International Perceptions of Cyberbullying Within Higher Education Julie Luker and Barbara Curchack Inver Hills Community College April 20, 2017

Welcome and Overview Background of Research Research Questions Methodology Results Discussion Q & A

Background of Research What is cyberbullying? Cyberbullying involves repeated harassment from at least one user toward another user using electronic means (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2014).

Background of Research (cont.) Affects everyone Negative outcomes… isolation, stress, embarrassment, depression, substance abuse, suicide, etc. Students and educators perceive cyberbullying as a regular occurrence Students unlikely to seek outside help Unclear about how to get help

Research Questions What are participant perceptions of cyberbullying effects within higher education? Do these vary according to role or country?

Research Questions (cont.) How prepared do participants perceive themselves to be with regard to addressing situations involving cyberbullying? Do these vary according to role or country? How prepared do participants perceive their institutions to be with regard to addressing situations involving cyberbullying? Do these vary according to role or country?

Research Questions (cont.) What are the relationships among frequency of observing cyberbullying, preparation to address it, attitudes toward it, and likeliness to act? Is there evidence of a group-serving bias, and is this bias found according to role or country?

Methodology: Sample Selection IRB via Concordia University, Saint Paul Recruited late 2015; wrapped early 2016 Four countries sampled: United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada Emails sampled from institutional websites Word of mouth Social media

Methodology: Survey Characteristics Cyberbullying Survey (revised); previously used in... Luker (2015) Stauffer, Heath, Coyne, & Ferrin (2012) Stauffer (2011) 28 item scale 10 demographic items; 17 content items; 1 recruitment item Administered via Survey Monkey

Results N = 1587 USA: n=993; Canada: n=315; Australia: n=148; UK: n=133 Female: n=1012; Male: n=575 Almost exactly half (n=724) had more than 10 years of experience. Most participants were from public (n=1132), non-profit (n=1301) institutions that served undergraduates only (n=901) or undergraduates and graduate students (n=484). More participants worked in a teaching capacity (n=956) than a non-teaching capacity (n=631) Nonparametric statistics - dealing with ordinal data. When dealing with large samples, sometimes significant differences can be obtained even though actual differences are very small. We do evaluations of Effect Sizes. Looked for sex differences, country of origin, and teaching capacity. Aside from one difference, explained later, we found no meaningful differences in the four countries surveyed, all sexes, and type of work the participants did.

Research Question 1 What are participant perceptions of cyberbullying effects within higher education? Between 85 and 94% of participants agree or strongly agree that cyberbullying has negative effects. Up t0 10% perceive that cyberbullying as NOT negative.

Attitudes and Experiences 49.3% had observed or been aware of an incident in the previous 12 months. 19.1% had intervened in a cyberbullying incident. Should schools have formal cyberbullying prevention/ intervention programs? 76%: Yes 16%: Undecided 8%: No Most want a program, but 8% don’t. Why?

Research Question 2 10%: Completely Prepared 59%: Somewhat Prepared “How prepared are you to handle cyberbullying?” 10%: Completely Prepared 59%: Somewhat Prepared 31%: Not At All Prepared How prepared do participants perceive themselves to be with regard to addressing situations involving cyberbullying? First highlight that 1 in 3 feels completely unprepared, and only 1 in 10 is completely prepared.

What Would Participants Do If Faced With Cyberbullying? Report Incident to Someone At Institution (90%) Review Institutional Policy (85%) Discuss the Incident with Bully and Victim (68%) Discuss the Incident with Victim but not Bully (23%) Do Nothing (12%) Discuss the Incident with Bully but not Victim (11%) Answered that they were likely or very likely. Note the Do Nothing!

Research Question 3 “Does your school have a policy to address cyberbullying? How prepared do participants perceive their institutions to be with regard to addressing situations involving cyberbullying?

14%: Completely Prepared 67%: Somewhat Prepared “How prepared is your institution to to handle cyberbullying?” 14%: Completely Prepared 67%: Somewhat Prepared 19%: Not At All Prepared

Research Question 4 The more frequently participants observed cyberbullying, the greater the problem at their own (r=.58) institution and other institutions (r=.47) The greater the likelihood that they had intervened in an incident (r=.43) However, personal preparedness was less related to: Observing cyberbullying (r=.13) Intervening in cyberbullying (r=.17) How much of a problem cyberbullying is at one’s own institution (r=.06) What are the relationships among frequency of observing cyberbullying, preparation to address it, attitudes toward it, and likeliness to act? Spearman Rho correlations

Research Question 5 Is there evidence of a group-serving bias, and is this bias found according to role or country? Yes. Cyberbullying was perceived at more problematic at other institutions than at one’s own (z = -25.347, p < .001). Non-teachers had a slightly stronger group-serving bias than teachers Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Tank

Group Serving Bias

Discussion - A bleak picture Perceptions and experiences were similar in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia. Most people surveyed believed cyberbullying to have negative effects, but a small minority viewed it as positive. More participants felt completely unprepared to handle cyberbullying than felt completely prepared to do so (over 30%). The most common ways to address cyberbullying are to report it, check policy, and talk with both bully and victim, but over 10% would choose not to address it. About ½ of participants had observed cyberbullying. About ½ of participants didn’t know if their school had a cyberbullying policy. Observing or intervening in a cyberbullying incident doesn’t make someone feel more prepared to handle future events. A bleak picture

Implications: Limitations: Agreement of Problem Across Countries Lack of Evidence-Based Policies and Training A significant number of dissenters Limitations: Only English Speaking, Western Countries Demographic Questions Non-Teaching Role Poorly Defined

Future Directions Better understand the dissenting opinion. Research into evidence-based interventions and training programs. Implementation of such programs.

Q & A Questions? Thank you!

Selected References Luker, J. M., & Curchack (2017). International Perceptions of Cyberbullying in Higher Education. Paper submitted to Adult Learning. Luker, J. M. (2015). Perceptions of cyberbullying within higher education (Order No. 3710778). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (1704412104). Stauffer, S. (2011). High school teachers’ perceptions of cyberbullying prevention and intervention strategies (Educational Specialist thesis). Brigham Young University, Provo, UT. Stauffer, S., Heath, M. A., Coyne, S. M., & Ferrin, S. (2012). High school teachers’ perceptions of cyberbullying prevention and intervention strategies. Psychology in the Schools, 49(4), 353-367.