Le Programme l’Allié

1) Category:
• Specific program

2) Issues Behind the Program:

• Many students have behavioral problems at school.
• These students are at risk of becoming outcasts either socially (rejected by peers,
bullied) or academically (suspended, expelled, dropping out).
• Most interventions for behavioral problems occur on one level only (in a single
environment). Research shows that the results in terms of the effectiveness of this
approach are mixed. In contrast, best practices (Bowen and Desbiens, 2004) encourage
the reinforcement of school interventions at home and within the community.

3) Objectives:
• Help students with behavioral problems adapt to school life so as to prevent these
problems from becoming engrained or worsened
• Put together a network of allies whose mission is to collaborate in supporting the young
people struggling with social skills (e.g. mutual assistance and conflict resolution)
• Prevent violence in school

4) Environment:
• Primary schools
• Families

5) Target Group:
• Children from 8 to 12 years old exhibiting behavioral problems
• Parents

6) Key Words:
• L’Allié, coeuréaction, school-family-community partnership, specific program,
multilevel intervention, behavioral problems, targeted prevention, social skills,
parenting skills, managing emotions, conflict resolution

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7) Description:
• L’Allié has two components:
o The "child" component calls for students with behavioral problems and certain of
their classmates who act as peer helpers to attend 16 social skills and interpersonal
conflict resolution training meetings.
o The "parent" component, for the parents of students exhibiting behavioral problems,
offers about 15 meetings aimed at improving their parenting skills and educational
practices.
• These components are managed by professionals within the school environment and/or
in collaboration with social services professionals (psychoeducators, psychologists,
social workers, etc.).
• This program requires different levels of commitment from the various members of the
intervention team, namely, teachers, principals, students who have enrolled in the
program, and the parents of these students.

8) Steps:
• No specific steps are indicated in the program’s reference material. The steps therefore
vary according to the needs of the community and the activities selected.
• Conditions that facilitate implementation:
o The school must be actively involved in visibly and concretely supporting and
promoting peaceful behavior through a universal approach such as the Pacific Path
Program.
o The project must be supported by the principal (release time for the members of
the intervention team, provision of material resources and necessary funds).
o All the personnel involved with the children in question must rally around the
program (non-teaching professionals, teachers, principal).
o The school must visibly promote the project, incorporate it into the school’s
educational project, organize an official launch and form a follow-up committee.

9) Activities/Actions:
• Child component:
o This component involves the students who are exhibiting behavioral problems and
some of their classmates (social peers) participating in a training program for social
skills and interpersonal conflict resolution.
o It includes 16 one-hour meetings.
o Two members of the intervention team (school professionals) lead the activities.
o The activities take place outside of the classroom. There are a maximum of 12
children per group (6 to 8 children with behavioral problems and 4 to 6 classmates/
peer helpers).
o Themes covered:
 Respect for rules
 Listening skills
 Understanding of emotions
 Problem-solving skills

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  Cognition and attribution
 Self-critIque
 Communication skills
 Self-control (handling emotions)
 Cooperative skills
 Empathy
• Parent component:
o This component allows parents to participate in a program to improve parenting
skills and educational practices.
o It involves 15 2-hour meetings.
o Two members of the intervention team (professionals from the school and from the
CSSS) lead the activities.
o Themes:
 School-family relations
 Support and supervision strategies
 Managing difficult behaviors
 Parent-child relations
 A sense of personal efficiency
 Problem-solving skills
 Negotiation skills
 Self control
 Communication skills
o This component is intended solely for the parents who have children with behavioral
problems and who are participating in the child component of this program.

10) Resources Required:

• Human resources:
o Two members of the intervention team are assigned to oversee the group.
o Program leaders, teachers, the students’ parents and the school principal
• A room available for the group.
• Financial resources:
o A budget for purchasing equipment, snacks and printing of documents

11) Roles of the Participants:

• The members of the intervention team from the school (or leaders from the program):
o recruit the students (the children concerned and their peer helpers);
o prepare and lead the activities;
o encourage the teachers to play an active role;
o fill out evaluation forms and other paperwork;
o contribute their expertise (understanding of child development, family dynamics
and behavioral problems).

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 • The teachers:
o contribute to the system for positive reinforcement of the behaviors proposed in the
program;
o participate in evaluating students’ behaviours (one hour, twice a year);
o read Allié (themes dealt with in the program) and, if possible, incorporate these
ideas into their everyday actions with the children so as to transfer these learnings.
• School principals:
o visibly and concretely support and promote peaceful behavior within the school
(e.g. by implementing a universal program such as the Pacific Path Program);
o provides the resources for setting up the program (personnel, room, cost of
photocopies, etc.).
• The students:
o sign a commitment contract with the intervention team and set a personal goal (in a
personal interview);
o participate in all 16 group meetings (one hour per week);
o complete the activity booklet between meetings.
• The parents of children participating in the program:
o sign a commitment contract with the intervention team and set a personal goal (in a
personal interview);
o participate in 15 group meetings (2 hours per meeting);
o contribute to reinforcing their child’s behaviour as proposed in the program.

12) Scientific Basis or Validity:

• Some results from the program:
o Short-term:
 Improved socio-cognitive skills (search for positive solutions)
 Improved behaviors: handling of emotions, conflict resolution skills, socially
acceptable behaviors
o Long-term:
 Better school environment
 Decrease in behavioral problems
o Student satisfaction:
 Low rate of drop-out from the group
 Target students’ and friends’ interest sustained throughout the program
 A sense of belonging to the Allié group
 A perception that participation in the group is a privilege
o Parent satisfaction:
 A relatively high level of participation despite it being difficult to recruit
parents of children with problems
 Perception that the child’s behavior has improved at home
 Decrease in aggressiveness in the students in the Allié program and whose
parents also participated in the program

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13) Program Material:
• A kit which includes an implementation handbook, leaders’ handbook, a CD which
includes pedagogical material and activity booklets, an illustrated story, and a DVD with
educational capsules and promotional material
• Website: http://www.projet-allie.ca [in French only]

14) Additional Information:

• The information contained in this factsheet was taken from:
o http://www.projet-allie.ca;
o A Journée régionale de l’île de Montréal PowerPoint presentation at the Convention
Center on February 20 2009, Nathalie Brullemans, École Saint-Octave (CSPI),
Chantal Brais, École De la Fraternité (CSPI), Nadia Desbiens, Université de Montréal
and Jonathan Lévesque, Université de Montréal. (Go to the presentation [in French
only].)

15) Contacts:
• Nadia Desbiens, Research Chair, Faculty of Education
Université de Montréal
Pavillon Marie-Victorin
C.P. 6128, succursale Centre-ville
Montréal (Québec) H3C 3J7
Tel.: (514) 343-7436
Email: info@projet-allie.ca

• Jonathan Lévesque, Coordinator

Université de Montréal
GRASP-GRES, 5e étage
Tel.: (514) 343-6111, ext. 55723

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