Digital Citizenship Education as a Preventive Framework for Cyberbullying among Students: A Critical Literature Review

Cyberbullying has become a persistent educational and social problem as students increasingly participate in networked digital environments. Although many studies have examined cyberbullying as a psychological, behavioral, or technological risk, fewer studies synthesize how digital citizenship education can function as a preventive framework grounded in ethical communication, rights and responsibilities, digital law, privacy, empathy, and civic participation. This article critically reviews recent literature published between 2020 and 2026 to reconstruct digital citizenship education as a preventive framework for cyberbullying among students. A PRISMA-guided critical literature review was conducted by identifying, screening, and synthesizing peer-reviewed studies on cyberbullying, digital citizenship education, online safety education, civic education, digital literacy, and student wellbeing. From 386 records initially identified, 40 articles were included in the final synthesis. The findings indicate that cyberbullying prevention cannot rely solely on monitoring, sanctions, or reactive counseling. Instead, prevention requires the systematic cultivation of digital civic competencies: ethical awareness, responsible online communication, recognition of digital rights and responsibilities, privacy and security literacy, empathy-based bystander intervention, and critical participation in digital communities. The review contributes a conceptual framework that positions digital citizenship education as a multi-level preventive approach linking student competence, classroom pedagogy, school policy, family engagement, and democratic digital culture. The study recommends integrating digital citizenship education into civic education and broader school curricula through case-based learning, reflective dialogue, peer-led campaigns, reporting literacy, and assessment of digital behavior. Future empirical research is needed to test the effectiveness of this framework across educational levels and sociocultural contexts.