news
Global summit
Jason Clare visits US for global education talks .
By Laura Mazzitelli
Jason Clare . Picture : Martin Ollman / Getty Images .
Federal education minister Jason Clare has flown to the United States to meet with global education leaders at the 2023 International Summit on the Teaching Profession .
The summit , which kicked off late April , saw Clare meet with his ministerial counterparts from the US , China , Canada and New Zealand to discuss ways to strengthen the nation ’ s teacher workforce
This year will mark the first time Australia has participated in the event since its inauguration in 2011 .
This year ’ s summit followed an OECD review of Australia ’ s school system which highlighted poor teaching conditions and worrying student behaviour as key policy concerns nationwide .
The event also comes as federal and state education ministers kick off the “ most comprehensive review ” of the education sector in Australia ’ s history .
Clare said in February this would begin with a review into the next National School Reform Agreement ( NSRA ), which will be chaired by Australian Education Research Organisation chair Lisa O ’ Brien . ■
Moral code
Online bystanders more likely to become bullies .
By Emilie Lauer
High schoolers who observe cyberbullying without intervening are more likely to become bullies themselves , new research has shown .
A new study by Macquarie University surveyed 563 students in Years 7 and 9 about cyberbullying and their level of moral disengagement when incidents occur .
According to Associate Professor and coauthor Kay Bussey , moral disengagement allows people to “ detach their behaviour from their usual moral code .”
“[ It ’ s like ] severing the link between doing something bad and feeling bad about it . They might still agree bullying was wrong , but they ’ ve justified it to themselves .” Bussey said .
“ For example , they tell themselves the person being victimised deserved that treatment , or they might disperse blame among a group , or tell themselves no real harm was done .”
In their study , researchers found that out of the 563 students surveyed , 4.1 per cent were bullies , 13.9 per cent were victims , 7.3 per cent were bullies / victims , and 23.8 per cent were bystanders .
About 50 per cent of students said they were not involved in cyberbullying and hadn ’ t experienced it .
The study also found that cyberbullying victims and bystanders were more likely to bully others online due to their experience .
“ We already knew there was a lot of fluidity between the roles of bully , victim and bystander , and moral disengagement is a key component of aggressive behaviour ,” study co-author and PhD candidate Aileen Luo said .
“ Our results show that disengagement is the stepping stone , the mediating factor propelling a victim or bystander into the role of perpetrator .”
About 39 per cent of cyberbullies scored high on a moral disengagement scale , showing they believe their behaviour is justified , followed by 15 per cent of victims and 11 per cent of bystanders .
Victims and bystanders who reported higher levels of moral disengagement were also more likely to perpetrate cyberbullying .
“ The effect of being involved in cyberbullying is also cumulative in that the more incidents of bullying someone is involved in , the more desensitised and morally disengaged they become ,” Luo said .
In Australia , 44 per cent of young people reported having had a negative online experience in 2021 , according to government data .
Data showed that 15 per cent of teenagers received threats or abuse online .
In January , Australia ’ s eSafety commissioner flagged an increase in online bullying among children stating it had reached “ concerning levels ”.
The agency said they were investigating more than 1,700 complaints . ■
2 | educationreview . com . au