Barbara Spears

Behind the Scenes and Screens

This qualitative study explores the human dimension of two subtypes of bullying in an Australian schooling context. Individuals’ knowledge, understanding, and experiences of covert (behind the scenes) and cyber (behind the screens) bullying were explored through stories of what has actually been occurring in and around their schools. Participants were adolescent students (n = 20), teachers (n = 10) and school counselors (n = 6) from a variety of schools across Adelaide, South Australia. They recounted stories about covert and cyberbullying from their social networks and schooling contexts, giving authentic “voice” to these behaviors. Each narrative was uploaded to a dedicated website, contributing to an online “storybook,” and providing information rich cases that enabled “issues of central importance” (Patton, 1987) to emerge. Narrative and thematic analyses revealed that covert and cyberbullying have much in common, but that cyberbullying in particular evoked strong negative feelings and emotions which ...

Do cyberbullies suffer too? Cyberbullies’ perceptions of the harm they cause to others and to their own mental health

While it is recognized that there are serious sequelae for students who are victims of cyberbullying including depression, anxiety, lower self-esteem and social difficulties, there has been little research attention paid to the mental health of students who cyberbully. It is known that students who traditionally bully report they feel indifferent to their victims, showing a lack of empathy and that they themselves are at increased risk for psychosocial adjustment. However, there is scant research on the mental health associations for students who cyberbully or their awareness of their impact on others. The current study sought to ascertain from Australian students who reported cyberbullying others in school years 6 to 12 (10–19 years of age), their perceptions of their mental health and the harm they caused to and the impact their actions had, on their victims. Most students who cyberbullied did not think that their bullying was harsh or that they had an impact on their victims. They reported more social difficulties and higher scores on stress, depression and anxiety scales than those students who were not involved in any bullying. The implications of these findings for the mental health of the cyberbullies and for psychologists in schools who assist them, are discussed.

Early Challenges in Evaluating the KidsMatter National Mental Health Promotion Initiative in Australian Primary Schools

This article describes, analyses and reflects on the challenges of planning and conducting the evaluation of the KidsMatter Initiative (KMI) in Australian primary schools during the first year of the two-year initiative. The purpose of the evaluation is to inform the Australia-wide rollout of the KMI. The discussion is arranged under four headings: conceptual challenges, design challenges, practical implementation challenges and managing collaborative complexity. Emphasis is placed on how the challenges were theorised as a basis for responding to the requirements of the evaluation. Conclusions include recognising and enabling contributions from diverse stakeholders, using the domain expertise of the evaluation team, operating flexibly to meet the needs and exigencies of the KMI, the clients and the diverse participant groups, maintaining focus on the core conceptual frameworks underlying the KMI and the evaluation, and the implications of the evaluation for developing wider knowledge relating to schools and their effects, as well as about factors contributing to educational change.

Cyberbullying Bystanders: Gender, Grade, and Actions among Primary and Secondary School Students in Australia

Cyberbullying is a relatively new and serious form of bullying with negative social and emotional effects on both victims and perpetrators. Like traditional bullying, cyberbullying is a social phenomenon and often unfolds in the context of a large network of bystanders. This study examined gender and age of cyberbullying bystanders out of 2109 upper primary and secondary school students in Australia. The actions the bystanders took when a peer was cybervictimised were analysed. The results of the study suggested bystanders to cyberbullying were most likely not to do anything or help the person cyberbullied at the time. Girls were more prosocial in helping students who were cyberbullied than boys. In addition, those students who knew someone who was bullied in both ways were more likely to tell their parents and friends about it than those who knew someone who was cyberbullied only. Implications for prevention and intervention in cyberbullying are discussed.

Students’ Perceptions of Their Own Victimization: A Youth Voice Perspective

This article investigates the perceptions of 156 students who were victims of both traditional and cyberbullying (117 female, 45 male), ages 10 to 17 years, as to which form of bullying was more hurtful. Overall, students perceived traditional victimization to be more hurtful than cyber victimization. Reasons identified in the data to explain the different perceptions of victims were categorized and found to relate to: the bully, the bystanders, the bullying incidents, the emotional impact on the victim, and the victim’s ability to respond. The perceptions of these students challenge a number of suppositions presented in the literature that attempt to explain why cyberbullying is associated with more negative outcomes than traditional bullying. The implications for antibullying programs to address these issues are discussed.

