Development of digital course for Parents and Educators on Supporting Their Teenagers in Building Resilience Against Negative Social Phenomena
Overview
SmartUp is preparing a free online course on EduLab that will help parents and educators to support teenagers in building resilience against bullying, peer violence, and other negative social influences, for the OSCE Mission to Skopje. Some interventions already work with students and teachers, but few resources exist for the adults closest to teenagers. The course will give parents and educators practical ways to recognize warning signs, start difficult conversations, and respond safely and constructively.
SmartUp is going to build the course in three phases. It will start with desk research and a focus group of parents, educators, students, and youth organizations. It will then produce five video tutorials of 10–15 minutes, each with downloadable practical tools and a quiz. An expert on the topic with experience in creating digital courses will develop the content, and a psychologist will verify it. SmartUp will then deploy the course on EduLab and test it with parent testers before release.
The challenge
Incidents of bullying and peer violence are increasing, and responding to them takes stronger support involving schools, students, and parents.
Parents and educators play a crucial role in helping teenagers respond to peer violence, whether as witnesses, participants, or victims. While some interventions target students and teachers, there is a clear gap in resources for the adults themselves.
Youth violence has many causes, including inter-ethnic tensions, gender-related issues, and behavioral challenges. Adults need to understand how emotions, peer influence, social media, and gender differences shape what teenagers experience and how they respond.
Parents and educators often find it hard to talk with teenagers about sensitive issues. They also need to tell everyday conflict from bullying or violence, and to know when to involve a school professional service.
Activities and methods
- Research. SmartUp will do desk research based on national, regional, and international findings on how parents and educators talk with teenagers about sensitive issues. A focus group of parents, educators, students, and youth organization representatives will then validate the key issues.
- Course programme. SmartUp will define the topics, learning objectives, and resources for each lesson, built on socio-emotional learning competences.
- Expert-written content. An expert with experience in creating digital courses will write five tutorial scripts, presentations, supporting resources, and scenario-based quizzes. A psychologist will verify the content.
- Five video tutorials in Macedonian. The lessons will cover emotions, peer influence, and social media; types of violence; supporting victims and active bystanders; conflict and healthy relationships; and bias, peer pressure, and gender stereotypes.
- Practical tools. Downloadable checklists, conversation cards, a "conflict or violence?" table, and a reporting map will accompany the lessons.
- Deployment and testing. Parent testers will review the course on EduLab, and their feedback is going to be applied before it is published as a free resource.
Impact and learning
The course will give parents, teachers, school professional associates, and other educators of upper primary and secondary students practical skills for supporting teenagers. They will learn to recognize changes in behavior, mood, and online experience that may point to a problem. They will also learn to tell conflict, aggression, bullying, and other forms of violence apart, and to respond calmly and supportively when a teenager shares a harmful experience.
The course will also help adults stay within safe limits. Every lesson will separate what a parent or educator can handle through conversation from situations that need a school professional service or another responsible mechanism. This will support a consistent response across homes and schools, and it will cover pressure, stereotypes, and gender-based harassment as well as bullying.
The course will stay on EduLab as a free resource, available whenever parents and educators need it. It complements SmartUp's existing EduLab training for teachers on preventing violence against children, and extends this learning to parents and other educators.
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