Abstract
The OECD committee adopted the “Recommendation on the Protection of Children Online” in February 2012. It recommended establishing an appropriate online environmental policy for children, based on actual data. Arising from the international movement, the Internet Literacy Assessment Indicator for Students (ILAS) and its tests were developed; this tool aims to ensure safe and secure Internet use among 15-year-old students. This study analyzes national research data from ILAS to explore the relationship between students' backgrounds and online literacy. The results have revealed several political challenges, including the need for policies on educational awareness in low literacy areas, regional literacy differences, and the need to support children in learning to avoid risk.
TopBackground
Review of Evidence Based Policy Making
OECD (2012a) 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, as well as in the private sector and educational organizations. Without clear role definitions, it will be difficult 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; it was 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 simple evidence from among many options. EBP has been widely adopted in various policy areas for evidence based policy making.
Nishimura (2005) pointed out that evidence should be based on “objective and politically neutral statistical indicators.” Such evidence would gain public understanding and help to establish trust between government and society (OECD 2004). In addition, 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
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.
Risk Categories: Classification of online risks defined by ILAS. ILAS classifies 3 major online risks as Illegal & Harmful Information Risks, Inappropriate Usage Risks, and Privacy & Security Risks. It also defines 7 significant categories and 13 sub-categories. In addition, it defines 186 coping skills, which can be used to protect against online risks.
Awareness Education: Education designed to enhance knowledge/attitudes that can help to avoid various online risks ensure appropriate Internet use.
Evidence Based Policy: A policy making method based on actual proof. 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.