Understanding teacher‐directed violence and related turnover through a school climate framework

Abstract

Teacher turnover is an issue of national significance and has worsened since the start of the COVID‐19 pandemic. Teacher‐directed violence and teacher turnover can significantly impact school life for students, staff, and communities. Using Wang and Degol's school climate framework, we examined school characteristics that contribute to teacher‐directed violence and related turnover. The current study examines the qualitative experiences of 403 teachers who reported that their most upsetting incidents of violence contributed to desires to leave the profession, transfer, or retire. Many teachers indicated concerns about safety and community factors, including parent–teacher relationships and community violence. Educators emphasized issues related to administrators, describing a lack of support and poor leadership. Finally, teachers discussed concerns with policy on both school and government levels. Improving school climate may be one avenue for decreasing teacher‐directed violence and preventing turnover.

Teacher Victimization by Students, Their Parents, and School Staff: Prevalence and Links with Teachers’ Life Satisfaction in a Lithuanian Sample

“…In other words, teachers who are victimized by colleagues are more likely to experience victimization from students and parents, which could further damage their life satisfaction. These findings underscore the importance of non-violent communication [124] and policies in educational environments, starting from school-staff interactions to create a supportive and compassionate school climate for the flourishing of teachers and students [10,44,45,111,113,121]. Thus, this study highlights the need for effective interventions and policies to prevent teacher victimization, which could include professional development for teachers and administrators on identifying and addressing bullying, creating supportive networks within schools, and fostering a school culture that values respect, compassion, and inclusivity, as outlined in previous research [113,125].…”

“…Addressing teacher victimization is crucial for creating a positive and supportive educational environment, as teacher-directed violence impacts school climate, and even student academic and behavioral outcomes [9,10,[42][43][44][45][46]. Exposure to violence, emotional exhaustion, and low professional achievement by teachers contribute to poor student performance in school [47,48].…”

“…Teachers who feel supported by the administration and work in environments where rules are consistently enforced are less likely to fall victim to teacher-directed violence [46,[62][63][64]. The lack of support from administrators has been identified as a factor that negatively impacts teachers' feelings, interpersonal challenges, and school systems and policies [2,7,23,44,65,66]. Perceived school support has been identified as having a direct effect on exposure to school violence, subjective well-being, and professional disengagement in teachers [67].…”

Violence and aggression against educators and school personnel, retention, stress, and training needs: National survey results.

“…Studies have found that teachers' mental health and COVID-19 (National Education Association, 2022) are associated with intentions to transfer or quit. Peist et al (2024) found that safety (e.g., physical and emotional well-being), community (e.g., family, community, and parent support), school (e.g., administrator lack of support related to violence), and societal factors (e.g., policies, resources) contribute to violence and turnover intentions, which lead to staff shortages.…”

Teacher-directed violence and anxiety and stress: Predicting intentions to transfer and quit.

“…There are various school climate factors that lead to teacher turnover, including declining teacher mental health, perceived lack of support from parents, administrators, and community members, concerns with discipline policies, classroom placement, low pay, and inadequate funding and resources (e.g., EdWeek Research Center, 2022; Peist et al, 2023). Further, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated transfer and quit rates in schools (National Education Association [NEA] & GBAO Strategies, 2022).…”