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Teacher-targeted bullying and harassment in Australian schools: a challenge to teacher wellbeing
British Journal of Sociology of Education
Abstract
This article sets out discursive issues surrounding bullying and harassment against teachers. This problematic phenomenon of teachers being bullied by students does not have the discursive policy framework to realistically and even-handedly enable discussion in the public arena or political and policy environments. This discussion chronicles our journey towards greater conceptual clarity and appropriate nomenclature about bullying and harassing behaviours directed against teachers. International studies have identified teacher-targeted bullying by students as a real and detrimental issue for teacher wellbeing. We present a sampling of international research that grapples with the challenge of defining the phenomenon of teachers as targets of intentional bullying and harassment by students. We consider Australian studies conducted in the past twenty years that address teachers’ perceptions of being bullied. Finally, we propose that this phenomenon is likely to continue until there is sufficient support to start a cultural shift towards more respectful treatment of teachers.
... They argue that teachers' experiences of bullying and violence from students is under acknowledged, considered, and addressed in policy where the focus is generally on students. They cite government and teacher association reports from the 1990s that documented violence towards teachers and teacher union concern over assaults on their members (Burns et al., 2020). Their account demonstrates that teachers are left feeling unsafe, emotionally exhausted and with impaired wellbeing and can feel 'trapped' by their duty of care to stay in the classroom even if they feel threatened (Burns et al., 2020). ...
... They cite government and teacher association reports from the 1990s that documented violence towards teachers and teacher union concern over assaults on their members (Burns et al., 2020). Their account demonstrates that teachers are left feeling unsafe, emotionally exhausted and with impaired wellbeing and can feel 'trapped' by their duty of care to stay in the classroom even if they feel threatened (Burns et al., 2020). These are important issues to consider in relation to school discipline, however, the focus on teachers as opposed to students can set up a binary that may fail to comprehend how student and teacher experiences of violence at school might be related, and be influenced by systemic oppressions and exclusions as noted in the above two sections on racialisation and disability. ...
... Arguably all four of the top ranked items are interdependent, such that larger class sizes make behaviour management more difficult, which both add to workloads and are connected to school management styles and cultures. Reading this and the Burns et al. (2020) research together suggests that some of the school system changes teachers believe will improve their wellbeing may contribute to schools in which teachers and students experience less violence and have opportunities for building better relationships. ...
Exclusionary school discipline is an emerging field of research in Australia, whereas it is more established in contexts such as the United States and United Kingdom. In this article we, therefore, seek to understand how exclusionary school discipline has been examined by Australian education researchers working across a range of disciplines. We conducted a critical literature review, analysing research directly and indirectly investigating school discipline and exclusion and (1) disability; (2) racialisation; (3) teacher safety and relationships with students; and 4) non-punitive responses to ‘student disruption’. The insights from this body of research demonstrate the need for further research that seeks to understand exclusionary school discipline within longer histories of settler colonialism and influenced by structural factors such as racism and ableism. Further, there are opportunities for research that engages the collective capacity of schools and communities in imagining radically different approaches to school and inclusion, that transform injustices and build solidarities.
... The international literature has documented bullying and harassment against women academics in the higher education (HE) sector in many national jurisdictions, even before looking into specific studies undertaken in any one country (Burns, Fogelgarn, & Billett, 2020). The 'culturalist thesis' proposed by D 'Cruz, Noronha, Mendonca, and Bhatt (2021) aimed to integrate global research findings while also understanding bullying within the specifics of national and administrative jurisdictions. ...
... Ostracism was a distinctive emphasis in the language describing bullying behaviors that target university academics. At present this relevant and distinctive term is not emphasized internationally as much as it might be in developing the field's lexicon of terms for describing bullying and harassment behaviors (Burns et al., 2020). From the qualitative accounts, important links with other international researchers could be developed. ...