School policies on bullying and cyberbullying: perspectives across three Australian states

Abstract Background: Despite decades of research, bullying in all its forms is still a significant problem within schools in Australia, as it is internationally. Anti-bullying policies and guidelines are thought to be one strategy as part of a whole school approach to reduce bullying. However, although Australian schools are required to have these policies, their effectiveness is not clear. As policies and guidelines about bullying and cyberbullying are developed within education departments, this paper explores the perspectives of those who are involved in their construction. Purpose: This study examined the perspectives of professionals involved in policy construction, across three different Australian states. The aim was to determine how their relative jurisdictions define bullying and cyberbullying, the processes for developing policy, the bullying prevention and intervention recommendations given to schools and the content considered essential in current policies. Sample: Eleven key stakeholders from three Australian states with similar education systems were invited to participate. The sample selection criteria included professionals with experience and training in education, cyber-safety and the responsibility to contribute to or make decisions which inform policy in this area for schools in their state. Design and methods: Participants were interviewed about the definitions of bullying they used in their state policy frameworks; the extent to which cyberbullying was included; and the content they considered essential for schools to include in anti-bullying policies. Data were collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews and analysed thematically. Findings: Seven themes were identified in the data: (1) Definition of bullying and cyberbullying; (2) Existence of a policy template; (3) Policy location; (4) Adding cyberbullying; (5) Distinguishing between bullying and cyberbullying; (6) Effective policy; and (7) Policy as a prevention or intervention tool. The results were similar both across state boundaries and also across different disciplines. Conclusion: Analysis of the data suggested that, across the themes, there was some lack of information about bullying and cyberbullying. This limitation could affect the subsequent development, dissemination and sustainability of school anti-bullying policies, which have implications for the translation of research to inform better student outcomes.

Cyberbullying and the role of the law in Australian schools: Views of senior officials

This study examined the opinions of influential, authoritative employees from the education and legal systems, regarding their perceptions of the role of the law and cyberbullying in Australian schools. Participants were asked whether they thought a specific law for cyberbullying should be introduced, what particular behaviours, if any, should be criminalised and who should be involved. Participants were located across three Australian States. Thematic analysis was used to identify eight main themes within the data, namely (1) uses of the law in general, (2) introduction of a law for cyberbullying, (3) benefits and difficulties of criminalising cyberbullying for young people, (4) conditions for a cyberbullying law for young people, (5) who should be involved in a cyberbullying law, (6) legal sanctions thought to be appropriate, (7) educational and legal solutions and (8) educational interventions for student cyberbullying. Implications include increasing the awareness of how existing legislative responses can be used as deterrents, working towards more effective cooperation of education and legal systems.

Australian research to encourage school students' positive use of technology to reduce cyberbullying

Information and Communications Technology (ICT) has spread rapidly in Australia. Mobile phones, which increasingly have advanced capabilities including Internet access, mobile television and multimedia storage, are owned by 22% of Australian children aged 9-11 years and 73% of those aged 12-14 years (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2012b), as well as by over 90% of Australians aged 15 years and over(Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), 2010). Nearly 80% of Australian households have access to the Internet and 73% have a broadband Internet connection, ensuring that Internet access is typically reliable and high-speed (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2012a). Ninety percent of Australian children aged 5-14 years (comprising 79% of 5-8 year olds; 96% of 9-11 year olds; and 98% of 12-14 year olds) reported having accessed the Internet during 2011-2012, a significant increase from 79% in 2008-2009 (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2012b). Approximately 90% of 5-14 year olds have accessed the Internet both from home and from school, with close to 49% accessing the Internet from other places (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2012b). Young people often make use of borrowed Internet access (e.g. in friends’ homes), commercial access (e.g. cybercafes), public access (e.g. libraries), and mobile device access in areas offering free Wi-Fi (Lim, 2009).To date, research into bullying in educational settings has mainly focused on nursery, primary and secondary school levels, with only a very small number of studies addressing aspects of bullying in higher education colleges and universities. However, Forums, such as ‘The Student Room’ (www.thestudentroom.co.uk) highlight the growing problem of bullying amongst university students with disturbing accounts of the long-term damage to self-esteem, academic achievement and emotional wellbeing experienced by some students. We begin by reviewing research into traditional bullying amongst university students as well as current studies of cyberbullying in higher education. We then consider the possibility of continuities between bullying at school and at university as well as the social contexts which either promote or discourage cyberbullying. Finally, we discuss the implications for policies, training and awareness-raising and conclude with some suggestions for future research.COST IS0801, like all COST Actions, provided many opportunities for training of early career researchers, and initiation of new research projects. Some of these were supported by short-term visits of usually one or two weeks, up to a maximum of three months, by an Action member to another venue, for purposes that supported the overall aims of the Action. The first part of this chapter provides some description of these, illustrated by a number of case studies. The second part of the chapter overviews the organization and outcome of two Training Schools for early career researchers, one in Australia entitled Research to policy and practice: Innovation and sustainability in cyberbullying prevention, and one in Finland, entitled Adolescents and Social Media: Guidelines and Coping Strategies for Cyberbullying. The organization of these Training Schools, the educational approaches used, and their evaluation and impact, will be summarised.

