Peer-reviewed article
Promoting Cybersecurity Awareness in Primary Education: A Classroom Approach to Online Safety Education
Ilias Krikelas ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This paper describes a four-pillar classroom framework for teaching cybersecurity and online safety to primary school children aged 6–12 in Greece. The approach uses interactive methods like role-playing phishing scenarios, identifying fake URLs, and discussing real-life social media risks. Implementation showed that students improved their ability to identify cyber risks and adopted safer online behaviors. The framework is designed to be low-cost, age-appropriate, and adaptable for different grade levels.
Key points
- The framework covers four pillars: online safety, safe password practices, recognizing harmful software, and responsible digital communication
- Teaching methods include role-playing phishing scenarios, identifying typosquatted URLs, handling pop-up windows, and discussing stranger danger on apps like Snapchat and Viber
- Implementation demonstrated significant increases in student identification of common cyber risks
- Students showed marked improvement in safe online behaviors following the intervention
- The approach integrates relatable examples from students' family experiences to reinforce learning
Limitations
The document does not provide detailed quantitative data on the extent of improvements or comparison with a control group, and it is unclear whether the framework was tested across multiple schools or only in a limited setting. The paper does not report on long-term retention of learning or sustainability of behavior change.
Abstract
As digital technologies increasingly shape the everyday lives of young learners, primary education must respond with proactive, structured strategies to promote cybersecurity awareness. This paper presents a practical, four-pillar, classroom-based framework for introducing key elements of digital safety to children aged 6–12 (Grades 1-6). Inspired by direct teaching practice in Greek primary schools, the proposed model emphasizes age-appropriate instruction on online safety, safe password practices, recognizing and avoiding harmful software, and responsible use of digital communication tools. Teaching strategies include highly interactive and relevant methods such as role-playing phishing scenarios, identifying typosquatted URLs during online searches, avoiding or handling bogus pop-up windows depending on age, and discussing real-life risks of social media chat with strangers – particularly on apps like Snapchat and Viber, which are commonly used by students. The model also integrates relatable examples from students’ family experiences to reinforce learning. Implementation of this framework demonstrated a significant increase in student identification of common cyber risks and a marked improvement in safe online behaviors. Grounded in educational theory and aligned with ICT integration goals, this paper highlights how cybersecurity awareness can be effectively cultivated in the classroom using engaging, low-cost, and adaptable methods. It offers a practical guide, providing educators a scalable pathway toward building digital resilience in the next generation and ultimately contributing to a safer global digital citizenship.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- Four-pillar classroom-based framework teaching online safety, password practices, malware recognition, and responsible digital communication through interactive methods including role-playing, URL identification, and discussion of real-life social media risks
- Population
- Primary school students aged 6–12 (Grades 1-6) in Greek primary schools
Key finding
Significant increase in student identification of common cyber risks