... Despite research on workplace violence, academics have paid little attention to bullying in their institutions, even though the evidence is accumulating that higher education institutions are no exception to the discourse maintaining this silence (Keashly & Neuman, 2010). Most studies about bullying in higher education focus on hostile, humiliating behaviours from students and professors in lectures (Braxton & Bayer, 1999). Yet there is a wealth of work on staff conflict and misconduct in higher education (Cameron et al., 2005;Euben & Lee, 2006;Holton, 1996) that emphasises structural and interpersonal chances for disagreement and possible hostile behaviour in these environments. ...
... Autoethnography uses a spectrum of personal reflection on experiences and input from collaborators to draw out this information (Burns et al., 2020). As academic colleagues, we came together to talk about our experiences of bullying, a topic of significance in each of our lives. ...
ABSTRACT
Women in Pakistan’s higher education face barriers that silence their voices from reporting experiences of being bullied by colleagues and superiors. This situation contradicts universities’ role as houses of learning and agents of progressively improving culture and society. This group autoethnography presents three accounts by women academics challenging this taboo against speaking out. Without the silence being repeatedly broken, this toxic social phenomenon continues. Studies of women’s personal stories of being ostracised and bullied complement the emerging quantitative literature about bullying against women academics
in higher education institutions. The present narratives about
being the targets of bullying individuals are framed within national and international literature. Chronicling such bullying episodes increases recognition of personal, family, and career trauma for women academics. More qualitative accounts will further document the conduct by which women are ostracised, disrespected, and burdened with unfair extra work. Naming such behaviors overcomes the current silence, which leaves this conduct unacknowledged.
... It has been reported by McMahon et al., (2014) that harassment of teachers is more common than other forms of violence. According to Burns, Fogelgarn and Billett (2020), teacher-targeted bullying and harassment by learners has a real, detrimental, and continuing impact which is negative on teacher wellbeing. Kõiv (2015) conducted a study on teacher-targeted bullying in Estonian schools over a ten-year period from 2003-2013, which found that bullying or harassment against teachers increased on average by 300% over that period. ...
... Verbal abuse (insults, slander), intimidation, and disrespecting the instructions of the teacher are the most common source of violence endured by most of the teachers (Kopecký & Szotkowskis, 2017). Many teachers have reported acts of violence ranging from personal property damage to some being threatened with physical violence by the learners (Burns et al., 2020). This extends to fist fighting and throwing dangerous weapons at them. ...
The study explores the experiences of secondary school teacher-directed violence. Violence directed at teachers can have a negative attitude towards their job, as well as not performing to expectations. Thus, it is important to increase knowledge regarding violence as educators experience it, so as to be able to work preventively and minimise the violence. The study is guided by the ınterpretative phenomenological analysis which seeks to understand the experiences of teacher-directed violence. Interviews were conducted with 10 teachers from various secondary schools at a neutral venue outside the respondents’ schools and homes. Analysis revealed five main themes, namely absenteeism due to fear, fear for their safety, teacher turnover as result of violence, harassment, and intimidation. The findings revealed that more serious acts of violence on teachers affected their performance at school. If not addressed, this problem of violence has the capacity to render the education system dysfunctional. In conclusion, authorities must act against this threat on teachers in order to normalise the situation at schools throughout the country.
... Jedná se o různé nevhodné sexuální chování či jiné indiskrétní otázky směrem od žáka k učiteli. Dále to pak může být snaha s vyučujícím navazovat intimní vztah či projevovat tímto způsobem dominantní chování(Burns et al. 2020). Scénář, který sytí toto chování, byl vyvinut pouze jeden. ...
Publikace s názvem Podpora rozvoje wellbeingu na školách se zaměřuje na jednu ze současných výzev školství – aktuální problémy mladé generace. Tématem není jen wellbeing žáků, ale také (budoucích) učitelů na různých stupních škol a školních psychologů.
