Papers by Barbara Spears
Pastoral Care in Education
International Journal of Public Health, 2015
To examine the relationship between young Australians' cy... more To examine the relationship between young Australians' cyberbullying experiences, their help-seeking practices and associated mental well-being and social connectedness, with a view to informing national health and well-being agendas. An online survey was administered to young people aged 12-18 years (n = 2,338), recruited across Australia in year 2 of a larger 4-year study. Youth with no experience of cyberbullying had better well-being profiles and mental health overall. Conversely, cyberbully victims, had poorer well-being and mental health and tended not to engage with online support services, in spite of being more likely to be online after 11 pm. Parents and peers were identified as key sources of help for most young people when dealing with problems. Cyberbullying is a public health issue particularly for vulnerable youth whose mental health and well-being is impacted more than those not involved. As youth are spending increasing time in the 24/7 online environment, there is a need to develop initiatives that engage young people and encourage help-seeking online, whilst concomitantly building capacity of parents and peers to support their well-being.
Cyberbullying is an international issue for schools, young people and their families. Whilst many... more Cyberbullying is an international issue for schools, young people and their families. Whilst many research domains have explored this phenomenon, and bullying more generally, the majority of reported studies appear in the psychological and educational literatures, where bullying, and more recently, cyberbullying has been examined primarily at the individual level: amongst adolescents and young people, with a focus on the definition, its prevalence, behaviours, and impact. There also is growing evidence that younger children are increasingly accessing technology and engaging with social media, yet there is limited research dedicated to this younger age group. The purpose of this paper is to report on a systematic literature review from the psychological and educational research domains related to this younger age group, to inform future research across the disciplines. Younger children require different methods of engagement. This review highlights the methodological challenges associated with this age group present in the psychological literature, and argues for a greater use of sociological, child-centred approaches to data collection. This review examined studies published in English, between 2009 and 2014, and conducted with children aged 5–12 years, about their experiences with cyberbullying. Searches were conducted on seven key databases using keywords associated with cyberbullying and age of children. A Google Scholar search also examined published and unpublished reports. A total of 966 articles and reports were retrieved. A random peer review process was employed to establish inter-rater reliability and veracity of the review. Findings revealed 38 studies reported specifically on children aged 5–12 years. The dominant focus of these articles was on prevalence of cyberbullying, established through survey methodology. Few studies noted impacts, understanding and behaviours or engaged children’s independent voice. This review highlights current gaps in our knowledge about younger children’s experiences with this form of bullying, and the importance of employing cross-disciplinary and developmentally appropriate methodologies to inform future research.
Les Dossiers des science de l'education
The beliefs, attitudes and understandings of pre-service teachers towards bullying and more recen... more The beliefs, attitudes and understandings of pre-service teachers towards bullying and more recently, cyberbullying remains unclear. Previous studies have found them to be generally lacking confidence to address bullying, which could impact negatively on school climate if, when they enter the profession, these beliefs undermine existing anti-bullying initiatives. This study explores Australian pre-service teachers' (N= 717) understanding and knowledge of traditional bullying and cyberbullying and their confidence and capacity to deal with it. Findings from self-report, anonymous questionnaires from students attending three universities in Australia indicated that two thirds (66%) of current pre-service teachers felt informed to very informed and capable to very capable (62%) of dealing with school bullying and 90% could discern cyber and traditional bullying behaviours from other online and offline aggressive acts.
School Psychology International , May 2013
Price, D., Green, D., Spears, B., Scrimgeour, M., Barnes, A., Geer, R. & Johnson, B. (2013) A qualitative exploration of cyberbystanders and moral engagement. Australian Journal of Guidance and Counselling. Special Edition, 2013
Studies have found that moral disengagement plays a significant role in the continuation of bully... more Studies have found that moral disengagement plays a significant role in the continuation of bullying situations ; however, the moral stance of cyber-bystanders -those who witness online bullying -is not yet clear. While research into traditional face-to-face bullying reported that peers would probably or certainly intervene to support victims in 43% of cases actual intervention is reportedly much less . Little is known, however, about the attitudes and behaviours of bystanders or witnesses when online, or their probable intentions to intervene. This study employed three digital animations of typical cyberbullying scenarios to explore young people's views of cyber-bystanders. Youth from Years 8-12 (mean age 15.06, N = 961) from one metropolitan secondary school in Adelaide, South Australia, completed an online survey after watching vignettes. To shed light on the rationale and thinking behind their understanding of bystanders and moral dis/engagement when online, this article reports on the qualitative responses from young people in relation to one of these animations/vignettes. The findings suggest that young people perceive cyber-bystanders to have the capacity to morally engage in cyberbullying incidents; however, there are various barriers to their active positive engagement. The implications can inform educators and school counsellors about possible ways to support students to intervene when they witness cyberbullying.
