Ciberbulling Guidelines

7/29/2019 Ciberbulling Guidelines

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Guidelinesfor preventing cyber-bullying

in the school environment:

a review and recommendationsThis booklet is a product of Working Group 3 of COST Action IS0801 addressing Cyber-bullying.

Members o the Working Group who helped produce this Booklet were Maritta Vlimki (Chair),

Ana Almeida (Vice-chair) , Donna Cross, Mona O'Moore, Sofia Berne, Gie Deboutte, Tali Heiman,

Dorit Olenik-Shemesh, Marta Fulop, Hildegunn Fandrem, Gitte Stald, Marjo Kurki and Efi Sygkollitou


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PREFACE

Cyber-bullying refers to bullying and harassment of others by means of

new electronic technologies, primarily mobile phones and the internet.

There has been much research and action on traditional forms of bullying

in schools, with some success, but cyber-bullying has arisen and increased

in the last decade. Researchers, pupils, parents, teachers, unions, and lo-

cal, regional and national authorities, in consultation with mobile phone

companies and internet service providers, are all trying in various ways to

grapple with the issues involved in cyber-bullying.

COST IS0801 is a networking COST Action, that started in late October

2008 and ran for four years. The Action has had 28 participating COST

countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia,

Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Ita-

ly, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portu-

gal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and United Kingdom;

plus non-COST participation from Australia. Its full title is Cyber-bully-

ing: Coping with negative and enhancing positive uses of new technolo-

gies, in relationships in educational settings (http://sites.google.com/site/

costis0801/).

The main aim of the Action is to share expertise on cyber-bullying in ed-

ucational settings, coping with negative and enhancing positive uses of

new technologies in the relationships area, and moving towards a common

set of guidelines applicable in Europe. So, one of the objectives of COST

IS0801 has been to examine already nationally published guidelines in dif-

ferent countries, including both dealing with the negative consequences of

cyber-bullying, and the positive uses of new technologies in the relation-

ships area. Especially, to disseminate some good practice to assist in the de-

velopment of new guidelines and revision of older ones was intended. Led

by Professor Maritta Vlimki, a Working Group of the Action has done justthis. The findings of this analysis will be presented in the following chap-

ters of this publication. We hope that this Booklet will be useful for a range

of practitioners concerned with the use of the internet by young people.

Peter K Smith, Chair Georges Steffgen, Vice-Chair

COST IS0801 COST IS0801


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SUMMARY

Cyber-bullying refers to bullying and harass-ment of others by means of new electronic tech-nologies, primarily mobile phones and the in-ternet. Cyber-bullying of children and youngpeople is emerging as a significant problemwhich can threaten the health, well-being andattainment of victims, and adversely affect theclimate of the peer group and school. Guidelineshave been devised in many countries to assist

parents, young people, schools and teachers tounderstand the problem and take effective ac-tion. Although guidelines in themselves are on-ly a start, they can provide a useful frameworkfor all concerned to reduce cyber-bullying andits negative effects.

Guidelines vary greatly in their coverage of im-portant aspects. We aimed to examine a widerange of guidelines and carry out a contentanalysis, to identify strengths and weakness-es and to point out elements of good practice.

We obtained 54 national guidelines from 27countries; these were scored for the presence/absence of a range of criteria relating to schoolethos, policies and programs, skills and col-laborative partnerships. We looked at theseseparately for the four main target groups: par-ents, young people, schools and teachers. Foreach target group we review relevant researchevidence, and then highlight the strengths andweaknesses of the guidelines, concluding withrecommendations.

Parents: many guidelines mentioned therole of parents as role models, talkingwith their children and helping andmonitoring their ICT use; and also men-tioned how parents need to develop theirown skills. However fewer guidelinesmentioned how parents can encouragetheir children to help others, or pointedout the importance of collaboration withthe school.

Young People: many guidelines men-tioned the importance of developinggeneral online skills and netiquette, es-

pecially for social networking sites, in-cluding aspects to prevent cyber-bullying;

and of seeking help from trusted adults.However fewer guidelines mentioned is-sues around online gaming sites; report-ing cyber-bullying to the police as an op-tion; or developing leadership skills inthe peer group to discourage cyber-bul-lying.

Schools: many guidelines mention theimportance of developing awareness

among students, and helping them recog-nize and report cyber-abuse. Howeverwhile some guidelines mention develop-ing a whole-school policy on the issue,many aspects of this are typically under-specified. Few policies mention the im-portance of the peer group, in terms ofpeer pressure, or peer support.

Teachers: many guidelines stress howteachers should take cyber-bullying se-riously, act as role models, and help stu-dents improve their awareness and skills.

However there is much less emphasis onthe role of teachers in making and evalu-ating policy, and in developing their ownskills.

