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Planning and Organizing
a Social Norms Project
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Introduction

This presentation is designed to assist you in starting and
continuing a social norms project

The presentation is meant to be used in conjunction with the
NJDOE’s Social Norms Tool Kit to aid in survey administration
and project implementation

Please refer to the manual in the Tool Kit for more specific
ideas pertaining to these subjects

A copy of the Social Norms Tool Kit was mailed to each chief
school administrator in school districts with schools serving
grades 5-12, in January 2011, and also is available at
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Purpose


Review Chapters 3 and 4 in the manual in the Social Norms
Tool Kit, which includes information on the following topics:

Obtaining support and buy-in

Surveying students

Expenses/Budget

Implementation

Success
Participants will understand the basics of starting and
operating a social norms project
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Understanding Social Norms
Social Norms
Actual
Is defined by Perkins (2003) as a proactive
prevention program that communicates
“the truth about peer norms in terms of
what the majority of students actually think
and do, all on the basis of credible data
drawn from the student population that is
the target.” (p.11).
Misperception
“The gap between ‘perceived’ and ‘actual.’”
(Berkowitz, 2004, p. 5).
Perceived
Misperception
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The Theory

Perception vs. Reality

Our behavior is strongly influenced by how we think others act

Our perceptions are often inaccurate


i.e. , We remember the one person at the party who was highly
intoxicated, rather than the others who were drinking
moderately
Social Comparison Theory: We continuously compare
ourselves with others in our social group. If discrepancies
exist, we become motivated to reduce the discrepancy, thus
bringing behavior back into congruence (Festinger 1957)
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Obtaining Support

Who

School District Board of Education members

School staff


Parents and community members



[e.g., counselors, student assistance coordinators
(SACs),administrators, teachers, safe schools resource officers
(SROs)]
[e.g., businesses, Municipal Alliance Committees (MACs)]
Students
How

Social Norms Overview PowerPoint (included in Social Norms
Project Tool Kit)

Formal and informal conversations

E.g., network with other schools that have used the social
norms approach
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Supportive Online Resources

Online resources

Hobart and William Smith Colleges Alcohol Education Project


Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention
(HEC)


www.edc.org/hec/socialnorms.
National Social Norms Resource Center


http://alcohol.hws.edu/
www.socialnorms.org.
MOST of Us

www.mostofus.org.
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School Planning Team


Members can include:

School staff (e.g., school counselors, SACs, administrators,
teachers, Child Study Team members, supervisors of curriculum
and instruction)

Parents

Community members (e.g., MAC members, local business
owners)

Students
Recruit members at school and community events

Have a table of materials or flyers ready to hand out describing
the program and the planning team

Parent Teacher Association (PTA) meetings, community action
group meetings – inquire about interests

These events also can be used as a venue to discuss the school
norms (e.g., movie nights, school plays, community days)
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Responsibilities of the School
Planning Team

Obtaining “Buy-in”

Planning survey administration

Paper, electronic or commercial online service

When to survey

Planning the media campaign

Coordinating with existing programs
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Active Parental Consent for
Student Surveys


N.J.S.A. 18A: 36-34

All schools must receive written parental consent for student
surveys that reveal personal information (e.g., mental or physical
problems, illegal, anti-social, self-incriminating and demeaning
behavior)

Parents/guardians must “opt-in” for students to survey because
consent is not implied
Methods to Distribute Active Consent Forms

Email to parents

Events, such as Back to School Nights or Parent Teacher
Conferences

Media, such as school district Web sites or local TV stations
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Active Parental Consent (cont.)

Methods of Distribution to Students

Beginning-of-the-year packets

Weekly folders/envelopes

Homework assignment – signed form


Tying the return of the form to some task or activity has been
the most successful way to improve the return rate; however, it
is important for success to be based solely on returning the
form, not on obtaining permission to survey

The form indicates either whether a student does or does not
have permission to survey
Make it a contest! Who can return the form first?

