The context of school-based cyberbullying prevention in Vietnamese public schools: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Cyberbullying is a form of violence that has been present in schools for a long time and negatively impacts the mental health of students. Different countries have different strategies for avoiding cyberbullying. However, research on school-based cyberbullying prevention is limited in Southeast Asian developing countries. This study aims to explore the current implementation of school-based cyberbullying prevention in public schools in a developing country. The framework of prevention programs is based on three aspects: (1) Developing curricula on how to behave when being a victim of cyberbullying. (2) Strengthening the students' skills to deal with cyberbullying. (3) Promulgating specific provisions in the legal document on handling cyberbullying. School-based cyberbullying prevention among students in public schools is currently a research gap because of the limitations in the management of students using the internet and educational policies. This is a cross-sectional study that surveyed 400 participants who are Vietnamese teachers, administrators and school psychologists. The results show that the limitations of school-based cyberbullying prevention for Vietnamese students include professional knowledge, practical experience and personnel in charge of this work. This constraint has resulted in an upsurge in incidents of cyberbullying in Vietnam. The findings add to the important evidence on cyberbullying prevention in a developing country that is working to research and develop an appropriate school-based cyberbullying prevention strategy.