College of William and Mary finds positive impact from Alive to the World / AW.

“Strong initial evidence” indicates that the Alive to the World / AW program transmits democratic values to young people: this is the conclusion of graduate students at the College of William and Mary who analyzed data from thousands of children in Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela. 

The study compared their answers to questionnaires administered before and after they participated in Alive to the World / AW, a comprehensive character development program operating in 12 countries of Latin America and in the United Kingdom. The 8,000 4th, 5th and 6th graders followed the program for one hour per week during the whole school year.  In Latin America, 65,000 young people, from grades 1-12, are enrolled in Alive to the World / AW.

With guidance from Professor David Finifter of the Thomas Jefferson Program in Public Policy, the researchers—Erin Wilson and Danielle Peregoy—found statistically significant changes for the better in the young people’s attitudes towards statements such as “Girls and boys have equal rights, “Boys and girls deserve equal respect and treatment,”  “It’s OK to disagree with others” and “Rules are always important”.

One of the largest shifts in attitude concerns agreement that “Everyone has a right to their own opinions.”  In addition to the program’s building a foundation of values that are necessary for democratic societies, several school principals have recently credited it for dramatic declines in misbehavior and violence in their schools.  Alive to the World centers on an ongoing story of a group of friends who grow up as their readers do, and who get in and out of situations that their readers identify with.

The student books, teacher guides, and teacher training courses are secular. Based on a view of human nature as essentially enchanging, they reflect the latest advances in the understanding of child development. In addition to English (U.K.) and Spanish-language versions, the publisher, Alliance for the Family, has adaptations for Africa (in English and French) and Brazil nearing publication.For additional information, see www.allianceforfamily.org.