Bullying in Schools

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 9 October 2012

Tuesday, 9 October 2012

Questions (55)

Regina Doherty

Question:

55. Deputy Regina Doherty asked the Minister for Education and Skills in view of the growing and worrying trend of youth self-harm and youth suicide, his plans to develop a policy to deal with the growth of social media in education and in particular the use of mobile phones, smart phones, i-pads and laptops during the normal school day; if he has examined the problem of cyber bullying, cyber abuse and the transmission of material including photographs by young persons in an unsupervised, uncontrolled and unacceptable way; in view of his policy to have high speed broadband available in most schools within a short period of time, his views on whether a national policy is required in relation to the use, abuse and misuse of social media in education; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42811/12]

Oral answers (9 contributions)

Deputy Ruairí Quinn

My Department is strongly supportive of the integration of information and communication technology, ICT, tools and techniques into teaching practice. However, I am conscious that the use of modern technology can also create opportunities for cyberbullying to occur. In this regard, following the recent anti-bullying forum held in May, I have established a working group to address the issue of tackling bullying in schools, including cyberbullying.

It should be noted that individual schools have the ability to filter the content of what is accessible through the school's broadband network. This allows teachers to use the Internet for teaching and learning in a manner that reduces the risk of pupils accessing inappropriate content. The Department also funds the Webwise initiative, which focuses on increasing understanding of Internet safety at school and in the home and improving skills in this regard. It is important for all of society to remain vigilant and alert to the potential risks associated with the use and misuse of modern technologies.

Deputy Derek Keating

My question, No. 81, is similar to Deputy Doherty's. I thank the Minister for his reply. Often when I see young people in the Gallery, like today, I am reminded of the facilities some of them have to assist them with their education which we never had, such as laptops and smartphones. The Minister's determination to provide high-speed broadband to more schools will enhance young people's education and the use of these devices.

It takes only a small number of people to cause a major problem, however. We have seen in recent times how, with the absence of supervision, respect for others and responsibility, some young people have suffered as a result of cyberbullying. In one particular case, a young person who felt very vulnerable resorted to self-harm and suicide. I have had a particular interest in this area for a long time. The Minister's initiative of setting up a working group will lead, I hope, to policy formation which might be the missing piece from the jigsaw. I am satisfied the Minister will keep me appraised of the progress made in this regard. I hope this will assist us in supporting those suffering from cyberbullying in schools, in colleges and at home. I also hope it will ensure young people with access to such devices become more responsible.

Deputy Ruairí Quinn

I thank the Deputy for his comments and his interest in this area. Cyberbullying has become an enormous problem compared to what it used to be. First, it is no longer confined to the school because the electronic devices every young person has enables cyberbullying to continue 24-7. The consequence, accordingly, is that the young person who is bullied cannot escape from it at home. It is an emotional and psychological form of bullying.

We have tended to associate it more with females than males, while in the case of males it has tended to be far more physical. Either way it is a big problem. For this reason the working group was established following the conference or day seminar. I expect the report to be ready later this year with an action plan on what to do about bullying and how to mobilise support from a wide section in the school and education community, including the home, as well as help lines and a host of related things. Part of the issue is awareness. Cyber-bullying has become a recent phenomenon by virtue of the fact that every young person carries a smart telephone, which facilitates access in a way that was inconceivable five years ago. We must confront an old problem which is harnessing the wonders and facilities of modern technology and communications for evil and nasty purposes.

We must recognise the problem, recognise how wrong it is that bullying takes place and then come up with practical measures to prevent it.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

Deputies Finian McGrath, Jonathan O'Brien and Clare Daly have indicated. I hope there will be a brief question from each.

Deputy Finian McGrath

Question No. 55 relates to self-harm and youth suicide. Does the Minister agree that it will take more than a working group to assist the issue of cyberbullying and the major stress it is causing to young teenagers? Another big issue is the bullying of gay teenagers going on in many second level schools. This is linked to self-harm and suicide. What proposals does the Minister have in mind to deal with this situation? What practical measures does the Minister have in place to deal with the issue of the bullying of young teenagers? Will the new, radical changes the Minister has planned to introduce in second level education include programmes or assistance for young teenagers?

Deputy Jonathan O'Brien

I agree with the Minister that it has become a considerable problem and this is something the working group will examine. Has the Minister looked at other countries where there is stand-alone bullying legislation with a view to policy development and legislation here? The issue of bullying is not confined to children or students. There is a growing number of teachers who suffer from bullying in schools. Any working group examining the areas of bullying and cyberbullying should not confine itself to the student body. It should consider everyone in the education system.

Deputy Clare Daly

The problem of bullying goes beyond social media and technology. The question asked related to the policy position. One positive aspect of the technology and its use in schools is a pilot programme in my area where the students, rather than being issued with books, are being issued with iPads. The teachers maintain the use of this technology is a valuable tool in terms of all-inclusive education. Has the Minister any plans in this regard? The other positive is that they are not weighed down by big mountainous sacks of bags every day and they can deal with that issue. The down-side is that the cost is €750, which is prohibitive. Anyway, if that gets a student through her school life, some plans for replacement and stressing the positive role of the technology could be included in a policy as well.

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

I concur with the previous speakers. The introduction of technology, especially iPads, into primary and secondary schools in the past year or two has been positive and it could reap many benefits in future. This opens up possibilities in terms of how people might bully others, fellow students and their teachers. I recall the emergence of the teacher rating website some years ago. That was the start of it. Facebook has become a big deal now as well. This creates serious issues. The pace of change of technology, especially with students having tablets and information technology hardware, will change in the coming years. It is crucial that clear guidelines are in place in schools on how they should cope with this and these should include protection policies.

Deputy Ruairí Quinn

First, I will address the broader question raised by Deputy Daly and remarked on by others. We are in the middle of a technological revolution in information technology. Any decision we might make in respect of one particular platform or type of technology could quickly become out of date. We have done some work at an infrastructural level and Deputy Keating has referred to this. In two years' time, that is to say, two years after this year, all of our 730 post-primary schools will have 2,000 megabyte broadband capability. This will enable us to transmit a great deal of information into schools. My preference is that we should acquire the intellectual property rights of much of the material to be transmitted and that we should assume that the schools and students will deal with an applicable hardware application.

The fact that information is becoming more friendly to different types of platforms is a bonus, unlike previous generations of electronic technology. For example, in the case of video cassettes, VHS was the less technologically advanced of the two options, Betamax being the other, but VHS won the technological war. There are many schools doing the sort of thing referred to by Deputy Daly, using the iPad or some electronic device to do work and communicate material with the consequential effect of a lighter working load.

There has always been bullying and favouritism in schools and there have always been teachers who get a hard time when others do not. This is being compounded by the coming out of many people whose sexual orientation had to be concealed for fear of social ostracising or loss of a job. It is not a million years ago since a teacher lost her job in New Ross because of her lifestyle. No one covered themselves in glory on that day and even the unfair dismissals legislation did not work on her behalf. We must be conscious of all of that and conscious that bullying is wrong but that it has now been given an extraordinary boost by the capacity of technology to be prevalent 24 hours per day, seven days per week.

I hope to get clear and constructive guidelines from the group, which may borrow from practices in others parts of the world as well as develop their creative activities. I assure Deputy McGrath that the whole gay and lesbian community in our society is protected from attack, like anyone else. Many of them are represented in our society and in education. When I get the report from the working group I will publish it and we might have a discussion on it in the House.