The Importance of Cyberbullying Prevention

Parents International is part of a large-scale Erasmus+ policy experimentation project called DRONE. The project is in the primary research phase, and interviews conducted in various countries show that cyberbullying experiences among vulnerable students are less frequent than other research shows. When students report who they trust or would trust to turn to for support, all Parents International interviewees mention their parents, some grandparents and/or siblings, some others friends, and nobody mentioned teachers.

This highlights the critical need for effective cyberbullying prevention strategies. Parents are clearly seen as the primary source of support, which underscores the importance of equipping them with the right tools and knowledge to combat cyberbullying effectively. Schools and teachers need to recognize this dynamic and work more closely with families to ensure a unified approach to cyberbullying prevention.

DRONE Project and Its Goals

DRONE – Teacher and school leaders training to promote Digital liteRacy and combat the spread of disinfOrmation among vulNerable groups of adolEscents – is an Erasmus+ project with a consortium of universities from Greece, Italy, Cyprus, and Hungary, and two main stakeholder representative organisations, both involved in PARTICIPATE: Parents International and our associated partner, the European School Heads Association. The project aims to:

• Explore the gaps in the literature on teachers’ and students’ digital literacy.
• Conduct mixed-methods field research with students, teachers, school leaders, and parents to generate new data for the development of training materials for teachers.
• Use mixed-methods research to pilot test training materials for teachers and school leaders.
• Conduct training on a large scale at EU level and in Ukraine. One of the primary focuses of the DRONE project is enhancing cyberbullying prevention through better education and training. By addressing these goals, the DRONE project seeks to build a more resilient educational environment where both students and teachers are well-versed in digital literacy and can effectively counteract cyberbullying and disinformation. The project recognizes the importance of equipping educators with the necessary skills to support students and their families in navigating the digital world safely.

Insights from Interviews and Research

The scoping review on digital literacy, disinformation, and crisis management at school has been published, and now a two-stage primary research is being conducted to fill research gaps. One stage is conducting in-depth interviews with students, parents, teachers, and school leaders in which students and families are chosen for their vulnerability (migrant status, learning disability, LGBTQI+, etc.). In all six countries, there are cyberbullying prevention programmes at school in place. None of them seem to consider parents as key actors in mitigating risks and traumas.

Strengthening cyberbullying prevention involves recognizing the role of parents and providing them with the necessary resources. The interviews revealed a high level of confidence among vulnerable families regarding their digital and critical thinking skills as well as resilience. This confidence is supported by demonstrated evidence during the interviews. However, it is not necessarily the case with teachers, according to both the scoping review and the interviews conducted so far. Teachers often feel ill-equipped to handle cyberbullying issues, which further emphasizes the need for comprehensive training programs that include both educators and parents.

The Role of Parents in Cyberbullying Prevention

Parents International has conducted primary research in Germany and the Netherlands during the last weeks of the 2023/24 academic year and also participated in conducting interviews in Hungary. The percentage of students who have been in any form bullied or know someone who has been bullied is below 10%, and about half of the bullying instances mentioned were offline cases where the perpetrator was a teacher.

When students were asked who they have turned or would turn to for support and advice in case of being cyberbullied, all students mentioned their parents, many also mentioned other family members and/or peers while nobody mentioned teachers or school staff. These findings clearly set the direction of the planned trainings in this field as the involved stakeholder organisations assume that teachers and school leaders are not equipped to support parents in this field.

Effective cyberbullying prevention must involve empowering parents and reviewing the focus and direction of intervention programmes based on the clear lack of trust of students in teachers. The research outcomes also indicate a pressing need to review the status and approach of teachers and school leaders with regards to cyberbullying. Building a robust support system that includes both educators and families is crucial for the success of any cyberbullying prevention initiative.

The scoping review and the interviews clearly show how important the PARTICIPATE project is in covering a topic that is mostly unknown territory. The insights gained from this research provide a valuable foundation for developing more effective cyberbullying prevention strategies and ensuring that all stakeholders, especially parents, are actively involved in the process.