Promoting Junior School Students’ Anti-bullying Beliefs with the CATZ Cross-age Teaching Zone Intervention

In tackling the widespread problem of bullying victimisation, researchers have acknowledged the value of focusing on changing bullying-related beliefs and using peer-based interventions. In three studies (N = 419, 237 intervention and 182 controls), we tested the effectiveness of the CATZ cross-age teaching programme by inviting small groups of 11-year-olds to incorporate information supporting positive beliefs (concerning non-physical forms of bullying, the value of disclosing being bullied to adults, and helping victims) into a lesson they devised for themselves and to deliver that to small groups of 9-year-olds. Specifically, we examined if the intervention would promote that (i) non-physical forms of bullying are unacceptable (study 1), (ii) disclosing bullying to adults and getting the right kind of help have value and importance (study 2), and (iii) victims can be assisted in safe ways (study 3). Self-reports of nine specific aspects of these beliefs were collected from CATZ tutors and age-matched controls prior to and following the intervention, and at five-week follow-up in one study, using both open and closed questions. Results indicated significant positive effects of CATZ on all nine outcome variables, with mostly medium and high effect sizes. These findings support the use of CATZ to foster positive anti-bullying beliefs, and issues related to its wider uptake are discussed.

Immigrant and Non-immigrant Parents’ Involvement in Bullying Cases

This study aims at investigating parental involvement in bullying cases. Immigrant and non-immigrant parents are compared regarding their experience and understanding of causes of the bullying behaviour that their child is exposed to, how they experience the school’s handling of the bullying case, the home-school cooperation, and parents’ cooperation with other parents. A qualitative approach was used, and semi-structured interviews with 16 parents of targets of bullying were carried out (5 immigrant, 11 Norwegian, including two Sami parents). The targets were from primary and lower secondary school. Content analysis was conducted using the deductively developed and inductively enriched system of categories. The results of the study provided insights into parents’ experiences of a problematic school-parent collaboration, and also problematic relations to the other parents of the students involved in the respective bullying cases. Immigrant parents were more satisfied with the school than non-immigrant parents, but not with the relation to other parents. Vulnerability and ethnicity-based bullying appeared as aspects which should be paid especially attention to, regarding both implications and future research.

AI Content Moderation, Racism and (de)Coloniality

The article develops a critical approach to AI in content moderation adopting a decolonial perspective. In particular, the article asks: to what extent does the current AI moderation system of platforms address racist hate speech and discrimination? Based on a critical reading of publicly available materials and publications on AI in content moderation, we argue that racialised people have no significant input in the definitions and decision making processes on racist hate speech and are also exploited as their unpaid labour is used to clean up platforms and to train AI systems. The disregard of the knowledge and experiences of racialised people and the expropriation of their labour with no compensation reproduce rather than eradicate racism. In theoretically making sense of this, we draw influences from Anibal Quijano’s theory of the coloniality of power and the centrality of race, concluding that in its current iteration, AI in content moderation is a technology in the service of coloniality. Finally, the article develops a sketch for a decolonial approach to AI in content moderation, which aims to centre the voices of racialised communities and to reorient content moderation towards repairing, educating and sustaining communities.