In summary, many guidelines provide goodcoverage of aspects such as parents and teach-ers acting as role models for young people, andthe importance of developing young peoplesawareness and skills as related to dealing withcyber-bullying. Developing skills in parents isoften covered, but less so the importance of de-veloping skills for teachers. School policies are

often mentioned, but generally deserve muchfuller consideration in terms of content. Themost prominent omission in most guidelinesis the importance of the peer group in main-taining or preventing cyber-bullying, and howyoung people themselves can take a leadershiprole in challenging cyber-bullying, as well ashow parents, teachers and schools can sup-port them in this. A number of recommenda-tions are made for each target group, regardingproactive policies, plans and practices; under-standing and competences; collaborative part-

ners; and social environment.


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INTRODUCTION

Younger and younger users today have directaccess to the Internet from personal computersand mobile devices, whether at home, schoolsor in public places. As a consequence teachers,parents and other carers face new challenges. Inrecent years, a variety of programmes and poli-cies have been developed and implementedin an effort to prevent and reduce the problemof cyber-bullying in the school environment.

In addition to traditional bullying, these poli-cies and programmes have been amended tohighlight the use of electronic means of bul-lying, harassment, and intimidation as an un-acceptable behaviour. While these initiativeshave been helpful, many policy and practicechallenges remain given that cyber-bullying islikely to occur either at school or off schoolpremises, making it difficult to address solelyby teachers, schools or families.

A working group in COST Action IS0801

investigated how European, and some othercountries, are responding to these challengesby surveying and analysing a sample of exist-ing guidelines related to ICT use and cyber-bullying. Specifically, our aim was to examinealready nationally published guidelines in dif-ferent countries, including those dealing withthe negative consequences of cyber-bullying onrelationships, and those addressing the posi-tive uses of new technologies and the impacton relationships. Our review and analysis hasattempted to bridge the gap between cyber-bul-lying policy areas that have received extensive

attention and those areas that have receivedless attention. By doing this we hope to guidegood practice for school communities amongteachers, parents and students to prevent andmanage cyber-bullying and maintain schoolsafety.

Our review process comprised four phases.First, a pilot study was conducted to deter-mine the feasibility of this review task. Second,criteria for assessing best practice were de-termined to guide the development of a struc-

tured questionnaire. Third, the two mostprominent national guidelines were identified

in 27 countries (25 European countries plusIsrael and Australia), and the questionnairewas used to score each guideline on the crite-ria identified; this was done by a representa-tive from the country concerned who was onour Action Management Committee. The scor-ing was conducted according to specific crite-ria relating to school ethos, policies and pro-grams, skills and collaborative partnerships as

part of anti-bullying preventative actions. Thepresence of each criterion was scored as not atall, somewhat and mostly. The final validationstage of this review process involved 10 inter-national experts examining and evaluating theimportance of each criterion.

Fifty-four national guidelines were reviewed.These targeted various groups: parents (N = 41),young people (N = 35), schools (N = 23), andteachers (N = 32). A separate section has beendeveloped for each of these groups. In pre-

senting the results under key findings fromour content analysis of the 54 guidelines, ratherthan state all the results, we have selected thosethat are most interesting and contrasting. Foreach target group, we present:

1) Review of the evidence based on theresearch literature in the relevant area

2) Key findings from our content analysis ofthe 54 guidelines.

3) Recommendations for proactive policies,plans and practices; understanding and

competences; collaborative partners; andsocial environment.

At the end, some key references for the litera-ture are provided.


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Review of the evidence

Positive parental involvement is associatedwith less bullying behaviour among adoles-cents. Poor supervision and lack of attentionin the home, parental acceptance of aggressivebehaviour, harsh discipline and parent model-ling of aggressive behaviour are all associatedwith bullying behaviour [1]. Conversely, stu-dents with higher parental support [2] and whohave a good relationship with their parents [3]are less likely to be involved in bullying andmay experience fewer symptoms of depressionif they are victimised or bully others [4].

As a result of the digital divide betweenyoung people and adults, parents may feellimited in how they can support their child toeffectively prevent and respond to cyber-bully-ing. Furthermore, many young people indicatethey are unlikely to report their experiencesof cyber-bullying to adults [5] largely becausethey fear having their computers or mobilephones taken away, causing them further iso-lation [6]. Given that cyber-bullying appears tooccur more frequently outside of school hours[7], developing parents awareness about cy-

ber-bullying is crucial.

Information provision and skill developmentfor families is necessary to reduce bullying be-haviour as well as to improve the ways fami-lies communicate with each other about thisissue. Information for parents (e.g. informa-tion about the bullying prevention initiatives

at their school, or with general tips about bul-

lying) is an important factor related to a de-crease in students bullying [8]. Parent traininginformation nights or teacher-parent meetings

are associated with both a decrease in bully-ing and being bullied. Although many students

who are frequently bullied report they wouldprefer to talk to a peer about bullying, ratherthan an adult [9], parents and teachers recog-nition of and regular communication about thesigns and symptoms of bullying helps to re-solve bullying incidents more quickly and pro-vides more positive support for the studentsinvolved.

