Speaker
Description
Collaboration between parents and schools has been promoted as an effective response to cyberbullying (Olenik-Shemesh et al., 2019). However, research suggests that collaborative responses are not fully utilised by parents (Stuart et al., 2022) or teachers (Strohmeier & Gradinger, 2021). Prior research has largely conducted survey studies with educators to explore responses to hypothetical scenarios rather than focusing on responses to actual anonymised incidents.
The current study investigates constructions and dominant discourses of teachers/pastoral staff’s responses to actual cyberbullying and sexting incidents (across five focus groups) using social constructionist reflexive thematic analysis.
Preliminary analysis has found that participants construct the education of children and parents as their primary role rather than implementing specific strategies to tackle cyber-related issues. Teachers consistently refer and adhere to policy which guides them to refer students to pastoral team members.
Pastoral staff also construct education as a primary goal however, mark out their roles as caring, supporting and informing others. Pastoral staff refer to unique characteristics, skills and knowledge which enable them to facilitate comfortable and open environments for students.
Gaining an understanding of the factors influencing participant responses to cyber bullying and sexting incidents in schools provides valuable insight into the barriers and effective strategies and best practice of collaborations with parents. This in turn can inform policy guidance and recommendations that are practicable for schools.
Keywords
cyberbullying responses, educators, pastoral.
| Please also indicate what kind of contribution it is: | Scientific |
|---|---|
| Please indicate what type of scientific contribution it is | Qualitative method study |
