Case Study: University of Gävle achieves 40% reduction in bullied students with QuestBack

University of Gävle - Customer Case Study

Utbildning i Gävle joined the University of Gävle and Brottsförebyggarna i Gävle (BIG) to create Gävlemodellen after a 2011 Skolverket report showed common anti‑bullying methods were not effective. The municipality faced bullying levels equal to the national rate (8.1%), the problem of bullies changing victims, yearly inflows of new students, and the challenge of getting every school to adopt a consistent, research‑based approach.

Gävlemodellen uses twice‑yearly anonymous Questback surveys with classroom‑level reporting, weekly safety‑team follow‑ups and a four‑part program (systematic structure; shared strategy and training; positive school climate; student participation). The approach drove bullying down to 5.2% (a 40% decrease, 41% better than the national average), saw individual schools like Sörbyskolan fall from 7.6–12% (2013/14) to 1.5% in 2021, achieved broad school uptake and earned national and international recognition.

University of Gävle

Peter Gill

University of Gävle