Publikace je rozdělena do jedenácti kapitol, z nichž každá se věnuje specifickému aspektu wellbeingu ve školním prostředí. Kapitoly mapují odlišná prostředí, různorodé přístupy i metody zkoumání školní reality, zároveň publikace zahrnuje i teoreticky orientované kapitoly. I přes tuto rozmanitost na všech úrovních sledovaného tématu je možné nalézt jednotící prvek – kapitoly přinášejí konkrétní doporučení a postupy využitelné ve školní praxi v oblasti podpory wellbeingu. Cílem je přispět k odborné diskuzi o wellbeingu ve školství a nabídnout konkrétní podněty k jeho možnému začlenění do přípravy budoucích učitelů i následné podpory pedagogických pracovníků.
... This is consistent with a study from Great Britain in which 15% of teachers were victims of cyberbullying, and one of the most common forms of cyberbullying was the use of degrading photographs (Lipsett, 2009). Another example is a study conducted in Australia, which raises discursive issues around harassment and bullying against teachers, highlighting the lack of a policy framework that allows for a realistic and unbiased discussion in the public arena or in political and regulatory settings (Burns et al., 2020). ...
... These findings relate to a major study investigating Australian teachers' perceptions of their work, which revealed that a quarter of survey participants reported feeling unsafe in their workplace, highlighting the increasingly negative attitudes and behaviours shown by students and parents (Longmuir et al., 2022). Given these findings, the suggestion that teachers are bullied daily in their professions (Billett et al., 2019), and that teacher-targeted bullying is a concern across the globe with detrimental effects on teacher wellbeing (Burns et al., 2020), it is perhaps not surprising that teachers in the present study viewed feeling safe as central to the concept of wellbeing at work. Another possible explanation, from a physical safety perspective, could point to the enduring effects of the COVID-19 pandemic (Billett et al., 2022;Longmuir et al., 2022). ...
... 617). Furthermore, workplace bullying by parents and students has also arisen as a significant concern (Burns et al., 2020;Fogelgarn et al., 2019;Longmuir et al., 2022). Although teachers may additionally report leaders as being significant to workplace pressures and morale (Geiger & Pivivarova, 2018), Heffernan et al. (2022b) have cautioned that school leaders are also suffering from their own exceptionally high stress levels both in Australia and internationally such as in the United Kingdom (Thomson et al., 2021) and the United States of America (Reid, 2022). ...
Current teacher attrition in Australia and globally has created an untenable situation for many schools, teachers and the profession. This paper reports on research that examined the critical issue of teacher attrition from the perspective of former classroom teachers and school leaders. Although there is extensive national and global research related to teacher shortages and intentions to leave the teaching profession, minimal research has sought insights from those who have left the profession in Australia, including ascertaining what they are doing now. Using an online survey, data were collected from 256 former teachers from all states and territories, sectors and career stages who had left the profession between 2016 and 2022. Using descriptive statistical and thematic analysis, this study highlights the potential loss to teaching and the education profession more broadly due to teacher attrition. For these participants, the reasons for leaving were often multifaceted and the process of leaving was often protracted. Many of these former teachers have maintained links to the education profession occupying various associated roles and positions. We call for a reconsideration of the ways that strategies to ameliorate teacher attrition are conceptualised and implemented.
... Our own exploratory empirical work has provided accounts of bullying directed against teachers in small regional towns. As we have worked through the evidence of our survey and semi-structured interviews, our online survey was not location-specific, but in our qualitative analysis elements of rural location came to the fore in some instances, and we are working further on this aspect Burns, Fogelgarn, Billett, 2020;. At the same time, in encouraging rural education inquiry, we want to avoid an essentialist or oppositional view that rural education is inherently different and contrasting. ...
... Cyberbullying by teenage students through Facebook Messenger emulated humiliation and mental disturbances on the mind of teachers ensuing in the loss of a sense of efficacy, confidence, job satisfaction and self-esteem, and increment of self-aversion, anxiety, stress, fear and tension. Teachers' loss of confidence due to their students' bullying behaviour through Facebook Messenger finds resonance in earlier studies (Burns et al., 2020;Kopecky & Szotkowski, 2017) in different contexts, which reported that students' bullying activities on social media resulted in the loss of teachers' concentration, the rise of their stress and poor performance. Similarly, further insights on bullying that generated a feeling of helplessness, uselessness and ineffectiveness in the mind of teachers are consistent with the existing literature (Mishna et al., 2020). ...
