Pulse Brain · Growing Health Evidence Index
Tier 3 — Observational / field trialPeer-reviewed

Using the quality circle approach to empower disadvantaged youth in addressing cyberbullying: an exploration across five European countries

Jayne Hamilton, Noel Purdy, Roy A. Willems, Peter K. Smith, Catherine Culbert, Antonella Brighi, Nora Fiedler, Annalisa Guarini, Consuelo Mameli, Damiano Menin, Herbert Scheithauer, Trijntje Völlink

Pastoral Care in Education · 2020

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Summary

The Blurred Lives project employed a quality circle approach—small, peer-led problem-solving groups—to engage 237 adolescents from socio-economically disadvantaged areas across five European countries in co-designing anti-cyberbullying resources. Participating pupils produced diverse outputs (videos, comic strips, board games, leaflets, posters, newsletters) targeted at teachers, parents, peers, and social media providers. Most participants demonstrated increased cyberbullying knowledge, e-safety skills, confidence, and group work capability, though the paper notes operational challenges including the critical importance of school-level support, planning, staffing, and balancing facilitator guidance with pupil agency.

Regional applicability

One of the five participating European countries was the United Kingdom, making findings directly applicable to UK youth engagement and pastoral care contexts. The methodology's emphasis on co-participatory design with disadvantaged young people aligns with UK educational policy priorities around student voice and resilience-building, though transferability to other UK regions depends on availability of equivalent facilitator training and school-level commitment.

Key measures

Pupil feedback on cyberbullying knowledge, e-safety skills, problem-solving skills, confidence levels, group work skills; resource outputs in multiple formats

Outcomes reported

The study assessed changes in participants' knowledge of cyberbullying and e-safety skills, problem-solving abilities, confidence, and group work competencies following participation in quality circle workshops. Operational challenges and facilitator support requirements were also documented.

Theme
Policy, governance & rights
Subject
Other / interdisciplinary
Study type
Research
Study design
Mixed methods intervention study with survey and qualitative components
Source type
Peer-reviewed study
Status
Published
Geography
Europe
System type
Other
DOI
10.1080/02643944.2020.1788127
Catalogue ID
BFmowc2cfp-gq429q

Topic tags

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