Students who bully others using the Inter-net or their mobile phone are more likelyto have parents who are less involved with

their childrens computer and internet use[10]. These perpetrators are also more likelyto report having a poor emotional bond withtheir caregiver, as well as more frequent dis-cipline and more infrequent monitoring by theircaregivers [11]. These findings suggest a needto encourage and enable parents to employstrategies to effectively monitor and commu-nicate with their children about bullying, butcyber-bullying in particular.

PARENTS


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Key findings

Parents competencies are important in youngpeoples education for media. Knowledge andunderstanding of technology for interacting inpositive ways with others is essential in guid-ing, assisting and empowering children in so-cial relationships and, especially, in fosteringthe development of caring ways of relating toone another in differing social settings. Of the41 guidelines targeting parents, the most rep-resented parental roles are as follows:

Mentors raising childrens awareness about their

right to seek help to help resolve cyber-bullying

incidents

59%

Assistants helping children to use technology or

social interaction in positive ways

54%

Role models demonstrating appropriate and

positive social behaviour (online and of ine)

or their children or carers?

46%

Disciplinarian managing their childrens online

social behaviours

46%

Parents are less likely to be presented as pro-moters of childrens use of peer pressure todiscourage bullying in the various guidelines(15%) or as supporters of their children help-

ing others who are cyber-bullied (23%).

The guidelines reviewed mostly acknowledgethe role of parents in the prevention of cyber-bullying, suggesting responding skills and limit-setting to ensure a safe and protective environ-ment and the development of trusting relation-ships. Some 50% or more of the guidelines en-courage parental actions such as talking withtheir children if they need help, and monitor-ing aspects of their ICT use.

Talking seriously with their children about

seeking help

58%

Monitoring their childrens use o technology 50%

Monitoring their childrens actions specifically to

discourage and manage cyber-bullying

49%

Many guidelines were found to promote theimportance of raising parents awareness aboutpositive ways to monitor childrens onlinebehaviours, specifically suggesting actionsparents can take when their children are cyber-bullying and/or being cyber-bullied. Moreover,43% of the guidelines encouraged parents to

develop their own technical skills and under-standing in regard to how to prevent and dealwith cyber-bullying.

Many guidelines mentioned the need to raiseparents knowledge about ways to act safelyonline via improved understandings of tech-nology and young peoples favourite online ac-tivities and ways to interact online.

Parents improving their technical skills about

privacy settings

48%

Reporting cyber-bullying to service providers 45%

Understanding the modes o technology used to

communicate

43%

A weakness identified in these guidelines wasraising parents awareness of the importanceof their contribution in collaborative actionswith schools and the community. Issues re-lated to parents and schools working togetherfor prevention, developing strategies and seek-ing help in collaborative ways with schools

were emphasized in less than one third of theguidelines.


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Recommendations

Proactive policies, plans and practicesEvery parent needs to talk with their children about cyber-bullying and not

wait until it happens. They need to model respect and tolerance o others and

be explicit in their disapproval o cyber-bullying. In this way children will be

better prepared to deal with cyber-bullying and be more likely to avoid initi-

ating acts by cyber-bullying or assisting or reinorcing those who may cyber-

bully others.

Understandings and competencesTo reduce any digital divide that might exist between parents and their children,

parents need to inorm themselves about saer mobile phone and Internet use

and the dierent modes o electronic communication and how each o these

can be used in a negative way to cyber-bully others. They need to be aware o

how to contact mobile and Internet service providers and help their children

to determine how they can report a problem, secure their privacy settings or

indeed block the sender o the abusive messages or images.

Parents oten do not realise that even though their children are skilled techni-

cally they may not know how to use the technology in sae ways. This is espe-

cially true o younger children. Parents need to inorm themselves o the signs

o cyber-bullying, particularly becoming withdrawn, moody or depressed, or

visibly upset or angry when online or reading a text, so they can provide sup-

port or their children during this time.

Collaborative partnershipsParents need to be encouraged to take action when they suspect their child

is being targeted or indeed is targeting someone else in a hurtul manner.

They need also to be aware that children can be both cyber-bullied and bully

others, and i they are, that there is a high probability that they may be alsobullied or bully others in a traditional way. Parents need to be encouraged to

amiliarize themselves with their childrens schools policy and procedures

or reporting and investigating allegations o cyber-bullying.

Parents need to stress to their children there is no shame in being bullied. The

problem lies with the aggressor. Thereore children need to be encouraged

to not hesitate to seek help rom parents, teachers, youth leaders or others

who care or them when they eel they are unable to help themselves. Parents

need to have conversations with their children that they will not over-react

or deny their children phone or online access i they are targeted online, but

instead talk about possible ways o dealing with such cyber-attacks.

Social environmentParents need to encourage their children to intervene when they are witnessto cyber-bullying. This may include supporting the victim and reporting the

behaviour to a person in authority. Should parents learn o their childrens

involvement in cyber-bullying they need to a) stress their disapproval and b)

talk about how hurtul and damaging it can be or the victim.