Pizza party or breakfast party for the homeroom that brings in
the most consents

First three students to turn in the form receive a small prize
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Student Surveys

Four versions of surveys are included in the tool kit

Paper surveys

High School – Short*

High School – Long

Middle School – Short*

Middle School – Long

*These surveys are also available as Excel electronic
versions on the CD in the Social Norms Tool Kit and Online at
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Surveying – Paper Survey

Students are handed a printed survey that asks them the
survey questions

Students can use the survey to mark their answers directly on
the form with an “X,” or the school can supply an electronic
scanning form, if available

Remind students of the following:

This is not a test; there are no right or wrong answers

Choose the closest answer if there is not one that exactly fits
your beliefs
No names should appear on any paper
Complete the survey in silence


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Surveying – Paper Survey

Provide a large envelope for students to place their
completed surveys and/or electronic scanning forms to keep
the survey anonymous

When all surveys have been completed, the designated
individual must manually count each response to each
question

When the count of all the student responses is completed
and tallied, use the CD (i.e., Excel file) to open the folder
called “Paper Survey Analysis”
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Analyzing – Paper Survey

Select the form that applies to the survey administered
(ex. “High School Long Survey Analysis”)

Enter the count of the student responses for the
corresponding questions under the title “Number of
Students”

The column to the far right, titled “Percentages,” will
automatically calculate the student response percentages, or
the percent of students that answered a question in a specific
way (see example on next slide).

The social norms messages are made using these
percentages.
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Preparing to Survey– Electronic
Survey

Designate a survey expert in your school to assist with
electronic survey administration

Use Excel 2003 or higher (macros enabled), Windows XP or
higher

Create a separate user account to be used for surveying, if
possible

Address security concerns

Possible concerns could be leaving the survey “unattended” on
a commonly shared desktop and the possibility that students
may enter data inappropriately (i.e. , without permission)
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Preparing to Survey – Electronic
Survey

Load the Excel file onto each computer the students will be
using

Select the survey you will be using (ex. “High School
Survey”) and copy it to the desktop using a “drag-and-drop”
method

Eject the CD (if using it)

Right click on the mouse to “re-name” the survey on each
computer
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Preparing to Survey- Electronic
Survey

Open the re-named survey file that is saved to the local
computer

Click on the “security warning” that will appear on each
computer once the survey is opened to enable macros (see
next slides)
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Macros
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Macros
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Administering the Survey –
Electronic Survey

Students enter to survey

If a separate user account was created, have it pre-logged

Review the directions for surveying with the students

Students should select “agree” and “start survey.” Click
“finished” to save the student data (see next slide)
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Click Agree
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Administering the Survey –
Electronic Survey

One student cannot see how another student has answered
the survey questions

Each time a new student prepares to take the survey, close
the file, reopen the file, and enable macros

There is no limit to the number of students that can take the
survey on a specific computer

When the survey is complete, be sure to close the survey and
logoff the computer
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Saving Student Data

Open a master Excel spreadsheet to review student data

All data must be combined to determine overall percentages

This file can be saved on an administrator’s computer or at a
networked location

Open the survey on each student-used computer

Press “administrative options”


The default password is “CASA”

Hit enter
All student responses are visible (with no identifiers)
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Student Answers
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Saving Student Data

To change the administrative options password on the master
Excel sheet, select “configuration”

Type a new password where “CASA” appears

Save, close, and reopen
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Administrative Password
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Analyzing Student Data

For each computer used by students for survey
administration, copy the student data onto a USB drive, a
network location, or an email file


All of the student survey files are to be combined into one master
file
Consider printing the “report” page for each computer, for
ease of viewing (see next slide)
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Report Page
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Analyzing Student Data

Multiple student responses for each survey item are
collected as a result of survey administration


Ex. 10 students answered “true” to a specific question and 10
answered “false”
The number of responses must be added together

Ex. 20 computers were used to survey, on each computer 10
students said “true” and 10 said “false.” After adding, there will
be 200 “true” and 200 “false” answers to be transferred to the
master file.
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Analyzing Student Data


Return to the master Excel sheet

Open the file and select “agree, “ and then select “administrative
options”

Remember changed passwords! By default, the password is
“CASA”
Type the combined student data into the count column on the
master file

This is the 200 “true” and 200 “false” answers from the previous
slide!
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Analyzing Student Data

The percentages will be automatically tabulated in the last
column of the spreadsheet titled “percentage”


These percentages are to be used to make the social norms
messages
Save the master file with all the student data, for example, as
“Social Norms_2010,” for easy identification
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Expenses

