Practice
Profile
Children’s Safety in Cyberspace
Contact details
Agency: Centacare Catholic Family Services
Address:
45 Wakefield Street
Adelaide SA 5000
Contact: Marian Brown
Manager Education and Training
Phone:
(08) 8210 8200
Fax:
(08) 8232 8920
Email:
mbrown@centacare.org.au
Website: www.centacare.org.au
Funding source
Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA) under the Family Relationship Services Program (FRSP)Program duration and frequency
1 x 3 hour session for parents
Program description
Through our parenting courses parents had consistently raised concerns about the issue of children’s use of computers and additionally, a growing awareness by parents of the safety issues for children relating to computer usage (this topic was coming up often as an issue in families). This led us to research the issue from a wide variety of sources.
The program was designed to both be stand-alone and to become integrated into an existing education program for parents of pre-teen and teens. Some of the research produced the following data:
- Technology changes quickly
- Young people tend to be more knowledgeable than their parents
- There are many pitfalls for young people in cyberspace
This program provides parents with the knowledge of the technology their children are using including the benefits of the technology, providing strategies for connecting with their children to support them in using the technology and providing strategies for managing the risks of the technology.
The intention of the program is to:
- Demonstrate the range of technologies being used and explore the legal and ethical issues with the technology
- Explore the benefits of technology and the importance of connecting with children to keep them as safe as possible
- Identify strategies that families can utilise for managing the risks
The outcomes for participants are:
- Become familiar with the communication tools – eg. Internet and mobile phones
- Identify benefits of the Internet for children and young people
- Identify the risks of Information Technology as a communication tool
- Identify connecting practices to support positive relationships with children around IT use
- Identify ways of taking charge of the IT tools
- Identify strategies for building benefits and reducing risks
The key topic areas are:
- Technology
- Connecting with children to reap the benefits of technology
- Strategies for managing the risks
Geographical Area
- Local community
- Urban
- Regional centre or town
- Rural centre or area
Target Group
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Is the program/practice based on the findings from empirical research, theory and/or a particular framework/model?
Yes(a) Briefly explain the research and/or framework/model (please include links to research/framework, or references, where possible.
The program is based on research from a wide range of theories and programs. These include:
- Net Alert (www.netalert.gov.au)
- Belsey, B., President, www.Bullying.org, Cyberbullying: An Emerging Threat to the “Always On” generation (www.cyberbullying.ca/pdf/Cyberbullying_Article_by_Bill_Belsey.pdf)
- LIBR 500 Foundation of Information Techologies, Internet Bullying, University of British Colombia (www.slais.ubc.ca/COURSES/libr500/02-03-wt2/index.htm)
- Australian Temperament Project, AIFS (www.aifs.gov.au/atp)
- Hallowell, E., (2002) Five Stage Plan for Raising Happy Children
- Carr-Gregg, M., (2007) Real Wired Child (www.michaelcarr-gregg.com.au)
(b) In what way(s) does this research and/or framework/model influence or inform the intended outcomes & objectives of the program/practice?
Links the 2 areas of (a) keeping children safe and (b) using IT as a positive tool to connect parents and children.Has the program/practice been the subject of evaluation?
Yes
(a) What is the type of evaluation?
Internal
(b) What instruments were relied on to evaluate the program/practice?
Written evaluations following attendance
(c) Briefly describe the outcomes of the evaluation:
Feedback from participants was overwhelmingly positive. Some examples of parents comments include:
'Given me confidence to deep on communicating with my family/kids express values and live them'
'Aware of problems not as frightening. Positives reassuring'
What gaps in research and practice models/frameworks did you find in developing your program/practice?
NetAlert is an excellent program and we used many of their resources. We found that NetAlert did not offer strategies to parents. They suggest to parents that they should talk to their children but no strategies are provided to skill parents in this area.
A review of the pilot project has resulted in ongoing provision of the program for parents. The program will provide parents with information on understanding technology and its uses. This is in the development stage.
There is also nothing for CALD communities and Centacare will further develop the program in the future for CALD communities.