Teachers lack cyber training: study
Parents expect teachers to educate their kids about internet safety even though most Kiwi teachers have not been trained to do this.
A global survey released by software developer AVG on Thursday show there is a discrepancy between parents' expectations on online safety and the actual time spent in class covering the topic.
This despite more than nine out of 10 teachers saying they use internet content in class.
Of the teachers surveyed in New Zealand, 18 per cent said they had received formal training to teach online safety, and 32 per cent felt ill-equipped to deal with cyber bullying.
More than three quarters believed their pupils' parents relied too heavily on schools to prepare kids for the online world.
This is a concern given the study revealed one in four teachers have had a pupil come to them about a cyber bullying issue.
Of those teachers who had kids confide in them, 30 per cent felt ill-equipped to handle the situation.
One in three teachers also felt parents themselves don't know enough about the topic.
The majority of educators around the world agreed that internet safety should be a dedicated part of the curriculum at 77 per cent.
After cyber bullying, the next biggest issue that teachers have had students come to them about is viewing inappropriate content online.
The 23 per cent of Kiwis who flagged this issue was just slightly higher than the 21 per cent recorded globally.
The online survey drew responses from 1760 teachers who work with students between three and 18 from nine countries, including New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
