Topic: Safety
Target Population: Early Childhood, Middle Childhood, Parents
Sector: Community-Based, School-Based
This program is for students who are in pre-kindergarten through 4th grade and their parents.
Eddie Eagle GunSafe®, a school- and community-based gun-accident prevention program, is designed to teach children what they should do if they find a firearm. The program is designed for use in elementary schools but can also be delivered in informal educational settings.
Several randomized trials using posttest-only control group designs have been conducted. All studies compared the Eddie Eagle program to behavioral skills training (BST) and a control group. One study was conducted among 4- and 5-year-old children, and results indicated that children in both intervention groups could verbalize the safety skills message compared to the control group. Children in the BST group, but not the Eddie Eagle group, could perform gun-safety skills during a supervised role-play. These skills were not used by children in any group when children were evaluated in real-life assessments. A second study was conducted among 6- and 7-year-old children, and results indicated that children in both intervention groups could verbalize the safety-skills message compared to children in the control group. However, children in the BST group were significantly more likely to demonstrate the desired safety skills in role-play assessments and in real-life assessments than children in the Eddie Eagle group or the control group. A third study was conducted among 8- and 9-year-old children, and results indicated that both intervention groups could verbally state the target behaviors compared to the control group. In role-play assessments, there was no difference between the Eddie Eagle group and the BST group; the BST group was superior to the control group, and there was no difference between the Eddie Eagle group and the control group. There was no difference between groups in real-life assessments.
The Eddie Eagle GunSafe program uses the fictional characters Eddie Eagle and the Wing Team to teach children about gun safety. The program instructs children to perform the following steps if they encounter a gun:
The program consists of the following four components:
This program may be delivered as a stand-alone unit or as part of a comprehensive safety curriculum. Instructional materials include kids' activity books, parent/instructor guides, a DVD, a parent’s guide to gun safety brochure, a certificate of completion, and reward stickers for children.
The Eddie Eagle Tree House website is also available. This is an interactive, kid-friendly website that features lessons, sing-alongs, coloring pages, and a video about Eddie Eagle and the Wing Team. Please visit https://www.eddieeagle.com to learn more.
The Eddie Eagle GunSafe program was created by the National Rifle Association of America in 1988 and was revised in 2015. The program has been delivered to more than 32 million children across the United States since that time.
This program is delivered by anyone who is interested in keeping children safe. No formal certification, training, or education is required.
Considerations for implementing this program include acquiring school administration and teacher buy-in; recruiting facilitators; acquiring parental consent; finding time to deliver program activities; ensuring facilitators have equipment to show videos; and obtaining program materials such as crayons, pencils, and a dry erase board.
The Clearinghouse can help address these considerations. Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email clearinghouse@psu.edu
If you are interested in implementing Eddie Eagle GunSafe, the Clearinghouse is interested in helping you! Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email clearinghouse@psu.edu
Program implementation can be adapted to meet different needs, and all or only parts of the program may be delivered. The safety discussion takes 10 minutes, the Eddie Eagle video and discussion take 10 to 15 minutes, student activities take 10 to 25 minutes, and the certificate and letter home take 5 minutes. At a minimum, program developers recommend having the safety discussion and watching the Eddie Eagle video with students.
Program materials are free to law enforcement agencies, schools, hospitals, daycare centers, or libraries. Some materials may be downloaded from https://eddieeagle.nra.org/program-resources/program-materials/, and other materials can be purchased from the program materials center at https://materials.nrahq.org/index.php?route=product/category&path=92
To move Eddie Eagle Gunsafe to the Promising category on the Clearinghouse Continuum of Evidence, one to two additional studies with strong designs should be performed that demonstrate positive, sustained outcomes lasting at least six months from program completion.
The Clearinghouse can help you develop an evaluation plan to ensure the program components are meeting your goals. Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email clearinghouse@psu.edu
Contact the Clearinghouse with any questions regarding this program. Phone: 1-877-382-9185 Email: clearinghouse@psu.edu
You may also contact the Eddie Eagle GunSafe program by phone 1-800-231-0752, email eddie@nrahq.org, or visit https://eddieeagle.nra.org/
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