Parents need to understand the importance o leading by example and o

having a positive and supportive relationship with their children. For children

to conide in their parents they need to eel that they are valued and listened

to and that their parents will respond in a non-judgemental and positive man-

ner. Parents need to be encouraged to promote good so cial skills, in par-

ticular empathy, good moral reasoning, a sturdy sel-esteem and resilience

to reduce the risk o becoming involved in cyber-bullying.


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Efforts to address all forms of bullying includ-ing cyber-bullying need to engage students andpeer groups to build their ownership of effortsto prevent bullying. This approach ensures thatstrategies are relevant, responsive and engag-ing, and acknowledges that students play a cru-cial role in building a school climate that doesnot tolerate any form of bullying.

While most students do not like seeing some-one being bullied, most do not intervene to stopthe bullying and may instead directly or inad-

vertently encourage or support the bullying be-haviours of others [12,13]. Hence, it is impor-tant to enhance students skills and self-effica-cy to discourage bullying and to support thosewho are bullied. Students who are bullied per-ceive that supportive actions from their peersare often more helpful than supportive actionsfrom adults and even their own actions to addressbullying [14].

Engaging peer bystanders is particularly im-portant given that adults responses to bullyingand particularly cyber-bullying are often felt by

young people to be inappropriate or ineffective.An Australian study found that some 50% ofsenior secondary school students (aged 16-17)reported no change in their bullying situationafter talking with teachers about the bullyingbehaviour [15].

To encourage more students to seek support orhelp, they need to feel confident their disclo-sure of bullying will be addressed appropriate-ly and discreetly by school staff; will not exac-erbate the bullying situation; and that staff will

listen to how students would like the situationto be resolved.

Improving students key understandings, skillsand competencies to prevent and respond tobullying, especially as a bystander, needs to bean essential element of school action to sup-port students who do not seek help from schoolstaff. Accordingly, formal classroom learningneeds to raise students awareness about bul-lying and its harmful effects, student rights andresponsibilities and importantly provide stu-dents with opportunities to develop their socialskills and strategies online and offline to en-hance their self-efficacy and ability to respond

more effectively. These strategies need to beembedded into the curriculum, rather than be-ing standalone messages, so as to enable stu-dents to refine their skills over time and to fos-ter lasting behaviour change.

Educating students about technical, social de-cision making online, good digital citizenshipskills and other cyber-safety strategies to pre-vent, respond to and report cyber-bullying isessential, as much cyber-bullying behaviouroccurs out of sight of adults. While studentsmay have good online technical skills they

may be less aware about strategies to reducetheir harm online such as how to remove harm-ful websites and supporting their friends whomay be experiencing online difficulties [16].

Engaging students in partnerships with know-ledgeable and supportive staff and externalsupport and education services, as well asenhancing student-parent communicationabout social conflict and bullying issues, willalso enable and promote students ability toprevent and respond to cyber-bullying situa-

tions.

YOUNG PEOPLE


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Key findings

Most of the 35 national guidelines aimed atyoung people endorse skills development asthe best method of dealing with and prevent-ing cyber-bullying. In fact, in each of the fol-lowing four criteria school ethos, poli-

cies and programs, skills, and collaborativepartnerships youth skills building was a topconcern. Skills such as digital citizenship, ne-tiquette amongst others were deemed key inover 40% of the guidelines.

Practice principles o netiquette when

socializing online

60%

Develop relational and technical skills to prevent

cyber-bullying (e.g., understanding the dierence

between real and virtual riends, not orwarding

unkind messages)

49%

Use technology or positive social interaction 43%

Coping with cyber-bullying through seekingsupport from parents, teachers and peers wererated as following:

Seek support rom parents to prevent and/or

deal with cyber-bullying

57%

Seek support rom teachers to prevent and/or

deal with cyber-bullying

37%

Seek support rom peers to prevent and/or dealwith cyber-bullying 23%

Collaborative actions with school, family andthe community led by young people are salientin guidelines aimed at young people. Encour-aging young people to seek help from trustedadults is emphasized in about two thirds of theguidelines, whereas a third stress the impor-tance of seeking help online or through profes-sional helplines.

Report cyber-bullying to school sta or other

trusted adults60%

Seek urther online inormation or resources 43%

Seek urther inormation or resources rom

proessional services such as a phone helpline

38%

Many guidelines differentiate between on-line activities (e.g. social networking and chatrooms) and call for specific skills expertise todeal with these varying areas. Within these ar-

eas gaming is the online activity that is leastreferred to in the guidelines.

Understand the nature o cyber-bullying in the

use o social networking technology

49%

... chat rooms 40%

instant messaging 37%

SMS and mobile phones 34%

websites 29%

blogs 29%

online gaming 20%

Developing digital skills that allow youngpeople to regulate negative interactions arefeatured prominently in the guidelines. Whilethe importance of maintaining privacy and theneed for reporting procedures were mentionedin around 50% of the guidelines, only about

one third included references to reportingnegative incidents to the Police.

