This study reports on a three-year group randomized controlled trial, the Cyber Friendly
Schools Project (CFSP), aimed to reduce cyberbullying among grade 8 students during
2010-2012. In each year, 14-15 year old student ‘cyber’ leaders acted as catalysts to
develop and implement whole-school activities to reduce cyberbullying-related harms.
This paper examines students’ leadership experiences and the effectiveness of their
training and intervention efforts. A mixed methods research design comprising
interviews and questionnaires was used to collect data from 225 grade 10 students at the
end of their leadership years (2010 & 2011). Four to six cyber leaders were recruited
from each of the 19 intervention schools involved in each year of the study. The cyber
leaders reported high self-efficacy post-training, felt their intervention efforts made a
difference, and experienced a sense of agency, belonging and competence when given
opportunities for authentic leadership. They identified key barriers and enablers to
achieving desired outcomes. Students greatly valued having their voices heard. Their
engagement in the development and delivery of whole-school strategies allowed them to
contribute to and enhance efforts to promote their peers’ mental health and wellbeing.
However, a lack of support from school staff limits students’ effectiveness as changeenablers.peer-reviewe