Training Researchers : Visits and Training Schools

Information and Communications Technology (ICT) has spread rapidly in Australia. Mobile phones, which increasingly have advanced capabilities including Internet access, mobile television and multimedia storage, are owned by 22% of Australian children aged 9-11 years and 73% of those aged 12-14 years (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2012b), as well as by over 90% of Australians aged 15 years and over(Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), 2010). Nearly 80% of Australian households have access to the Internet and 73% have a broadband Internet connection, ensuring that Internet access is typically reliable and high-speed (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2012a). Ninety percent of Australian children aged 5-14 years (comprising 79% of 5-8 year olds; 96% of 9-11 year olds; and 98% of 12-14 year olds) reported having accessed the Internet during 2011-2012, a significant increase from 79% in 2008-2009 (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2012b). Approximately 90% of 5-14 year olds have accessed the Internet both from home and from school, with close to 49% accessing the Internet from other places (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2012b). Young people often make use of borrowed Internet access (e.g. in friends’ homes), commercial access (e.g. cybercafes), public access (e.g. libraries), and mobile device access in areas offering free Wi-Fi (Lim, 2009).To date, research into bullying in educational settings has mainly focused on nursery, primary and secondary school levels, with only a very small number of studies addressing aspects of bullying in higher education colleges and universities. However, Forums, such as ‘The Student Room’ (www.thestudentroom.co.uk) highlight the growing problem of bullying amongst university students with disturbing accounts of the long-term damage to self-esteem, academic achievement and emotional wellbeing experienced by some students. We begin by reviewing research into traditional bullying amongst university students as well as current studies of cyberbullying in higher education. We then consider the possibility of continuities between bullying at school and at university as well as the social contexts which either promote or discourage cyberbullying. Finally, we discuss the implications for policies, training and awareness-raising and conclude with some suggestions for future research.COST IS0801, like all COST Actions, provided many opportunities for training of early career researchers, and initiation of new research projects. Some of these were supported by short-term visits of usually one or two weeks, up to a maximum of three months, by an Action member to another venue, for purposes that supported the overall aims of the Action. The first part of this chapter provides some description of these, illustrated by a number of case studies. The second part of the chapter overviews the organization and outcome of two Training Schools for early career researchers, one in Australia entitled Research to policy and practice: Innovation and sustainability in cyberbullying prevention, and one in Finland, entitled Adolescents and Social Media: Guidelines and Coping Strategies for Cyberbullying. The organization of these Training Schools, the educational approaches used, and their evaluation and impact, will be summarised.

Child, Adolescent and Family Development: Conception and Birth

The third edition of Child, Adolescent and Family Development provides a comprehensive, readable study of human development from conception to adulthood. It explores the foundations of modern developmental thought, incorporating the latest in international research set within a cultural and historical context. Richly illustrated and enhanced by a range of practical teaching resources, this clear and engaging text is intended to reach students across a range of teaching, psychology, social science and health science disciplines. By employing a thematic approach within the chronologically ordered chapters, this text offers a systematic and intuitive structure for both learning and teaching. This new edition features a set of fully updated case studies that consider current trends and issues in developmental theory and practice, as well as end-of-chapter sections that address important stages in the family life cycle. The text is accompanied by an extensive companion website, www.cambridge.edu. au/academic/development, featuring additional resources including multiple-choice questions, child and adolescent observation activities, worksheets and an easy guide to research design and techniques.