Cyberbullying in Different School Types: Examining Severity, Frequency and Coping Capacities Based on Teachers' Views

The aim of the research is to examine the experiences and opinions of teachers in different school types in Northern Cyprus regarding cyberbullying, and to reveal the relationships between the severity, frequency, training and awareness levels of cyberbullying, and their professional and technological competencies in combating it. In line with this purpose, a case study was used as the method since it was aimed to examine teachers' opinions on cyberbullying in a specific context, especially in different school types. The study group of this study consists of 21 teachers working in Northern Cyprus in the fall semester of 2023-2024. However, in order to conduct an in-depth examination in the analysis process, only the opinions of four teachers (Teachers T1, T8, T19 and T20) were taken into consideration. These teachers were determined using the purposive sampling method and were selected according to certain criteria in order to focus on the in-depth analysis of the research on cyberbullying. The data was collected using a semi-structured interview form. The interview questions were structured to address different dimensions of the concept of cyberbullying. Content analysis and thematic analysis methods were used to analyze the obtained data. This study revealed that the severity and frequency of cyberbullying vary by school type, and teachers' awareness and intervention capacity vary by school type. While the impact of training in private colleges is high, in other school types, lack of training increases the frequency of cases. It is recommended that training be applied and technology-focused, intervention protocols be standardized, and mentoring programs be established. Future studies should examine the effectiveness of training programs and strategies specific to school types in more detail.