Cyberbullying and School Environment: An Exploratory and Collaborative Study between School and University

Abstract

This text presents a study on the topic Cyberbullying which was carried out with pupils from the 8th grade who attended a private school. A description of the phenomenon being studied in that context is presented and a connection to the social and relational school environment is emphasised, based on the analysis of the data collected by means of a survey comprising open‑ended and closed‑ended questions. Concerning this sample of pupils, it was observed that the contact with Cyberbullying shows a relative high incidence and this phenomenon is connected to school relationships among peers, seeming that face‑to‑face intimidation is transposed onto the cyberspace. The results of the analysis still highlight that an important number of these pupils are passive observers of this phenomenon. It therefore seems that there are some evidence of association between a relative high incidence of Cyberbullying and the socio‑relational school environment, in which some pupils feel discriminated against.