The Role of the Perceptions of School Climate and Teacher Victimization by Students

Abstract

Violence directed toward teachers in schools is relatively understudied in comparison with other school-based forms of peer aggression (e.g., school bullying). Based on the nationally representative Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) 2011-2012, approximately 10% of K-12 public school teachers in the United States, received a threat in the past 12 months and 6% reported being physically attacked. The effects of teacher-directed violence are far reaching and affect not just the victimized teacher, but the larger community itself. In the current study, we used multilevel logistic regression models with state fixed effects to analyze the SASS data set. The analytic sample consisted of 24,070 K-12 teachers in 4,610 public schools and specifically excluded special education teachers and teachers in alternative settings (i.e., online schools, special education centers, juvenile correction facilities). Guided by authoritative school climate theory, we tested for the beneficial associations of disciplinary structure and administrative support with the reduced likelihood of a teacher being threatened or physically attacked by a student, while controlling for teacher (e.g., gender, years of experience, race/ethnicity), school (e.g., school size, percent minority enrollment), and state-level factors. Results indicated that teachers who felt supported by the administration and worked with others (i.e., the principal and other teachers) who enforced the rules consistently were less likely to be victims of threats of injury or physical attacks. Although school climate has been shown to have a positive effect on student outcomes, the current study also suggests that school climate, characterized by consistent rule enforcement and supportive administrators and teachers, may play a role in reducing the likelihood of teacher victimization.

Nonphysical Workplace Violence in a State‐Based Cohort of Education Workers*

“…Consistent with previous studies, we also found that a lack of an adequate leadership response to incidents of WPV can impact education workers negatively, which then results in lower job satisfaction, burnout, teacher turnover, and professional disengagement . Conversely, employees who felt supported by school administration reported greater well‐being, were more likely to remain in their school, and were less exposed to violence . Regardless of occupation, management support is important to workers.…”

“…Regardless of occupation, management support is important to workers. Administrators can support education workers in terms of WPV prevention by developing polices that address violence directed against education workers not just by students, but also by coworkers, parents and others; increasing enforcement of school policies; providing training on verbal de‐escalation techniques during confrontations with students; providing a means of reporting; encouraging mutual support among colleagues; and providing support to colleagues following incidents of victimization …”

“…These physical and nonphysical WPV events may result in job‐related stress, fear, anxiety, depression, and lower emotional and/or physical well‐being among education workers . In addition, this WPV against teachers can also have an impact on quality of teaching, recruitment, and retention of teachers . Consequently, teacher attrition can negatively effect students in their engagement and achievement in school .…”

Teacher victimization by students in China: A multilevel analysis

“…This finding is contradictory to a previous research finding that larger school size was related to more frequent youth violence in schools after controlling for other demographic and school characteristics (Leung & Ferris, 2008). Consistently, previous research has shown that teachers working in alternative schools (i.e., special education centers and juvenile correction facilities) experience higher levels of victimization because they often work with students who may be biologically predisposed to higher rates of aggression or other forms of externalizing behavior (Huang, Eddy, & Camp, 2017). In fact, although total discipline incidents were higher in larger schools, the rate of offenses was actually lower.…”

“…It may be that schools with a lower number of students and higher number of teachers may have more frequent and closer interactions between students and teachers or may have students with more intensive academic and behavioral needs, thus increasing the likelihood of conflicts, aggression or violent behaviors perceived by teachers. Consistently, previous research has shown that teachers working in alternative schools (i.e., special education centers and juvenile correction facilities) experience higher levels of victimization because they often work with students who may be biologically predisposed to higher rates of aggression or other forms of externalizing behavior (Huang, Eddy, & Camp, 2017). Further research is needed to understand the relation between teacher victimization and school size (both the total numbers of students and teachers in schools) with the consideration of the behavioral risks and difficulties of students and the nature of teacher-student relationships or interactions.…”