Teachers can be potential victims of cyberbullying, particularly targeted by their students at their workplaces. The growing use of social media has been observed promoting cyberbullying in addition to face-to-face bullying. Often neglected by academic organisations and policymakers, cyberbullying has become one of the biggest challenges for teachers to manage normal teaching and learning. This article reports an examination of teachers’ experiences of how they were cyberbullied by students particularly on social media and their coping mechanisms. This qualitative study utilised online semi-structured interviews with twenty teachers and observation of their Facebook account to explore their familiarities with the digital era agitations. Findings indicate how teachers on social media become victims of trivial belittling, unethical requests, uninvited sexual advances made by students and colleagues, insolence, sabotaging of shared contents and trolling of manipulative contents. While this article explored individual coping strategies of sharing, ignoring and enhancing self-efficacy to handle technology strongly and confidently, it concludes with the implications of collaborative coordination necessary for the development of strong policies and strict cyber laws for ensuring teachers’ cybersecurity in similar contexts.
... Teacher-directed violence (including bullying) by students is an issue around the world with increasing research interest over past few decades in many cultural context (Longobardi et al., 2019;Montgomery, 2019) and with challenges for conceptual clarity of the phenomenon of teachers as targets of bullying by studentsteacher-targeted bullying (TTB), providing the causal direction of who is bullying whom (Burns et al., 2020). The bullying of teachers by students differs in nature from school and workplace bullying taking place at peer level. ...
A teacher recounts two experiences of being blamed by parents and her emotional responses. The chapter responds to this story by exploring different perspectives on the teacher’s reactions framing a pragmatic introduction to research on teacher emotions. First, the emotion of anger is discussed as a common emotional response to hurt. We suggest that teachers might benefit from developing strategies for coping with anger in their professional life when this emotion occurs. Second, we contrast the individual psychological perspective on emotions with the social constructivist perspective, showing how each produces a different interpretation of the teacher’s story. The chapter suggests pragmatic ways that teachers can approach the student–teacher and parent–teacher relationships, from an understanding that relational care is central to avoiding emotional exhaustion, and extends this analysis to consider the school context. Finally, we consider ways that changes at the level of society might contribute towards teachers’ emotional wellbeing.
Accounts detailing ‘pedagogies of discomfort’ argue that unsettling the positionalities of comfortable students affords a basis for interrogating injustice. By asking comfortable students to question their privilege, pedagogies of discomfort seek to move students toward critically informed action by problematising the normative assumptions that sustain social injustice. Yet, questions remain regarding who constitutes the focus for these discomforting incursions. This paper argues that moving beyond presumptive attributions of privilege represents an important element in the enactment of inclusive modes of education that remain relevant to all students’ lives and experiences. The paper outlines an argument for a pedagogy of comfort that seeks to suspend the ascription of culpability and guilt by engaging students in critically conscious and inclusive enactments of teaching and learning that recognise schools as sites of increasing alienation and despair for all students.
Purpose
The purpose of this scoping rapid review was to identify and analyse existing qualitative methodologies that have been used to investigate K-12 teachers' lived experiences of adult cyber abuse as a result of student content “going viral” to propose a novel methodological stance incorporating the Australian Online Safety Act 2021.
Design/methodology/approach
A search of Google Scholar was conducted using keywords and phrases related to cyber trauma, teachers, qualitative methods and the Online Safety Act. Inclusion criteria for the review were: (1) published in English, (2) focused on teachers' experiences of online abuse and cyberbullying associated with viral posts and (3) employed a qualitative inquiry methodology. Full-text articles were obtained for those that met the inclusion criteria. Data were extracted and analysed using a PRISMA flowchart and inductive thematic analysis.