Surveying

Poster Printing

Prizes for obtaining active parent consent or games and
events conducted as part of the social norms campaign

Higher cost items could include, for example, drawstring
backpacks, t-shirts, or lanyards

Low or no cost items could include , for example, journals,
sketchbooks made from extra posters, extra credit, or jump-tothe-front-of-the-line passes
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Potential Funding Sources

Review possible sources of funding for the Social Norms
Project

School budgets

Municipal Alliance Committees

Local businesses or community groups
+ Components of the Social Norms Tool Kit

Everything needed to conduct a school-based social norms
campaign is included in the Social Norms Tool Kit (on the CD
and in the manual) or at the following Web location:

In January 2011, a copy of the Tool Kit was disseminated, at no
cost, to each chief school administrator of a district serving
middle and high school grades

Tool Kit contents (no charge)








School Planning Team Contact Sheet
School Planning Team Meeting Minutes
Marketing Outline
School Information Data Sheet
Parental Consent Forms (middle and high school)
Press Release (middle and high school)
PowerPoints (surveying and overview)
Poster templates
+ Components of the Social Norms Tool Kit
(cont.)

Paper surveys

High School – Short*

High School – Long

Middle School – Short*

Middle School – Long
*These surveys are also available as Excel electronic versions
on the CD or at
+ Components of the Social Norms Tool Kit
(cont.)

Calendar – Monthly reminder calendar for use in planning
events for the project

Survey Analysis Sheet for Paper Surveys

Documents





School Planning Team Members
Meeting minutes
Data Sheet
Consents
Press Releases

PowerPoint Presentations

Poster Templates
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Items Not in Tool Kit, Typically
Supported by Local Funds

The following cost items are not included in the Social Norms
Tool Kit, and must be locally secured

Posters with local student data

Prizes
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Developing Social Norms
Messages

Create the messages from survey results

Cite survey sources on posters

Include the social norms project logo or other program logo


Create one that is school specific or use one from another
program

E.g., In one middle school, a logo had been designed to use in
their character education program. The same logo was used on all
social norms posters.
Use the planning committee for ideas!

Where, when, and how the messages/campaign will be executed
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Variety in Message Delivery

Reach students using various forms of media


“Seven different times in seven different ways”
Audio Examples
Using social norms messages on the morning announcements or
school radio stations


Video Examples
Using
social norms messages on the local community or school TV
station or on screen savers on computers in labs or in the library

Print Examples

Posters, food tray liners, bottom of tests
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Variety in Message Delivery
(cont.)


Deliver messages to the PARENTS, too!

Post social norms messages on school Web site

Advertise social norms messages on local TV stations

Share social norms messages on automated phone blasts (e.g.,
Connect-Ed)

Print school norms on materials (e.g., school newsletters, report
cards, progress reports)
Deliver messages to the COMMUNITY, too!

Request permission to hang posters in storefronts

Include community members on school planning team

Ask member for innovative ideas
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Contests

Why contests?


Radio Contest – “Call the Homeroom”


Competitive but friendly in nature, contests are used to challenge
students knowledge and understanding of the norms
A homeroom is called via phone or PA system during morning
announcements. If the homeroom class can provide the correct
answer and send a representative to the main office to provide
their answer, the homeroom wins a prize (e.g., pencils for
everyone in the class, pizza party for the class)
Design Contest

Students design a logo for the social norms campaign, design a tshirt using the social norms campaign as a theme, or design a
poster to use in the social norms campaign
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Games

The use of games is an engaging strategy for spreading the
word about the norms and encouraging students to learn and
understand them. They are often less time-consuming than
contests.