Develop the technical skills to help prevent

cyber-bullying (e.g. privacy settings on social

networking profiles, not sharing passwords)

54%

Report to service providers, block a person bul-

lying, save evidence o cyber-bullying

43%

Report cyber-bullying to the police 37%

Limited attention was given to encouragingyoung people to show leadership and to beengaged and responsible in proactive and pro-social ways in managing cyber-bullying situa-tions. The use of positive peer influence, peerleadership and support of those who are cy-ber-bullied was only slightly more encouraged.In fact in over two thirds of the 35 guidelinesaimed at young people the encouragement ofthese competencies was notable for its com-plete absence and, as shown in the table be-low, they are indicated in one form or anotherin less than a quarter of the guidelines.

Encourage young people to show leadership

in addressing cyber-bullying

17%

Encourage young people to show leadership

in positive uses o technology

17%

Use positive peer pressure to discourage

cyber-bullying

21%


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Recommendations

Proactive policies, plans and practicesTo give young people a sense o ownership o their schools anti-bullying

policy, they need to be consulted so that their views regarding the deini-

tion, procedures or reporting and investigating and intervention strategies

or dealing with cyber-bullying are taken into consideration.

As young peoples online activities cannot be supervised at all times young

people must be encouraged to be responsible or their own saely rather than

relying on restrictive adult supervision. To enhance young peoples digital citi-

zenship eorts must to be made to have them engage in peer support pro-

grammes, cyber-mentoring and counselling.

Understanding and competenciesYoung people need awareness raising programmes to help them understand:

What is cyber-bullying and the orms it can take

The damaging eects o cyber-bullying or the victims

The damaging eects o cyber-bullying or the aggressors digital

reputation, i.e. it can aect their riendships and relationships as well

as their uture employment prospects.

The legal consequences and risks o prosecution.

Young people must be given the opportunity to explore their attitude and to

develop the technical/digital skills needed to stay sae when either online or

using smart phones. Speciic skills are needed or the dierent online activi-

ties, e.g., social networking, chat rooms and online gaming. Young people

need to learn the principles o netiquette when communicating and socialising

online, notably that the same standards o behaviour apply online as they do

in real lie.

Every young person must be given the knowledge and the conidence torespond eectively to a cyber-attack, notably by:

Not retaliating or replying

Saving the evidence

Making sure they tell someone who can help or calling a helpline

Blocking the sender

Reporting the incident to the provider o the service (e.g. mobilephone operator or social networking operator) and i posing a serious

threat reporting it to the police.

All young people should be inormed o the risks and beneits o responding

to cyber-attacks in a manner which is:

Aggressive

Problem solving /assertive

Passive or emotional

Social/seeking help rom riends, peers, amily, carers and teachers

Young people need to be given opportunities to improve their social skills,

level o empathy, moral reasoning, conlict resolution skills and anger manage-

ment.


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Collaborative school-family community relationsYoung people need to be empowered to report to school sta and to parents

when they are subjected to cyber-bullying. They need to recognise that the

problem lies with the aggressor and the sooner the hostile behaviour is

addressed the sooner the cyber-bullying will stop. Young people need to be

made aware o external agencies and organisations where they can seek in-

ormation, advice and guidance on internet saety and cyber-bullying. They

must also be encouraged to seek counselling i aected by cyber-bullying.

Social environmentAll young people need to recognise the importance o supporting victims o

cyber-bullying in and out o school and o reporting the incidents to school

sta or action to be taken. However they need to be taught eective strategies

which they can use should they be witness to their peers being cyber-bullied.

Young people need to eel supported when deending or seeking help or

victims o cyber-bullying.


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to constructively resolve social problems to pre-vent the occurrence of similar incidents [25].

Raising awareness and teaching common un-derstandings about bullying, and alternativeways to deal with social problems, is neededto equip the whole-school community with theknowledge and skills to prevent, identify andrespond effectively to bullying behaviour.

Key findings

The 23 guidelines aimed at schools general-ly stressed the importance of maintaining apositive and safe environment, and awarenessraising among students is the most widely citedmethod, together with rewarding positive usesof ICT.

Raise students awareness that they have the

right to seek help to resolve cyber-bullying

incidents

52%


responsibility to seek help to resolve cyber-

bullying incidents

44%

Reward and encourage the positive use o

technology or social interaction

39%

Less emphasis however is given to the peer

group, peer influences and school dynamicswhich support its positive impact.

Use positive peer pressure to discourage peer

pressure

9%

Use the peer group to provide support or

students who are cyber-bullied

17%

Use cooperative learning methods to promote

pro-social behaviour

22%

Develop programs and implement strategies to

empower students to participate in a positive

school culture, e.g. peer support systems

17%

Given the importance of whole-school poli-cies that include cyber-bullying and virtualrelationships for prevention and managementof bullying situations, the role School Policycan play was not emphasized as widely in theguidelines as perhaps would be expected. Andin general, it was found that school guidelinesundervalue the role that the organisation playsin ensuring the success of these policies andprocesses.