Findings
This methodology is considered to be justified, as the eSafety Commissioner's Safety-by-Design principles do not have any legal or regulatory enforceability, whereas the Online Safety Act 2021 provides the Australian eSafety Commissioner an avenue to drive greater algorithmic transparency and accountability.
Research limitations/implications
The findings of this review informed the development of a novel methodological stance for investigating Australian teachers' lived experiences of adult cyber abuse associated with viral posts. It provides a methodological positioning to support trauma informed qualitative research into adult cyber abuse, informed by the work of the eSafety Commissioner and the Online Safety Act.
Originality/value
Cybertrauma is described as “any trauma that is a result of self- or, other-directed interaction with, mediated through, or from any electronic Internet/cyberspace ready device or machine learning algorithm, that results in impact now or the future” (Knibbs, 2021). It may result from the tracking of movement through various mobile phone features and applications such as location sharing, non-consensual monitoring of social media, and humiliation or punishment through the sharing of intimate images online, through to direct messages of abuse or threats of violence or humiliation. These actions are further perpetuated through automated searches, insights and recommendations on social media (i.e. engagement metrics promote memes, Facebook posts, Tweets, Tiktoks, Youtubes and so on). This is a novel methodology, as it not only considers direct cybertrauma but also automated forms of cybertrauma.
Bullying in school has become an international concern in recent years, and the issue became urgent after school closure during COVID Pandemic. International studies have identified teacher-targeted bullying by students as a real and harmful issue for teacher wellbeing. Our paper sets out discursive issues surrounding bullying against teachers as targets of intentional bullying. It reports on the findings of a small-scale, extant, qualitative research study on commenters’ understanding of the antecedents of teacher-targeted bullying. The aim was to gain insights into the teachers´ targeted bullying from the perspective of teacher victims. We conducted a qualitative descriptive research design stemming from semi-structured interviews with victims of teacher-targeted bullying. A thematic content analysis of the data was generated from interviews with seventeen victimized teachers as a snowball sampling. The sample consisted of male (n = 7) and female (n = 10) participants from urban school locations in the capital of Czech Republic. The focus of our study was to determine how the teachers who had been experiencing bullying by their students described and perceived the nature and consequences attributed to such bullying. The findings indicate that the victims of teacher-targeted bullying were exposed repeatedly over long time verbal and nonverbal bullying, ignoring the teaching activities and other threats directed against teachers. Our results suggest bullying had a negative influence on the victims’ private lives (family, colleagues), physical and mental health and self-esteem.
Student violence directed at school educators appears to be increasing, thus it is important to identify practical strategies that educators use to prevent and cope with occupational violence. This observational study surveyed 369 government primary school staff in the Australian Capital Territory. Sixty per cent of respondents reported abusive language, 42% physical aggression, and 43% experienced other threatening behaviour from students at least weekly. More than one-third of respondents rated the impact of these experiences as moderate or higher. The most effective prevention strategies, according to respondents, were the educator’s response to the threat, focusing on the student’s needs, working collaboratively, and using antecedent control. The most effective coping strategies were debriefing, self-care, and work support. The most helpful sources of support were workplace colleagues, partners, school leaders, and friends. This study offers a solution-focused perspective about what works in preventing and coping with occupational violence from educators’ points of view.
Multiperspectivity on School Bullying is unique in providing a comprehensive account of school bullying from the perspectives of schools, teachers, parents, students and institutional authorities. It identifies diverse viewpoints and discusses their implications for addressing bullying and thereby improving the mental health and well-being of children. Drawing on findings from studies conducted in a wide range of countries, including those undertaken by the author in his own country, Australia, this book examines experiences of bullying and debates around how bullying can be best understood, managed and discouraged. It outlines what is needed before an agreed understanding of the problem can be reached and more effective anti-bullying programs devised and implemented. The book examines both historical and cultural factors relating to bullying and violence; major theoretical and research perspectives on bullying; views of different social groups affected by bullying; and how different institutional authorities view school bullying. It highlights the need for a multiperspectivity approach to bullying, taking into account and evaluating a variety of viewpoints that are currently held. This book will be of great interest to academics, researchers and students in the fields of bullying, wellbeing and mental health in schools. It will also be valuable reading for educational leaders around the globe.
