Chapter 1: Introduction
Linda Holmes
Capella University
CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION
Background of the Problem
Cyberbullying and school bullying have been identified as risk factors of social media. The penetration of the internet and the welcome of social networking have been welcome globally. Teens to elderly people are frequent users of social networking sites but there has been growing concern children and teenagers are adversely affected by social media and social networking sites. Cyber bullying, school bullying, depression, sexting, low self-esteem and low education attainment are common problems associated with social media and are believed to continually ruin the destiny of the teenagers and youths within the society. Experiences of the bullying have been on increase from the 1990s and chronic victims of the bullying and maltreatment of the students by their peers lead to poor academic performance (Juvonen, Wang & Espinoza, 2011). Therefore, considering the experiences of the bullying which is a common phenomenon in the society, this creates great concern for an investigation into this phenomenon by taking a narrower approach and in the current society, determine whether girls students whether are the victim of bullying and how they academically they are affected.
Statement of the Problem
Bullying is one of the problems that is associated with social media and social networking sites. From the reviewed literature, a study carried in 2014 revealed that 10-40% of teenagers reported having suffered from cyberbullying (Underwood & Ehrenreich, 2017). Further, low academic attainment, development of suicidal thoughts, depression, anxiety and stress are some of the effects associated with cyber-bullying. Cyber bullying has been on the increase in substituting old tradition and offline bullying. It is argued that cyberbullying reduces the concentration of the students hence resulting in poor academic performance (Farhangpour et al…., 2019). School bullying has been blamed for poor academic performance. There is little link between school bullying and cyber bullying yet it is important to evaluate and determine whether there link between two types of bullying.threateningAdditionally, bullying is very different across gender. In some studies, girls are said to be more bullied than boys (PC, & Madhavan, 2018). As a result of this, girls aged 13-14 years form the target population to better understand the nature of the relationship that exists between cyberbullying and school bullying and how both they influence academic performance.
Purpose of the Study
Cyber bullying and school bullying have been identified as a risk of social media. That being the case, there has been an increase in internet access exposing children and teenagers to more dangers of social networking sites. Schools have and are adopting e-learning and use of the technology creating a rich environment for social interactions. Given this prevailing environment, it will be important to undertake a study to investigate incidences of cyberbullying and school bullying and determine how they influence academic attainment. Additionally, the study seeks to establish a connection between cyberbullying and school bullying.
Significance of the Study
Undertaking this study is very important. First, the study helps to establish if there is a positive relationship between cyberbullying and school bullying for girls students aged 13-14 years. Second, the study helps in making a conclusion on the effects of incidences of bullying to academic performance. Third, it suggests approaches and interventions that teachers should pursue to reduce incidences of cyberbullying in the school. Finally, make recommendations to the government on the need to developing policies that will enhance the monitoring of the internet and activities carried out on the internet to help address the problem of cyberbullying.
Research Question
From the statement of the problem, the research question for the project has been determined. RQ: Is there a positive relationship between cyberbullying and school bullying for experimental school and control school for girls aged 13-14 years and how they influence academic performance?
Definition of Terms
Bullying refers to the use of the blackmail, abuse, force or aggressively foreboding someone by others to harm other individuality mentally, physically or emotionally.
School bullying refers to the harassment of the students by their peers or by teachers.
Cyber bullying is the use of social media to harass, sending threatening messages, sending of provocative insults and any form of electronic communication aimed at embarrassing someone.
Academic performance is the ability of the students to pass well and record good grade which shows good mastery of the content.
Research Design
The project applies qualitative research methodology because cyberbullying and school bullying are qualitative variables. Quasi-experiment research design because the target population will be divided into a control group (anti-bullying center) and experiment (treatment) group. The target population is the girls' students aged 13-14 years drawn from both private and public schools. Using the survey, incidences of the bullying will be determined. Pre-test and post-exam will be conducted in two groups and through independent T-test, identify if means differences between two groups. It is expected that there is a positive relationship between cyber bullying and school bullying and two types of bullying contribute to low academic performance.
References
Farhangpour, P., Maluleke, C., & Mutshaeni, H. N. (2019). Emotional and academic effects of cyberbullying on students in a rural high school in the Limpopo province, South Africa. South African Journal of Information Management, 21(1), 1-8.
Juvonen, J., Wang, Y., & Espinoza, G. (2011). Bullying experiences and compromised academic performance across middle school grades. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 31(1), 152-173.
PC, K. N., & Madhavan, V. (2018). Bullying and academic performance among school children. International Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics, 118(5), 587-602.
Underwood, M. K., & Ehrenreich, S. E. (2017). The power and the pain of adolescents' digital communication: Cyber victimization and the perils of lurking. The American psychologist, 72(2), 144–158. doi:10.1037/a0040429