We caught up with Dr. Don Austin of the Palos Verdes Peninsula USD to ask him about a recent survey they submitted to parents and students.

The Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District is a suburban K-12 school district in Southern California with a student population of 11,600 students.  The PVPUSD Digital Citizenship Survey was offered to parents and students to better understand habits, experiences, and perceptions of online activity.

Concerns raised about student privacy issues, cyber-bullying, and inappropriate uses of social media led to the creation of the survey to guide our work. Read the most  impressive takeaways from parents and students online activity survey results bellow.

Cyberbullying may not be as pervasive as believed or may be tolerated

It is possible that students may tolerate some activities that adults have categorized as bullying

Given the rhetoric associated with some high profile cases, we were all surprised to see that approximately 90% of students and parents stated that cyberbullying was not something that had touched their families. This data is interesting and runs in conflict with 2014 Bullying Statistics.

It is possible that students may tolerate some activities that adults have categorized as bullying. It is also plausible that students under-report bullying instances to their parents. Despite numerous postings on campuses describing how to use the WeTip hotline, parents and students stated that they were unaware of the service.

The survey data leads to more questions, including our need to calibrate community concerns with reported realities, further definition of appropriate online behavior, and further educating students how to report issues.

Data tells an interesting story when compared to isolated incidents

The use of surveys allows schools to be more strategic

Many schools and districts are forced into immediate action as the result of sensational or heinous events. This is often counterproductive since long-range strategic plans are rarely formed when emotions are running high. The use of surveys allowed us to formulate action steps that aligned with the common experiences reported by our stakeholders.

‍The survey removed politics, agendas, and emotion from the equation and allowed everyone to see that, while work is certainly required, there was not a mandate that our students were in imminent danger. Instead, we were able to see that our community wanted to ensure that we were taking steps to educate our students and set clear policies and procedures to manage behavior in a changing world.

Parents and students have large disparity of opinion regarding potential future harm of online activity

86% of all surveyed students didn't express fear that their activities could have a negative impact in the future

The largest disparity between the views of parents and students came in the area of how Internet activity can negatively impact the future of our kids. Nearly three quarters of our parents were concerned that Internet activity could have a detrimental effect on their children. Conversely, 86% of all students reported that they did not express fear that their activities could have a negative impact in the future.

This disparity is even more startling, given the fact that both groups overwhelmingly stated that parents are speaking to their students about Internet safety. This information points to a need to target part of the education program to address future ramifications of poor internet behavior.

All agree that education of online responsibility and etiquette are worth the investment of instructional time

Students and parents agreed that more education related to online activity is necessary. Parents further indicated that the best education programs include schools and parents and believe that it is appropriate to use school instructional time to address Digital Citizenship.

Learn more about our guest expert

Don Austin, Superintendent at Palos Verdes Peninsula USD

‍Don is proud to represent the Palos Verdes Peninsula USD as the Superintendent of Schools. He works collaboratively in the role to find the next right answers to build upon a foundation of strength.

Don's undergraduate work was completed at Baker University in Baldwin City, Kansas. He earned his MA and Ed.D. at Azusa Pacific University in California. Don remains connected to university work through his role as a doctoral adviser at CSU Long Beach and as an instructor at UC Irvine.

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