An Exploration of Parents' Communication Needs and Preferences when Interacting with Their Children's School Regarding Cyberbullying Issues

摘要

Cyberbullying is a pervasive problem in schools, negatively impacting children's wellbeing, even having disastrous outcomes such as suicide. An absence of studies was noted on parents' communication needs and preferences with their child's school regarding cyberbullying. This study attempts to gain insight on the communication between home and school on cyberbullying. Ensuring open lines of communication between parents and educators is important given their influential roles in children's' lives. This study also compared parents whose children had and had not been cyberbullied to see if there were differences in their communication needs and preferences. One hundred and nine parents completed an online survey regarding their communication needs and preferences with their child's school on the issue of cyberbullying. Questions also asked about parents' past experiences with communication about cyberbullying with their child's school. Thirty participants were parents of cyberbullied children. The data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics and content analysis. The majority of parents (>50%) indicated that they: want notification of cyberbullying incidents in their school district; prefer email, telephone, and text for general notifications, with in person meetings being added if their child was cyberbullied; were interested in educational workshops (weekday evenings, Saturdays, or online) and educational materials or information on cyberbullying (delivered monthly or quarterly); lacked information on state and school policies and laws on cyberbullying; and would contact a teacher or principal if concerned about cyberbullying. No significant differences were found between cyberbullied and non-cyberbullied samples, but parents whose child had been cyberbullied preferred personal communications (e.g., phone call). The study highlights a general need for greater attention to communication about cyberbullying as parents indicated a general void or inadequacy in communication on this issue. Suggestions for parents and schools are made to propose a stronger partnership in protecting children.