Based on the present material we can conclude that bullying among lower secondary schoolchildren in the Barents region has increased on an average by 1.1
% from 2005 to 2012. Contact bullying seems to be the main form of bullying, but cyber bullying takes place and seems to expand Roland (2014).
An explanation for cyberbullying can be that the victim(s) do not necessarily meet face to face. The web makes it possible to harass others relatively
anonymously which may lead to a lower threshold for bullying.
Despite parents talking with their children and various efforts the schools practice about proper behavior on the internet, the problem seems to grow.
In Norway, the first innovation following the Manifesto against bullying was a two year program against bullying, and there is evidence that school bullying decreased approximately 30% during the period of 2001–2004 (Roland 2014). The decline can hardly be explained solely by
‘The Manifest...’, but there is a reason to believe that it was influenced by the Manifesto. In the years after, a new Manifesto against bullying was signed in 2005, 2006 and 2009 with the same partners. The municipalities are also invited to commit themselves to the anti – bullying work by signing the Manifest.
In September 2011 currently the last Manifesto against bullying was signed by the partners, and this time it was focusing on digital bullying. In the county of Finnmark, which is the region for the ArctiChildren activity in Norway, 18 of the 19 municipalities have signed the Manifesto against bullying, per 23.09.14.
(Lokalt manifest mot mobbing 2014.) In spite of the new editions of The Manifesto, it seems that bullying remains stable as data from the ArctiChildren survey show. This is confirmed in the pupils’ survey presented by Wendelborg (2011) as well.
References
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html?id=634462. Accessed 20.10.2014.
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It seems that bullying among schoolchildren has increased with approximately 1 % in the Barents region in the last ten years.
Cyber bullying has become more visible in the same period and seems to expand.
There is evidence that the long-term effect of bullying hits its victims with symptoms like; physical and psychological distress, social isolation, apathy, declining self-esteem and in most serious cases, disability. Even only watching bullying may be enough.
Long-term studies of bullies show that they are overrepresented in crime statistics.
The Manifesto against bullying is still one of the anti-bullying attempts from Norwegian authorities, but it seems that bullying remains stable.
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What can the school do?] Oslo, Norway:
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Sandsleth, G. 2007. Mobbing. Forstå, bekjempe og forebygge. [Bullying. Understand, Combat and Prevent] Oslo, Norway:
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Staksrud, E. 2013. Digital mobbing. Hvem, hvor, hvordan, hvorfor – og hva kan voksne gjøre? [Cyber Bullying. Who, Where, How, Why – and what can Adults do?]
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Storfjord, E. M. & Storfjord, P. 1997. STOPP MOBBINGEN. Signaler, symptomer og tiltak. [STOP BULLYING. Signals, Symptoms and Initiative] Bergen, Norway: Fagbokforlaget.
Wendelborg, C. 2011. Mobbing, diskriminering og uro i klasserommet. Analyse av Elevundersøkelsen 2011. [Bullying, Discrimination and Restlessness in the Classroom. Analysis of a Pupil Survey 2011] Trondheim, Norway: NTNU Samfunnsforskning AS.
In an ever more digitalised society digital literacy is one of the important factors for leading a “Good Life”. For schoolchildren having power over their digital lives will positively influence their mental health and psychosocial wellbeing. The educational system in Norway has over the last decade attempted to include such knowledge in the curriculum. In this article we argue that the results from the ArctiChildren InNet project call for re-thinking of what knowledge is actually needed for empowering the coming generation.
Introduction
The overall objective of the ArctiChildren InNet project has been Health and Health Promotion in the Barents Region, in what can be referred to as the “Age of Digital Culture” (Buckingham 2007). The central document supporting health promotion worldwide is the Ottawa Charter (World Health Organization 1986), based on the UN declaration of human rights. The main principle in this charter is
empowerment; the health promoting process is about enabling everybody to lead an active and productive life that can be referred to as “The Good Life” or
“Quality of Life”. (Lindström & Erikson 2010.) The Norwegian research theme presented in this article, discusses the health promoting role of information and communications technology (ICT) and the internet, integrated in daily life in school and in the homes of schoolchildren, aged 13 to 15, from three schools in Finnmark county in the Norwegian Arctic.
Our research question was:
• What are the ICT practices in school and leisure time and how likely is their influence on empowerment, perceived health and psychosocial wellbeing?
To be more specific, this article rises the following questions: The goals set about digital competence in the curriculum, how were they put into practice in the daily life in the ArctiChildren InNet project’s pilot schools? To what extent could this competence be seen as empowering and promoting mental health and Eva C. Schjetne