This report presents the average scores for all New Zealand primary school leaders on the main dimensions of the psychosocial work environment and health and wellbeing. Where possible, leaders’ responses in 2021 are compared with the average scores for the New Zealand working population to illustrate the similarities and unique challenges of leaders’ work. We also compare leaders’ responses in 2021 with the responses of leaders in previous rounds of the survey
(2016 to 2020) to show changes over time.
In this chapter, we consider how teacher professionalism is challenged by teacher-targeted bullying and harassment (TTBH) in Australian schools. Informed by findings from our exploratory mixed method study of TTBH in Australia, the incidence of student bullying towards teachers suggests that conventional views of professionalism need rethinking. International research reveals that TTBH occurs irrespective of an individual’s innate gifts, talents, experience, commitment or traits. TTBH has been attributed to a range of factors external to personal professional expertise and its incidence undermines or compromises the sustained practice of victimised teachers. Yet, in our neoliberal climate of governmentality, where performativity pressures inhibit disclosure of struggle, TTBH has been invisibilised. In a culture dominated by managerialism, standards and compliance, the right of teachers to a safe workplace needs urgent redress. Until government policy explicitly addresses the provenance and extent of this issue, teacher vulnerability to student and parent-enacted TTBH threatens teacher well-being.
This study was undertaken in 2018 with funding from the DVC(R) Research Engagement Income Growth Fund and HuSS IRGS Supplementary Support Fund. It received the support of the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (Ahisa) and the Australian Education Union (Victoria branch). This project aimed to shed light on teachers' experiences of feeling bullied and victimised while working in Australia’s Independent and Public Schools and presents findings of the incidence and impact of student and parental Teacher Targeted Bullying and Harassment (TTBH). To our knowledge, this is the first research of its kind in Australia.
It was found that while there is mounting evidence that teachers suffer ongoing incidences of Teacher Targeted Bullying and Harassment, there is a paucity of research which explores teachers' reports of being bullied by students and parents. It also found that many teachers feel they struggle to feel respected professionally and believe their reports of teacher targeted bullying and harassment are often ignored or downplayed by management and peak bodies. Finally, it was found that teacher targeted bullying and harassment by students and parents has detrimental effects on a teacher’s sense of self-efficacy and wellbeing and may contribute to an unsafe workplace.
Learner-to-teacher bullying is a focus area that has not been widely researched. The current research, underpinned by the ecosystemic paradigm, examined the proportion of teachers who reported exposure to bullying by learners. The study was carried out by using the Learner-to-teacher Bullying Questionnaire developed for this research. Additionally, the potential effect that learner-to-teacher bullying may have on teachers’ experience of mental health was investigated using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Questionnaire. In a convenience sample consisting of 153 public secondary school teachers in the Tshwane area, 62.1% of the teachers reported exposure to verbal bullying, 34.6% to physical bullying, 27% to indirect bullying, and 6.6% to cyber bullying. Mann-Whitney U Tests were performed and indicated significant differences in teachers’ mean anxiety and depression scores across the four types of learner-to-teacher bullying. Learner-to-teacher bullying can result in negative emotions, disempowerment, low morale, and low motivation of various roleplayers in the school system. It is thus of vital importance to protect teachers, create adequate resources to eliminate learner-to-teacher bullying, and work towards improving teachers’ mental health. © 2018, South African Journal of Education. All rights reserved.
