crime prevention programming, especially as it relates to preventing domestic violence," said Dixon, who is also the parliamentary assistant to the associate minister of women's social and economic opportunity.
Created in partnership with psychologists, researchers, teachers and school boards, The Fourth R meets all of the expectations outlined in the Ontario curriculum for healthy living, and also helps school boards across the province meet requirements for bullying prevention education.
"The Fourth R can not only transform education, but also transform lives," said Donna Kotsopoulos, dean of the Faculty of Education. "I am so comforted and grateful knowing that this program will be able to reach even more children and youth thanks to the Ministry of Education. This program and our Centre for School Mental Health are shining examples of the research excellence and widespread positive impact that our faculty strives to achieve."
WORLDiscoveries, the business development arm of a research partnership between Western, Robarts Research Institute and Lawson Research Institute, manages operations for the Fourth R and is responsible for the electronic delivery system for the program's 100 products tailored to both Canadian and American school boards.
