The Effectiveness of School Anti-cyberbullying Policies and Their Compliance with South African Laws: A Conceptual Framework

Abstract

With the rise in cyberbullying incidents that sometimes result in high school student fatalities, schools are under pressure to curb the aggression. Students have been identified as ill-equipped to manage cyberbullying. At the same time, school anti-cyberbullying policies that are key to eradicating the social issue have been noted as lacking, weak and inadequate – often due to teachers’ need for more experience in developing such policies and the complexity of legislation for this group. This article proposes a conceptual framework that can be used to develop effective school anti-cyberbullying policies that are compliant with laws. A systematic literature review methodology was adopted to synthesise the literature. The literature review revealed that the policy content should include attributes such as cyberbullying definition and reporting. Such policies should be developed in a consultative approach with stakeholders in the school environment and external to the school, such as policy experts, participating. This article further identifies communication of the anti-cyberbullying policy as a key element to ensuring effectiveness. Lastly, we identified the regular review of the policy as critical in keeping it effective and compliant with laws. When changes are made, these should be communicated further.