Teachers’ perceptions, beliefs and concerns about cyberbullying

Abstract

Schools and teachers nowadays face new difficulties and challenges as a result of the fast growth of cyberbullying. The aim of the study is to examine the perceptions, beliefs and concerns about cyberbullying, as well as the needs, of a professionally diverse group of teachers. Three‐hundred and twenty‐eight teachers (88.4% female, 11.6% male) from different types of schools and professional foci were randomly selected and completed a cyberbullying questionnaire regarding their perceptions of cyberbullying and about their personal experiences in relation to cyberbullying. They also provided background information. Findings indicate that teachers noted that cyberbullying is a problem in their school, suggesting that urgent attention be paid to three aspects: policy making, enhancing awareness of the school team and coping strategies for parents. About half the teachers reported that students complain of harassment through the mobile phone and Internet, and some teachers were themselves cyberbullied. It was found that the teachers’ gender, education level and the age of the students they taught affected their level of concern about cyberbullying, and therefore how credible they found the school's commitment to act on it. Female teachers expressed more concern than male teachers, as did teachers of younger children. Special education teachers were more concerned than mainstream teachers and were more likely to believe that the cyberbullying must be confronted. The results contribute to our understanding of the teachers’ perceptions, beliefs and concerns about cyberbullying, which could serve as a basis for developing policy guidelines in schools as well as establishing programs for school teachers to cope with cyberbullying.

Australian and Maltese teachers' perspectives about their capabilities for mental health promotion in school settings

“…Recently, in a study of 266 Portugese teachers, Moreira, Pinheiro, Gomes, Cotter and Ferreira (2013) found that male teachers reported significantly greater difficulties than female teachers in promoting students' socialemotional skills. Meanwhile, in the relatively new research field about the impact of cyberbullying on students' wellbeing, Eden, Heiman and Olenik-Shemesh, (2013) reported a study that administered a questionnaire about cyberbullying to 328 Israeli teachers from diverse school settings. Eden et al found that female teachers were more concerned about cyberbullying, expressed a higher belief in the school's commitment to deal with cyberbullying and had more belief in the importance of learning about cyberbullying.…”

The Prevalence of Cyberbullying and the Views of 5-12 Grade Pupils and Teachers on Cyberbullying Prevention in Lithuanian Schools

“…Eden, Heiman, Olenik-Shemesh [7] survey highlighted the need to encourage the teachers to design and to plan appropriate actions to prevent cyberbullying. Moreover, teachers, who participated in the survey, suggested that urgent attention must be paid to three aspects: policy making, enhancing awareness of a school team and coping strategies for parents.…”

Teachers Perspectives’ in Curbing and Mitigating Bullying in their Work Place: A Case study

“…A need existed for the qualitative research case study that was conducted at one middle school in Western United States, because of the frequency of disruptions and fights in the classrooms associated with bullying and cyber bullying. The school predicament is supported in the literature by some researchers when they revealed that there has been an escalation in the number and frequency of incidents of bullying, particularly cyberbullying, in today's schools (Eden et al, 2013;Gofin & Avitzor, 2012;Hinduja & Patchin, 2011). This problem is exacerbated by the utilization of contemporary technologies, such as cell phones, computers, tablets, and social media, such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (Dey Rey et al, 2012;Gofin & Avitzor, 2012;Hinduja & Patchin, 2011).…”

“…This is in sharp contrast to the typical single-session school assembly on bullying, which some of the participants alluded to, which increased bullying awareness but were not followed through. Research highlights the importance of providing a class time after a major assembly to discuss bullying and cyber bullying (Austin et al, 2012;Eden et al, 2013). Utilizing the lessons learned from such an assembly to foster emotional and social skills, effective communications and appropriate strategies for responding to bullying incidents is essential (Austin et al, 2013).…”

“…The students in the district were expected to be provided with anti-bullying instructions in a classroom setting that will promote conflict resolution skills, assertiveness skills, respect for cultural and individual difference, self-esteem development and an acceptable or proper online behavior. The school district was anticipated to provide teachers and other school staff professional development on how to detect early warning signs of intimidating behaviors and effective intervention and preventions strategies as also supported by some researchers (Bhat, 2008;Eden et al, 2013;Gofin & Avitzor, 2012;Kowalski et al, 2014).…”