An Investigation of Cyberbullying and Cyber-Victimization of Mathematics and Science Pre-Service Teachers

Nagihan Tanık Önal,Hasan Çakır,Nezih Önal

doi:10.17220/mojet.2020.04.002

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine mathematics and science pre-service teachers’ cyberbullying behaviors and victimization conditions by gender, year in university, time spent on the Internet, and social media usage status. Survey study model was employed in the study. The sample of the study was comprised of 219 mathematics and science pre-service teachers whose ages ranged between 18 and 24 years. The data of the study were collected via the Cyber Victim and Bullying Scale and the data were analyzed by using Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal Wallis test. Based on the average scores, it was revealed that the cyberbullying and cyber victimization scores of mathematics and science pre-service teachers participating in the study were significant in terms of gender variable. However, they were not found to be significant regarding their year in university, time spent on the Internet and social media usage status.

Highlights

With developments in information technologies, social media and web2.0 technologies, which enable individuals to access and share information, to express themselves freely, to discover their identity, to entertain themselves, to speak fearlessly with other people, and to interact with others, have entered our lives
The aim of the present study was to examine the cyberbullying and victimization conditions of pre-service teachers, who could be considered to be among the future educators of Turkey, in terms of the variables of gender, grade level, time spent on the Internet, and social media usage status
This finding indicates that grade level did not account for any variance among the pre-service teachers who marked either “I was exposed to cyberbullying” or “I engaged in cyber bullying.”

Summary

Introduction

With developments in information technologies, social media and web2.0 technologies, which enable individuals to access and share information, to express themselves freely, to discover their identity, to entertain themselves, to speak fearlessly with other people, and to interact with others, have entered our lives Even though these technologies provide some opportunities that are believed to facilitate our lives, they have introduced various negative situations into our lives. As stated by Srivastava, Gamble & Boey (2013), individuals can use their own competencies to make individuals encounter some features of virtual environments as more insidious and serious threats While those who use their technical skills in information technologies to give harm to others can engage in cyberbullying, individuals whose skills are not at a sufficient level can become cyber victims. The abuse of these competencies of individuals who effectively use information and communication technologies leads to an increase in bullying behavior

Objectives

Results

Conclusion