An Investigation of Cyber Wellness Awareness: Turkey Secondary School Students, Teachers, and Parents
Publication details
| Year: | 2019 |
| DOI: | 10.1080/07380569.2019.1677433 |
| Issued: | 2019 |
| Language: | English |
| Volume: | 36 |
| Issue: | 4 |
| Start Page: | 293 |
| End Page: | 318 |
| Editors: | |
| Authors: | Mıhcı Türker P.; Kılıç Çakmak E. |
| Type: | Journal article |
| Journal: | Computers in the Schools |
| Publisher: | Informa UK Limited |
| Topics: | Literacy and skills; Wellbeing |
| Sample: | Study participants consisted of sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade students from state schools affiliated with the Ministry of Education in central school districts in Ankara, Turkey, the teachers working at these schools, and the students’ parents. A convenience sampling method was chosen, and seven central districts of Ankara were selected due to difficulty in accessing all districts, limited time, and prohibitive costs. Within the scope of the study, 7,478 students responded to the questionnaires, and 6,839 students’ opinions were evaluated, after those questionnaires with missing data were discarded. Opinions were obtained from 775 teachers in secondary school, and 749 teachers’ opinions were evaluated. Four thousand nine hundred sixteen (4,916) parents’ opinions were evaluated out of 5,482 parents whose opinions were obtained. |
| Implications For Parents About: | Parental digital literacy |
| Implications For Educators About: | Professional development |
| Implications For Stakeholders About: | Researchers |
Abstract
Cyber wellness includes the knowledge, skills, and values
geared toward the protection of Internet users as well as
proper and responsible technology use. Using the survey
method, this study investigated the cyber wellness awareness
of secondary school students and teachers as well as parents’
perceptions of their children’s cyber wellness. Six thousand
eight hundred thirty-nine (6,839) students, 749 teachers, and
4,916 parents participated. Cyber wellness survey forms for
students, teachers, and parents were distributed to seven
school districts. Results indicated that students had high levels
of awareness with regard to Internet addiction, cyberbullying,
online privacy, and cybersecurity and medium levels of awareness
regarding netiquette, inappropriate online content, and
copyright. Additionally, students’ awareness levels differed significantly
in terms of gender, class level, Internet use span,
and desire for education on safe and responsible Internet use.
Teachers had medium levels of awareness with respect to all
of the concepts. Furthermore, it was determined that parents
considered that their children had medium levels of awareness
regarding Internet addiction, netiquette, online privacy,
inappropriate online content, copyright, and cybersecurity
along with a high level of awareness regarding cyberbullying.
Outcome
Students: "With respect to cyberbullying, of which students were found to have high awareness, it was determined that they behaved cautiously in terms of sharing photos and information and held the opinion that they would share them only with a trustworthy adult. An analysis of students’ awareness of cyber wellness indicated that female students had higher levels than male students."
Teachers: "When teacher responses were examined, they possessed a medium level of awareness of all seven dimensions of cyber wellness."
Parents: "Parents considered that their children had a medium level of awareness of Internet addiction, netiquette, online privacy, inappropriate online content, copyright, and cybersecurity while they had high levels of awareness about cyberbullying. On the other hand, parents and students differed from each other regarding student awareness of Internet addiction, online privacy, and cybersecurity. While students showed high levels of awareness regarding these topics, parents believed that their children had medium levels of awareness." (Mıhcı Türker & Kılıç Çakmak, 2019, pp.310-313)