Campbell, M., Spears, B., Slee, P., Butler, D., & Kift, S. (2012). Victims’ perceptions of traditional and cyberbullying, and the psychosocial correlates of their victimisation. . Special Edition: Journal of Emotional and behavioural Difficulties , 2012
It is well recognised that there are serious correlates for victims of traditional bullying. Thes... more It is well recognised that there are serious correlates for victims of traditional bullying. These have been shown to include increased levels of depression, anxiety and psychosomatic symptoms, in addition to often severe physical harm and even suicide. Bullied students also feel more socially ineffective and have greater interpersonal difficulties, together with higher absenteeism from school and lower academic competence. In the emerging field of cyberbullying many researchers have hypothesised a greater impact and more severe consequences for victims because of the 24/7 nature and the possibility of the wider audience with this form of bullying. However, to date there is scarce empirical evidence to support this. This study sought to compare victims' perceptions of the harshness and impact of bullying by traditional and cyber means. The major findings showed that although students who had been victimised by traditional bullying reported that they felt their bullying was harsher and crueller and had more impact on their lives than those students who had been cyberbullied, the correlates of their mental health revealed that cybervictims reported significantly more social difficulties, and higher levels of anxiety and depression than traditional victims. The implications for school counsellors and mental health workers are discussed.
Butler, D., Kift, S., Campbell, M., Slee, P & Spears, B. (2011). School policy responses to cyberbullying: An Australian Legal Perspective. , 16 (2), 7-28 International Journal of Law & Education, 2011
Seminar Series #208: Centre for Strategic Education: Victoria, 2011
Occasional Paper #123. Centre for Strategic Education. Melbourne, Victoria, 2011
Occasional Papers #119. Centre for Strategic Education. Victoria, 2011
Zeitschrift Fur Psychologie-journal of Psychology, 2009
Abstract. This qualitative study explores the human dimension of two subtypes of bullying in an A... more Abstract. This qualitative study explores the human dimension of two subtypes of bullying in an Australian schooling context. Individuals' knowledge, understanding, and experiences of covert (behind the scenes) and cyber (behind the screens) bullying were explored through ...
Occasional Paper 118, Centre for Strategic Education, Melbourne, Victoria., 2011
This article describes, analyses and reflects on the challenges of planning and conducting the ev... more This article describes, analyses and reflects on the challenges of planning and conducting the evaluation of the KidsMatter Initiative (KMI) in Australian primary schools during the first year of the two-year initiative. The purpose of the evaluation is to inform the Australia-wide rollout of the KMI. The discussion is arranged under four headings: conceptual challenges, design challenges, practical implementation challenges and managing collaborative complexity. Emphasis is placed on how the challenges were theorised as a basis for responding to the requirements of the evaluation. Conclusions include recognising and enabling contributions from diverse stakeholders, using the domain expertise of the evaluation team, operating flexibly to meet the needs and exigencies of the KMI, the clients and the diverse participant groups, maintaining focus on the core conceptual frameworks underlying the KMI and the evaluation, and the implications of the evaluation for developing wider knowledge relating to schools and their effects, as well as about factors contributing to educational change.
Books by Barbara Spears
Book Chapters by Barbara Spears
Wotherspoon, A., Slee, P.T., Bottroff, V., Martin, J., Spears, B.A. Issues of bullying and Autism Spectrum Disorder (In Press, Ch 13)
Cyberbullying through the new media: Findings from an international network, 2013
Spears,B. A.,Costabile, A., Brighi,A., Del Rey,R., Pörhölä, M., Sanchez, V., Spiel, C., & Thompson, F. (2013). Positive uses of new technologies, in relationships in educational settings. Cyberbullying through the new media: Findings from an international network, 2013
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Papers by Barbara Spears
Books by Barbara Spears
Book Chapters by Barbara Spears