Towards a Cybersafety Community of Purpose in Marginalised Schools
, Inneth B MakofaneThe current study aimed to explore the perceptions of school stakeholders on their responsibilities towards cybersafety and to propose a cybersafety community of purpose to mitigate cybersafety challenges in marginalised schools.
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of information and communication technologies in education. In the post-pandemic era, schools are increasingly using technologies in curriculum delivery, data management, and communication. The increased access to cyberspace, however, exposes schools to cyber risks and cyberattacks.
The study employed a qualitative exploratory methodology using case studies of four marginalised schools located in the Western Cape and Limpopo provinces of South Africa. We collected the data via semi-structured interviews of thirty participants who were stakeholders in a school context, including learners, educators, social workers, parents, and community leaders. Data analysis was based on an inductive approach with themes derived from data and the literature review.
Using the social-ecological framework, the study showed that effective cybersafety is an ecological phenomenon that requires the understanding and involvement of individuals, the family of learners, and the school, in a community context. The study contributes to the body of knowledge by suggesting a bottom-up cybersafety community of purpose activity system for marginalised schools. Such a cybersafety community of purpose activity system would allow stakeholders to work together to gather resources and acquire actions that would lead to a cybersafe and cyber resilient school environment as an outcome. The activity system highlights the interrelationships between school stakeholders as they use cyberspace and how they can achieve the required outcomes, the family of learners, and the school, in a community context.
The findings of the study indicate that there is a disconnection in terms of cybersafety among school stakeholders in marginalised schools. There is a lack of clarity among stakeholders in terms of who is responsible for cybersecurity in the school context.
We propose that a bottom-up cybersafety community of purpose within an activity system would be an effective way to ensure the safety of school stakeholders as they use cyberspace.
Researchers should implement the cybersafety community of purpose activity system in marginalised schools to determine its effectiveness.
A cybersafety community of purpose would bring together all stakeholders within a school context, leading to effective cybersafety initiatives for a positive cybersecurity culture and cyber resilience within a school context.
Future studies should adopt a design science approach to create and implement the cybersafety community of purpose activity system to determine its effectiveness.
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