Implications for Educators and Helping Professionals

The results of this study provided insight into the technology use patterns, online experiences, and experiences related to bullying and cyberbullying of seven secondary students enrolled in an Alternative Education Program. The findings highlight several important

implications for educators and helping professionals working in a school setting as well as for parents of students in an Alternative Education Program. It was evident that the seven

participants in this study had integrated the use of technology, whether it was cellphones, tablets, or computers, into their everyday lives. The participants demonstrated knowledge about how to use technology in a variety of forms, but not all of the participants were aware of how to utilize technology in a responsible and safe manner. As the frequent use of technology was the norm for the participants, the findings from this study highlight the importance and need for students to be educated on how to use technology securely and appropriately, specifically, the importance of digital citizenship. Digital citizenship is a term that refers to “the norms of appropriate,

responsible behavior in regard to technology use and is a method of preparing students for a society full of technology” (Ribble, 2017, para. 1). In Saskatchewan, an action plan entitled Digital Citizenship in Saskatchewan Schools (Couros & Hildebrandt, 2015) was created in response to the Saskatchewan Action Plan to Address Bullying and Cyberbullying (Campeau, 2013). The action plan proposed to “support the instruction and responsible online behaviour for Kindergarten through Grade 12 students” and serve as a guide for school divisions and school administrators in developing and implementing digital citizenship policies, using Ribble’s (2017) elements of digital citizenship (Couros & Hildebrandt, 2015, preface). While it is important that students in Kindergarten through Grade 12 are educated about digital citizenship, it is also important that educators include students in an Alternative Education Program in instruction involving digital citizenship.

Ribble (2017) proposed nine themes of digital citizenship in order to provide a framework for understanding the components of digital citizenship, falling under three categories: respect, educate, and protect. Within each category are sub-categories: Respect:

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Digital Etiquette (i.e., electronic standards of conduct or procedures), Digital Access (i.e., full electronic participation in society), and Digital Law (i.e., electronic responsibility for actions and deeds); Educate: Digital Communication (i.e., electronic exchange of information), Digital Literacy (i.e., the process of teaching and learning about technology and the use of technology), and Digital Commerce (i.e., the electronic bullying and selling of goods); Protect: Digital Rights and Responsibilities (i.e., the freedoms extended to everyone in a digital world), Digital Safety and Security (i.e., electronic precautions to guarantee safety), and Digital Health and Wellness (i.e., physical and psychological well-being in a digital technology world). It is important for school divisions and school administrators to give careful consideration to students in an Alternative Education Program when developing policies for digital citizenship in order to determine how to effectively teach the students about responsible and safe use of technology. It is important for teachers to have access to resources and professional development opportunities regarding digital citizenship, and that teachers receive support for implementing digital

citizenship education into instruction to meet the diverse learning needs of students in an

Alternative Education Program. This also highlights the need for future research involving how to effectively implement a program on digital citizenship for students in different education programs.

It is important for educators to understand that students in an Alternative Education Program have integrated technology into their everyday lives, and it is also important that parents are educated on how to teach their children to use technology safely and responsibly. Educators and helping professionals such as school guidance counsellors, social workers, and psychologists can educate and support parents of students in an Alternative Education program on how to teach their child to use technology securely. It is important that parents are aware that students’ use of technology and online experiences should be monitored. In this study, it was found that only two participants involved an adult in experiences with cyberbullying, and in both cases, adult involvement did prevent the cyberbullying from occurring again. However, the remaining participants who had experienced cyberbullying believed that adult involvement would not make a difference in preventing the cyberbullying from occurring. This finding is concerning because the majority of the participants were victims of cyberbullying and also believed that adult involvement would not make a difference in addressing the cyberbullying, and as a result, suffered in silence and isolation. Kowalski et al. (2015) found that typically

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developing students may not report cyberbullying experiences due to a fear of losing access to technology. This common theme among the participants highlights the importance of both educators, including helping professionals, and parents educating students in an Alternative Education Program about how to use technology in a safe and responsible manner, including how to address cyberbullying.

While it is important that policies for implementing digital citizenship education to students in an Alternative Education Program address the diverse learning needs of the students, it is also important that school policies on bullying and cyberbullying are inclusive, and include students enrolled in different educational programs. All of the participants experienced bullying and cyberbullying in some form, whether it was as a victim or bystander. This finding highlights the importance of bullying and cyberbullying prevention programs including students in an Alternative Education Program. An important finding of this study was that many of the participants were unable to demonstrate knowledge of how to address bullying and

cyberbullying, and some were hesitant to involve an adult in both bullying and cyberbullying experiences. It is important to educate students in an Alternative Education Program about how to address bullying and cyberbullying, including teaching the students’ strategies that could be implemented during bullying and cyberbullying incidents. It is also important to educate students’ regarding the importance of adult involvement in addressing bullying and cyberbullying.

An interesting finding of this study was that the majority of the male participants handled conflict with their peers with physical aggression and intimidation. The male participants

utilized inappropriate, aggressive behaviour to address conflict with their peers, and felt justified to do so. It would be beneficial to students in an Alternative Education Program to be educated on conflict resolution, problem solving skills, and social skills, in order to teach students’ alternative strategies for handling conflict with their peers, rather than viewing aggressive behaviour as the only option.