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Cyberbullying and Social Media Responsibility in Schools Michelle Leviner University of South Carolina - Columbia

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Cyberbullying and Social Media Responsibility in Schools Michelle Leviner University of South Carolina - Columbia University of South Carolina Scholar Commons Theses and Dissertations 2018 Cyberbullying And Social Media Responsibility In Schools Michelle Leviner University of South Carolina - Columbia Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd Part of the Curriculum and Instruction Commons Recommended Citation Leviner, M.(2018). Cyberbullying And Social Media Responsibility In Schools. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/5025 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you by Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. CYBERBULLYING AND SOCIAL MEDIA RESPONSIBILITY IN SCHOOLS by Michelle Leviner Bachelor of Arts Elon University, 1996 Master of Arts Charleston Southern University, 2005 ___________________________________________________ Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Education in Curriculum and Instruction College of Education University of South Carolina 2018 Accepted by: Toby Jenkins-Henry, Major Professor Henry Tran, Committee Member Wayland Huggins, Committee Member Todd Lilly, Committee Member Cheryl L. Addy, Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School © Copyright by Michelle Leviner, 2018 All Rights Reserved. ii ABSTRACT A rapidly growing and destructive phenomenon among today’s adolescent students is cyberbullying, a malicious use of the easy and widespread accessibility of electronic devices and the internet. Whereas traditional bullying typically involves and is known to only a few people, cyberbullying allows perpetrators to spread cruel information to a large audience in a short amount of time, typically via social media. Cyberbullying has negative results for adolescents at school, even if it occurs outside of school hours. With the growing inclusion of technology, specifically social media, in education, educating students on responsible technology usage is more important than ever. This quantitative case study investigated 23 students’ knowledge of social media responsibility and the relationship between social media responsibility and cyberbullying. All participants were high school freshmen in a suburban school district near Charleston, South Carolina. Students completed questionnaires before and after attending a series of presentations, on social media responsibility and cyberbullying, including social media applications, laws on cyberbullying, school policies on social media and cyberbullying, and resources and interventions for those victimized by cyberbullying. The results supported continued research into the importance of integrating presentations into the curriculum for the following purposes: (1) education on social media responsibility encourages appropriate usage in interacting with others, (2) presentations provide iii intervention and resources for students who are victims of cyberbullying. This study may inform educators who seek to create a positive atmosphere in their own schools through promoting positive social media interactions and decreasing incidents of cyberbullying. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... iii LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... viii CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION OF TOPIC AND BACKGROUND.............................. 1 Overview of Relevant Literature ............................................................................ 6 Problem of Practice ............................................................................................... 10 Research Question ................................................................................................ 11 Purpose Statement ................................................................................................. 11 Action Research Design ........................................................................................ 13 Ethical Considerations .......................................................................................... 15 Dissertation in Practice Overview ........................................................................ 16 Summary ............................................................................................................... 17 CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................................... 19 Theoretical Base.................................................................................................... 22 Historical Context ................................................................................................. 25 Glossary of Terms ................................................................................................. 41 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 42 CHAPTER 3. METHODOLOGY .................................................................................... 44 Purpose of the Study ............................................................................................. 45 Research Context .................................................................................................. 46 v Statement of the Problem in Practice .................................................................... 47 Research Design.................................................................................................... 48 Summary ............................................................................................................... 52 CHAPTER 4. FINDINGS FROM DATA ANALYSIS ................................................... 54 Sample Size ........................................................................................................... 55 Data Collection Tool ............................................................................................. 56 Pre-Presentation Survey Questions and Results ................................................... 56 Presentations on Social Media Responsibility and Cyberbullying ....................... 76 Post-Presentationy Survey Questions and Results ................................................ 78 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 81 CHAPTER 5. SUMMARY AND DISCUSSION ............................................................ 84 Purpose of the Study ............................................................................................. 84 Overview of the Study .......................................................................................... 84 Study Findings ...................................................................................................... 86 Implications and Limitations ................................................................................ 90 Suggestions for Future Research .......................................................................... 93 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 94 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................. 96 APPENDIX A. OPT-OUT LETTER .............................................................................. 112 APPENDIX B. PRE-PRESENTATION SURVEY ........................................................ 114 APPENDIX C. HISTORY OF SOCIAL MEDIA .......................................................... 120 APPENDIX D. CRIMINAL CASES INVOLVING CYBERBULLYING ................... 132 APPENDIX E. CYBERBULLYING AND HOW IT AFFECTS VICTIMS ................. 141 vi APPENDIX F. POST-PRESENTATION SURVEY ...................................................... 149 APPENDIX G. “HAVE YOU EVER” SURVEY .......................................................... 151 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 4.1. Age distribution of participants ...................................................................... 57 Figure 4.2. Gender distribution of participants ................................................................. 58 Figure 4.3. Gender distribution of participants by age group ........................................... 58 Figure 4.4. Race distribution of participants ..................................................................... 59 Figure 4.5. Race distribution of participants by age group ............................................... 59 Figure 4.6. Racial distribution of participants .................................................................. 60 Figure 4.7. Mobile devices and social media usage.......................................................... 63 Figure 4.8. Earliest age of social media usage .................................................................. 63 Figure 4.9. Social media platforms frequented by participants ........................................ 64 Figure 4.10. Frequency of social media usage .................................................................. 64 Figure 4.11. Parental knowledge of participants’ social media usage .............................. 65 Figure 4.12. Parental interaction with students’ social media .......................................... 65 Figure 4.13. Parental monitoring of participant online activity ........................................ 66
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