The Analysis of Cyberbullying in Elementary Schools and Teachers’ Instructional Responses

Although technology provides numerous benefits to young people, it also has a “dark side”, as it can be used for harm, not only by some adults but also by the young people themselves. Email, texting, chat rooms, mobile phones, mobile phone cameras, web sites and social media sites can and are being used by young people to bully peers. It is now a global problem with many incidents reported worldwide This growing problem has as yet not received the attention it deserves in our general school curriculums but some teachers are going above and beyond to implement instructional strategies to educate our students on cyberbullying and its consequences. This research paper explores: definitional issues, the instructional strategies that some teachers are using within the parameters of the formal curriculum guidelines, the implications of the cyberbullying curriculum, the potential consequences of cyberbullying, and discussing possible prevention and intervention strategies