Abstract
Owing to the fact that ownership of telecommunication devices such as smartphones and tablets has spread among young people, the internet has become very familiar to them. On the other hand, they face the risks of encountering various internet problems. In this study, the authors analyzed and evaluated longitudinal survey data focusing on awareness education policies in order to periodically evaluate the internet environment for young people in line with the Youth Internet Environment Improvement Act Supplementary Provisions Article 3. From the results of the analysis and evaluation, the following were found: 1) although awareness education has spread through school education and family education, its presence in family education is not sufficient and 2) to learn internet literacy, school education plays a major role.
TopBackground
Review of Evidence-Based Policy Making
OECD (2012) advised all stakeholders to reduce online risks and provide a safer Internet environment. This recommendation obliges every stakeholder to provide a safer online environment for teenagers and young people. To provide effective protection, it is important to implement a youth protection policy at every level of government and in the private sector and educational organizations. Without clear role definitions, it will be challenging to implement a concrete protection policy.
The most effective way to solve these problems is to think about each problem separately, clarifying the political tasks each sector should deal with. One tactic that can help to achieve this is to adopt an Evidence-Based Policy (EBP).
An EBP is an approach derived from Evidence-Based Medicine proposed by Gordon Guyatt at Manchester University in Canada (Tsutani, 2000). EBP is used in areas such as social policy, educational policy, and welfare policy (Sowaki, 2010). The OECD (2007) has argued that EBP-based policy making enables people and organizations to choose clear and straightforward evidence from among many options. EBP has been widely adopted in various policy areas for evidence-based policymaking.
Nishimura (2005) indicated that evidence should be based on “objective and politically neutral statistical indicators.” Such evidence would gain public understanding and help to establish trust between the government and society (OECD, 2004). Additionally, the OECD (2012) has emphasized the need to set indicators as metrics of the evidence, allowing people to visualize the actual condition of each political area.
From these discussions, it seems clear that EBM can be effective in supporting rational decision making for effective educational policy implementation. One key measure to promote the policy will involve establishing an indicator to evaluate the evidence.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Risk Categories: Classification of online risks defined by ILAS. ILAS classifies three major online risks as Illegal & Harmful Information Risks, Inappropriate Usage Risks, and Privacy & Security Risks. It also defines seven significant categories and 13 sub-categories. Additionally, it defines 186 coping skills, which can be used to protect against online risks.
Evidence-Based Policy: A policy-making method based on evidence. It was first advocated as Evidence-Based Medicine by Gordon Guyatt, University of Manchester, Canada, in 1991. It has subsequently been used widely in social policy, educational policy, and social welfare policy.
Online Risks: Inclusive term covering various online risks, including cyberbullying, online addiction, cyber grooming, security problems, and the leakage of personal information.
Awareness Education: Education designed to enhance knowledge/attitudes that can help to avoid various online risks and ensure appropriate internet use.
Internet Literacy Assessment Indicator for Students (ILAS): An indicator developed to evaluate online literacy, especially the effectiveness of coping skills/morals in reducing online risks/threats. It was released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications in September 2012.