The digital world today is an indispensable part of adolescents' daily lives but it also exposes them to various online risks, such as cyberbullying (CB). The purpose of the study was to examine different aspects of CB from the perspectives of students, teachers and parents, and to develop recommendations for preventing CB in high schools. The study included 410 students, 111 teachers and 295 parents who completed a questionnaire designed for the study purposes, primarily focusing on recognizing and perceiving the severity of various problematic online situations. The results showed that students, teachers and parents perceive CB occurring relatively frequently among students at their school, with teachers noticing it more often than students and parents. However, students perceive the problem of CB among students at their school as less serious compared to teachers and parents. It was also found that nearly one fifth of the students had committed at least one form of CB at least once or twice a month, and one fifth of the students had experienced at least one form of CB at least once or twice a month during the current school year. Additionally, students, teachers and parents were more successful in recognizing online situations that describe CB than those that do not, although students recognized CB situations more successfully than teachers and parents. All three groups of participants rated CB situations as more serious than neutral ones. Students and parents rated the posting of a video of physical bullying online as the most serious situation, while teachers considered denigration to be the most serious one. Students rated CB situations as less serious compared to teachers and parents, with girls rating them more serious than boys. Students, teachers and parents attributed the responsibility for recognizing CB among students to peers, while class teachers were recognized as responsible for taking steps, and parents for preventing it. Furthermore, students, teachers and parents identified educational activities as the most effective preventive measures against CB. The study also found that students would most likely confide in friends about experiencing CB, but report witnessing CB among students to the class teacher. However, students, teachers and parents perceive themselves and others as only moderately competent in recognizing and dealing with CB among students, although they indicated that education and discussions on CB could help improve their competence. Students and teachers as well as parents frequently mentioned that the biggest obstacle to successfully prevent and stop CB among students is either students not reporting CB or their use of electronic devices, the internet and social media. The findings contributed to a better understanding of CB and supported the development of recommendations for its prevention in high schools.
|