Treat reports o cyber-bullying seriously and with

a clear consistent action

36%

Develop and implement a whole-school

bullying prevention policy which includes the

reduction and management o cyber-bullying

27%

Document procedures and outcomes or

managing cyber-bullying incidents

24%

Develop and then regularly review cyber-

bullying policies, programs and procedures in

collaboration with sta, students and parents

18%

An agreed definition o cyber-bullying, and an

agreed statement o expected and unacceptable

behaviour in relation to the use o interpersonal

communications technology and cyber-bullying

14%

Coordinate a whole-school plan outlining how

behaviours are to be addressed

14%

Allocate adequate resources including sta,

time, finance, acilities and materials to

implement strategies to reduce and manage

cyber-bullying

14%

Provide proessional development opportunities

or sta responsible or the implementation o

strategies

14%

A statement about the rights and responsibilities

o all members o the school community,

including visitors to address cyber-bullying

prevention

5%

A key message across many guidelines aimedat schools was the importance placed on build-ing up students skills to deal with the prob-lem. But while the schools role in enabling,engaging, providing protection, support, andempowering students, was recognised this wasunder emphasised in many national guide-lines. In addition very few guidelines explicit-ly valued the importance of working with stu-dents who cyber-bully others.

Enable students to recognize and report abuse 52%

Actively engage students in ways to prevent and

manage cyber-bullying behaviour

32%

Develop protective strategies, includinghelp-seeking behaviours

30%

Provide curricula that enable and empower

students to increase their online saety and

provide means to solve their own problems and

learn important lielong relationships and

digital citizenship skills

22%

Provide appropriate monitoring and supervision

o students use o technology

18%

Help students who cyber-bully others to use

their leadership or peer skills in more positive

ways

5%


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As for collaborative school-family-communitypartnerships being a key element in preventingand responding to cyber-bullying, some guide-lines suggest that the most important elementis the use of consultation and implementationof specialized knowledge to lead to a better-in-formed school community, especially amongstteachers.

Seek urther inormation and resources to

develop a whole school policy and procedures to

address cyber-bullying

36%

Seek urther inormation about cyber-bullying

proessional development opportunities or

teachers

36%

Recommendations

Proactive policies, plans and practicesTeachers and all other members o the school community need clear and con-

sistent inormation, support, and procedures or preventing, detecting, re-

porting, and responding to cyber-bullying rom the school management. They

also need to talk to the students about cyber-bullying. In addition teachers

themselves need to act as role models and engage students to support those

who are victimised and by extension build a school climate that does nottolerate cyber-bullying.

Understanding and competencesThere is a need or schools to implement strategies or action and behavioural

change when intervening in bullying, especially in accordance with age. For

example, older students typically have a better understanding and knowledge

in regards to the Internet. Hence younger students may require more techni-

cal support responses to stop cyber-bullying, compared to older students.

Positive discipline, cooperative learning methods, and conlict resolution ap-

proaches can also provide ways or policies, plans and programs to endorse

positive uses o technology and anti-cyber-bullying interventions. Schools

provide an ideal context to develop online communication and other socialskills, such as digital citizenship.

Collaborative partnersAll members o the school community, teachers, parents and students need

to collaborate in order to combat cyber-bullying. In case o a cyber-bullying

situation, all parties involved need to contact each other and work together.

It should not be a question o when does parental responsibility end and the

schools responsibility start but rather how do we make cyber-bullying a more

shared responsibility.

Social environmentSchools need to develop and maintain a positive and supportive school cul-

ture through the positive relationships they build between and among staand students. School personnel and peers need to develop the knowledge

and skills to eectively respond and give support to those who are cyber-bul-

lied. These help seeking responses are more likely in a school with an open,

supportive and trustworthy atmosphere, that has clear guidelines about how

the community is expected to behave and respond to cyber-bullying. Caring,

supportive and authoritative school personnel also contribute to better rela-

tions and a positive class and school climate.

Students also need to be provided with opportunities to practise sae bystand-

er skills in the school as they oten ail to report incidents o cyber-bullying be-

haviour to school personnel or ear that the technology will be taken away.

It is o importance to promote the use o positive discipline models instead

o punitive approaches.


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Teachers and other school staff play a key rolein discouraging bullying and cyber-bullying,particularly with regard to the effectivenessand consistency of their response to bullyingbehaviour among students [26]. School staffreport having less confidence responding tocovert bullying (including cyber-bullying) thanmore overt verbal and physical bullying, oftenstating they are unsure about what action theyshould take [27]. Problematically, when bully-ing behaviours are not acknowledged nor effec-tively responded to, it is likely these behaviours

will persist and even increase over time [26].

Clear policy and practice is needed to supportteachers consistent implementation of effec-tive responses to bullying situations. TheAustralian Covert Bullying Prevalence Study(ACBPS) showed that a lack of clear and con-sistent procedures for preventing, reporting andresponding to bullying means that staff do nothave guidance and support to encourage effec-tive teacher actions. [28]. The behavioural ex-pectations and consequences of poor behaviourand the procedures a school uses to respond to

bullying need to be described and communicat-ed clearly to both staff and all other members ofthe school community to build awareness andensure consistent implementation.