Word searches


Find words related to the project (e.g., bullying, friends, alcohol,
marijuana)

Examples are in the manual and can be found via Web searches

Relate the word search to the norms

Students submit their completed word searches for a small prize
Crossword puzzles

Put the norms on the bottom of the page and have the clues relate
to the norms and campaign

Also available for creation via Web searches
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Include the School’s Social Norms
into Academic Courses

Math


Convert the social norms survey data into bar graphs for making
positive social norms messages
English/Language Arts


Write essays on bullying or ATOD use
Possible topics:
 How to assure another student that the norms are true?
 What do you recommend the school do to prevent bullying or
ATOD use?
 How can the school staff more effectively relay the social norms
messages to students?
 Older students in a business class could create a marketing
plan
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Events

Carnival Event

Norms recited by a student to a designated person (counselor or
teacher)

Reciting 1-3 norms = one hand stamp

Reciting 4 norms = two hand stamps

Students play a carnival game and answer a question about ATOD

If a student provides a correct answer, he or she receives tickets
based on the difficulty of the question

Students with two hand stamps receive double the tickets

Students with tickets are permitted to participate in a carnival
activity (e.g., snow cone making, necklace making, face painting,
dunk tank with faculty volunteers)
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Pass-the-norm

Students form lines similar to a relay race

Instead of passing a baton for the next student to continue
the race, the student must recite a norm loud enough for a
teacher to hear and approve. If the norm is incorrect, the
student may not proceed in the game until a correct norm is
recited.

Good for recess on during inclement weather or physical
education classes
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Other activities
Create a bean bag or football
toss game

Students must answer a norm to
have a chance to throw a small
football through the hole

Winner receives a small prize

Can be done during an
assembly as a campaign “kickoff “

Can also be done during noninstructional time
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Other activities (cont.)
Spin Wheel Activity

Each color can represent a topic
related to the school and its social
norms (e.g., red could be about
ATOD policy, blue could be about
alcohol, green could be about
tobacco)

Students spin the wheel and
answer a question based on the
color where the wheel stops

Winner gets a small prize
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Other Activities (cont.)
Flamingo/Mascot Parade

Purchase or have donated numerous pink plastic flamingoes
or items that represent the school’s mascot

Students and staff decorate the flamingoes, using social
norms messages as the focus of the design

Flamingoes are returned to a designated person who will
display them

Students and staff vote on the most creatively designed
flamingo, and the winner receives a prize
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Free or low-cost prizes

Extra posters can be used to make a journal or sketchbook,
with a few staples and legal-sized paper

Fast-pass to the front of the lunch line

Gym clothes pass or forgiveness

Premier parking spot for a designated amount of time

Free tickets to school events (e.g., school dance, sporting
event, appropriate local event)
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Determining Success

What is success?


Ongoing
Changing
 If there is a big change the first year, and less the second, this may not mean
the program is less successful!

Perceptions often change first!

Take into consideration:



Demographics of students surveyed at Time 1 vs. Time 2
World or local events
Do not discount the anecdotal


School staff may see fewer incidents of bullying; students may begin to show
that they believe the social norms messages more often than not; or students no
longer discuss parties that include drinking
Students may start exemplifying the norms (e.g., inviting a student to sit with
them at lunch)
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Determining Success (cont.)

Focus groups of students can help determine the
effectiveness of the social norms campaign

Determine whether students believe the norms of the school

Determine whether students value the prizes used in the
campaign (e.g., Are the prizes “worth it?”)


Schools with more time for lunch were not interested in being
allowed to the front of the line; in others, being allowed to cut
the line was worth quite a bit
Conduct focus groups with parents

What is going on at home?

Are social norms discussed?
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Sustaining the Social Norms
Campaign

Using the Social Norms Tool Kit in school is only one resource
for sustaining the social norms campaign

Community

Non-profit groups (Boy/Girl Scouts, Boys and Girls Clubs) can
discuss and publicize the social norms. This can allow for the
project to expand beyond the school walls to promote normative
behavior and generate support for the project.

Sponsor a community day, or take part in an existing community
day or fair, which gives the opportunity to reach students on
multiple occasions and strengthen the messages
+
Next steps

Review research and related literature

Talk to school staff who have implemented a social norms
project

Gain the support of school administrators

Form a school planning team that includes parents and
community members

Share ideas for project success in the community
References
Berkowitz, A.D. (2004). The social norms approach: theory, research, and annotated bibliography. The U.S. Department of
Education’s Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse and Violence Prevention. Retrieved on October 27, 2004:
http://www.edc.org/hec/socialnorms/theory/.
Festinger, L. (1957). A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance. Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA.
Perkins, H. W. (Ed.). (2003). The social norm approach to preventing school and college age substance abuse. San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass.