Towards a better understanding and theoretically based assessment of privacy conceptions in children and adolescents
How children and adolescents understand privacy, both in the physical and digital domains, has a significant influence on their future decisions regarding data handling, trust, social interaction, and participation in society (Masur, 2020). Privacy literacy is a key future skill (Kumar, 2023) because data breaches are on the rise, data protection laws such as the GDPR are evolving, and advancing digitalization is leading to ever more sensitive data structures. In addition, public awareness of privacy risks is increasing, while technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data and facial recognition are fundamentally changing the data protection landscape. Questions regarding the balance between surveillance, freedom, and privacy remain unresolved.
Nevertheless, there is no single definition of privacy (Sheehan, 2002; Solove, 2006; Nissenbaum, 2009; Holvast, 2009; Livingstone et al., 2019; Malkin, 2023). Even more problematic is the fact that little is known about how children and adolescents conceptualize privacy (Kumar et al., 2017; Zhang-Kennedy et al., 2016; Boerman et al., 2021).
In didactics, prior knowledge, assumptions, and learners’ everyday world play a central role in the learning process. Theoretical frameworks, such as educational reconstruction (Kattmann et al., 1997; Bliesmer & Komorek, 2023) and conceptual change (Posner et al., 1982; Chi, 1992; Vosniadou & Brewer, 1992; Vosniadou, 2008; Potvin et al., 2020), show that effective learning processes must tie in with students‘ existing ideas by comparing and structurally relating them to scientific ideas.
This dissertation follows a three-step approach. In a systematic literature review, existing research on children's and adolescents’ understanding of privacy is analyzed. Based on this, a heuristic didactic model is developed that integrates insights from various disciplines. Finally, a test instrument will be created that makes privacy literacy measurable and transferable for use in schools.
This research closes a central gap in science by providing sound insights into the mental conceptions of privacy among children and adolescents. For practitioners, the developed measurement tool provides a way to systematically record and specifically promote privacy literacy for the first time. Therefore, this dissertation not only provides a theoretical basis for future research but also a practical tool to better prepare children and young people for the digital challenges of the future.
(Dissertationsprojekt von Raffael Meier; Betreuung: Prof. Dr. Eva Marinus [PHSZ] & Elisabeth Moser-Opitz [UZH]; Finanzierung: Interne Projektförderung und OFP PHSZ)