School staff need comprehensive professionallearning to enhance their confidence and selfefficacy to assist students with bullying andrelated matters. This training needs to be partof a whole-school response to bullying wherethe training is linked to the schools bullying-related policy and response plan. While the

vast majority of school staff usually disapproveof bullying [28], and perceive themselves as

having a responsibility to reduce and preventschool bullying, many report they need moretraining to improve their skills related to re-duce and respond to bullying.

Aspects of teachers relationships with stu-dents, such as their level of supportivenessand warmth, are also related to students per-ceptions of the social climate and have an im-portant influence on the bullying behaviourof students [29]. Poor teacher management ofthe class (as viewed by students) is associated

with a higher likelihood of students bully-ing others, whereas more effectively managedclassrooms have lower rates of bullying [30].Positive classroom management techniques torespond to bullying, and the use of classroomrules against bullying are important methodsto reduce bullying behaviour.

A study in Australia found that a large pro-portion of school staff (71%) justify the use ofpunitive approaches to address bullying, butwith considerable disagreement over whichstrategies should be used to work with the stu-

dent who is engaging in the bullying and thestudent who is being bullied [31]. The use ofpunishment to address bullying in schools haslimitations, as it may only suppress behaviourtemporarily, rather than in the longer-term,and may lead the perpetrators to resort to morecovert forms of bullying, less easily detectedby adults. Restorative approaches are often auseful first step; a study in England found thattwo-thirds of schools used some kind of restor-ative approach in dealing with bullying [32].

The digital generation gap between youngpeople and their teachers may be a potential

TEACHERS


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barrier in attempts to help students who arecyber-bullied [33]. In a study of pre-serviceteachers perceptions about cyber-bullying,the vast majority of teachers surveyed reportedthey generally lacked the confidence to identi-fy or manage cyber-bullying [34]. Further, stu-dents may not perceive adults at school as be-ing able to help if students were to report cy-ber-bullying to them [16].

In addition to teachers own efforts to reduce bul-lying, on-going effective teacher communicationwith parents contributes to the development of apositive school climate [35]. These regular com-munications need to encourage and help parentsto effectively monitor and communicate withtheir child about all forms of bullying, particu-larly cyber-bullying given this behaviour occurscommonly outside of school hours.

Key findings

There were 32 guidelines which addressedteachers as a main target group. Teachers wereoften presented as role models for aspects ofpromoting positive ways of using technology,modelling positive uses of ICT, and raising stu-dents awareness.

Promote positive ways o using technology or

social interaction

50%

Model the positive use o inormation

communication technology or students

47%


right and responsibilities to seek help to resolve

cyber-bullying incidents

47%

However, one area little mentioned in theguidelines is the role of teachers in policy-making and evaluation. Few guidelines en-couraged teachers to document procedures

and outcomes for managing cyber-bullyingincidents, use positive approval, praise andencouragement to modify behaviour, or evalu-ate their actions in discouraging and managingstudent cyber-bullying.

Use positive approval, praise and encouragement

to modiy cyber-bullying behaviour

13%

Clearly document procedures and outcomes or

managing cyber-bullying incidents to monitor

their eectiveness and inorm possible

modification

16%

Evaluate their actions to discourage and manage

student cyber-bullying

18%

Teachers were often encouraged to treat reportsof cyber-bullying seriously; but only aboutone-third of guidelines mentioned providingappropriate monitoring and supervision forstudents. Similarly, in only about one-thirdwere teachers encouraged to pursue the de-velopment of their own skills to effectively in-tervene in cyber-bullying situations.

Treat reports o cyber-bullying seriously and with

clear consistent action

45%

Provide appropriate monitoring and supervision

o students use o technology

31%

Develop the skills required o them to manage

students cyber-bullying behaviour

31%

An item on encouraging and helping studentsto positively use technology for social interac-

tion was often scored in the guidelines. Con-versely, few guidelines addressed teachersparticipation in professional development op-portunities to deal with bullying. In practice,this would result in the often-theorized digitalgap between young people and their teacherswidening.

Encourage and help students to positively use

technology or social interaction

53%

Participate in cyber-bullying proessional

development opportunities

20%

The majority of guidelines for teachers empha-size the importance of collaborative partner-ships with parents and community groups.However, the mechanisms and actions to fos-ter better linkages with parents and communi-ty were seldom addressed. Importantly, waysto develop strategies to deal with cyber-bul-lying in collaboration with parents, and in-crease parent and community awareness andways to prevent or deal with cyber-bullying

were poorly covered or less explicit.

