Abstract:

Cyberbullying among youth is growing in America and Europe according to recent surveys (Institut de la statistique du Québec, 2024; World Health Organization, 2024). The increasing and diversified use of digital technologies by children explains why a growing proportion of school bullying now takes place online. While laws exist to prevent and manage school bullying in several countries (Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, United States, etc.), cyberbullying remains complex to tackle as it occurs outside of school walls. This situation justifies the need to address the topic in class to develop the skills in students necessary to prevent the phenomenon and to act when they are victims or bystanders of cyberbullying. In order to equip teaching staff in this regard, a research project was put in place to design and evaluate learning activities dedicated to cyberbullying prevention in the classroom in collaboration with elementary teachers and instructional coaches.

To achieve this objective, a design-based research was implemented, following the generic model of McKenney and Reeves (2012). First, an analysis of the needs of teachers was carried out using a questionnaire (n = 145). Then, learning activities were designed with four teams of teachers (n = 12). These activities were based on the theoretical and conceptual frameworks of the research. Cyberbullying was defined as a behavior that takes place online, which is not necessarily intentional, has consequences for the victim, involves an imbalance of power, and is generally repetitive (including posting, sharing, and liking) (Abajaoude et al., 2015; Olweus, 1993; Olweus and Limber, 2018). This definition and the theory of planned behavior (Ajzen, 1991) adapted to cyberbullying (Aizenkot and Kashi-Rosenbaum, 2018; Williford and DePaolis, 2016; Wölfer et al., 2014) were presented to the participating teachers. In line with this theory, the activities had to address cyberbullying from various perspectives such as attitudes and knowledge, social norms, and skills associated with the phenomenon (technological, emotional and social skills). Finally, the activities were evaluated using a questionnaire administered to students (n = 169) before and after the intervention.

Beyond the learning activities produced, the research led to various outcomes for theory, practice, and their interplay. On the one hand, the model of the theory of planned behavior adapted to cyberbullying was expanded integrating emotional and social skills in addition to technological skills. The development of these different skills appeared to contribute to the students' self-efficacy to prevent and handle cyberbullying. On the other hand, lessons were drawn from the research regarding the effective practices to adopt in the context of design-based research in education. For example, the involvement of instructional coaches from the initial analysis phase facilitated the operationalization of the research by fostering mediation between theory and practice, and therefore, between researchers and teachers. In the design phase, the research explored the conditions required to ensure teachers' creative freedom in designing activities, enabling them to address their own needs and those of their students while upholding scientific rigor. In this regard, the research suggests that the addition of a quantitative component to the evaluation phase could contribute to its neutrality.

Keywords:

Cyberbullying, learning activities, teaching practice, design-based research, instructional coaches.