Increase parent awareness o cyber-bullying and

ways to prevent or deal with this behaviour

20%

Build close cooperation with parents and the

school administration

19%

Increase community awareness o cyber-bullying

and ways to prevent or deal with this behaviour

16%

Develop positive strategies to deal with cyber-

bullying in collaboration with parents

9%


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Recommendations

Proactive policies, plans and practicesTeachers need to be educated and supported by the school management to

know how to act when cyber-bullying occurs. This inormation needs to be

clear, consistent and accurate so the school community knows how to eec-

tively respond. It is also essential that school management encourages and

enables teachers to consistently implement and evaluate eective responses

to cyber-bullying situations.

Understanding and competencesTeachers need to be equipped with proessional training to intervene eec-

tively in cyber-bullying situations. They would beneit, in particular, rom a

deeper understanding o group dynamics and conlict management skills. It is

essential that the school management team assess the capacity o their school

sta to determine their proessional learning needs to eectively and con-

sistently respond to cyber-bullying behaviour. For example, teachers need to

improve students knowledge about cyber-saety and online etiquette rules.

Collaborative partnersTeachers need to actively collaborate and develop links with parents to es-

tablish close cooperation, develop collaborative strategies to deal with cyber-

bullying, contact parents when appropriate, and increase parent and commu-

nity awareness about cyber-bullying.

Social environmentTeachers need to be actively involved in creating a positive atmosphere in the

classroom and positive relationships with their students. Teachers also need

to enable and assist students in supporting students who are cyber-bullied

and stop those who assist and reinorce students who cyber-bully others. In

addition, they need to encourage students to report cyber-bullying behaviour.

Close teacher-student relationships help to ensure a more positive class and

school climate and to notice and to address conlicts and problematic situa-

tions between students.

Students are in a unique position to have a vital role in addressing the prob-

lems o cyber-bullying in schools, and need to be actively engaged as co-

teachers/researchers by schools. Teachers need to take the opportunity to

learn about the ways students use the Internet, while the students need to

learn ways to solve social problems and develop social skills rom teachers.


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The review of the literature and analysis of avail-able guidelines on cyber-bullying in Europe, Is-rael and Australia points to a number of chal-lenges that must to be addressed so that schools,teachers, young people and parents can betterprevent and respond effectively to all the risksassociated with electronic communications.

To prevent and counter cyber-bullying of

children and young people, which is emerg-ing as a significant health problem, we are ofthe opinion that it is critical that there is firstand foremost a concerted effort on the part ofsociety, schools, teachers, parents and youngpeople to work together to set policy and prac-tice. Young people, in particular need to feelthat their voice is heard when policies and pro-cedures, which are to affect them, are beingdeveloped.

For schools it is essential that they include cy-

ber-bullying as part of their whole school com-munity approach to bullying, and that theyhave their teachers provide lessons which givestudents the confidence and self-efficacy to re-port and to seek help when they or their peersare victimised.

All young people need to learn the necessaryself-help skills to both stay safe when navigat-ing in the cyber world and to cope effectivelywhen they are exposed to cyber aggression. It isalso important that parents and teachers do notabdicate their responsibility in dealing with

incidents which arise but rather ensure that

the victims of cyber aggression and bullying re-ceive the necessary support and knowledge tohelp them cope with future attacks. We wouldstrongly advise that teachers also guide the stu-dents who cyber-bully towards developing bet-ter social skills when online and to use theirleadership or peer skills in more positive ways.

To help teachers better prevent and respond

to cyber-bullying, provision must be made forthem to gain a good understanding of group dy-namics and conflict management skills as partof their pre-service and professional develop-ment training.In recognising the importance of parents in pre-venting, identifying and responding to cyber-bullying we would strongly recommend thatthe more knowledge parents can gain about theinternet and the risk factors associated with itsuse, the better equipped they will be in secur-

ing the safety of their children when online.However, it is also important that they estab-lish regular communication with their childrenstressing the need for online netiquette and be-haviour and for reporting all electronic com-munications which they or their peers finddistressing and in poor taste.

In recognising the benefits of media technolo-gy for social and educational purposes we hopethat the review of guidelines will go someway to countering the risk of cyber-bullyingof children and young people.

Acknowledgements

We wish to thank Lian McGuire of the Anti-Bullying Centre,Trinity College Dublin for her assistance in the production ofthese guidelines and the Key to Mind project funded by theFinnish Ministry of Social Affairs and Health for their support

in designing the booklet.

CONCLUSIONS


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Authors

Almeida, Ana, University of Minho, Portugal

Berne, Sofia, University of Gothenburg, Sweden

Cross, Donna, Edith Cowan University, Australia

Deboutte, Gie, Media & ICT in Organisations & Society (MIOS), University of Antwerp, Belgium

Fandrem, Hildegunn, University of Stavanger, Norway

Fulop, Marta, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Hungary

Heiman, Tali, The Open University, Israel

Kurki, Marjo, University of Turku, Finland

Olenik-Shemesh, Dorit, The Open University, Israel

O'Moore, Mona, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland

Stald, Gitte, IT University of Copenhagen, Denmark

Sygkollitou, Efi, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece

Vlimki, Maritta, University of Turku, Finland

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