Despite the continual rise in research into school bullying worldwide, comparatively little has been reported on actions that have been taken by schools to counter the problem. This article reports on a small-scale, exploratory study that was designed to provide an account of strategies that were being undertaken in 25 Australian government schools catering for mainstream students. It examines the reported use of both proactive and reactive strategies, and their frequency and perceived effectiveness. It reveals a wide diversity of practices. Strengths and limitations of teacher-directed activities are described, comparisons are made with anti-bullying strategies employed outside Australia, and suggestions are made to enhance the effectiveness of anti-bullying practices.
This article looks at educators' understanding of workplace bullying through the lens of a two-dimensional model of bullying. Educators, who were furthering their studies at the University of the Free State, were invited to take part in a study on different types of bullying. Deductive, directed content analysis was used to analyse 59 participants' descriptions of workplace bullying. The study found that the theoretical model provided a valuable framework for studying bullying in this context. The analysis of the educators' descriptions provided the following insights about the relational and organisational foundations of workplace bullying: (1) The relational powerless victims are subjected to public humiliation, disregard, isolation and discrimination. The bullying of educators results in escalating apathy and disempowerment, to the detriment of their professional and private wellbeing. (2) Bullying is likely to occur in schools where organisational chaos reigns. Such schools are characterised by incompetent, unprincipled, abusive leadership, lack of accountability, fairness and transparency. (3) There is interplay between relational powerlessness and organisational chaos, i.e. the absence of principled leadership, accountability and transparency gives rise to workplace bullying.
There is now a strong body of evidence (e.g. Hattie, 2009; Roorda et al., 2011) that confirms the value of positive teacher-student relationships for learning and behaviour. The quality of relationships in a school, however, also impacts on teacher wellbeing and their ability to cope well with the many and varied stresses that are the hallmarks of the profession. Teacher attrition is a major concern in the Western world – how teachers feel makes a difference to their ability to respond effectively to the challenges they face.
This article explores issues of social capital within the learning environment and how this impacts on all stakeholders within an ecological framework. It examines how teacher resilience might be enhanced by specific actions that promote positive feelings of belonging, respect, value, and trust. The article examines international research on these issues, including a specific qualitative study in six schools in Australia. Findings are confirmed and illustrated by an online survey on student wellbeing.
The aim of the study was to describe changes in the prevalence of teacher multi-targeted workplace bullying in Estonia by means of a repeated cross-sectional design comparing two studies conducted 10 years apart. A comparison was conducted between participants from teachers’ self reports (n=573) in 2003 and those of (n=564) in 2013. The findings show a substantial increase during ten years in the prevalence of teacher targeted bullying in the teacher-pupil, teacher-teacher, teacher-school administrative staff, teacher-school maintenance staff, and teacher-parent relationships across different categories of victimization: Threat to professional status, threat to personal standing, isolation, and physical aggression.
This paper examines the current shape of teacher professional learning, or in-service teacher education, in Australia. Increasingly, teacher professional learning is positioned as both a sure-fire solution to some of the intransigent educational problems of our time, as well as a policy problem in and of itself. In this paper I explore some of the dominant discourses surrounding teacher learning, such as those related to professional standards, teacher professionalism and teacher quality, which regard teacher learning predominantly as about skill acquisition and competency development. I argue that the civil society aspirations of the Melbourne Declaration will better be met by conceptualising teacher professional learning as ‘identity work’. The paper concludes with some questions that might be used to guide thinking about teacher learning and development consistent with these aspirations.
This paper reports on a study that investigated the extent to which student behaviour is a concern for school teachers. A questionnaire was used to investigate teachers' views about student behaviour in their classes. The results suggest that low-level disruptive and disengaged student behaviours occur frequently and teachers find them difficult to manage. Aggressive and anti-social behaviours occur infrequently. Teachers employ strategies to manage unproductive behaviours that locate the problem with the student. This paper argues that teachers could benefit from understanding how the classroom ecology influences engagement and therefore student behaviour, rather than focusing on 'fixing' unproductive behaviour. Available: http://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol39/iss6/4/
I report on findings emanating from in-depth personal interviews with victims of educator-targeted bullying (ETB). Qualitative content analysis was used to analyse the narratives. The findings indicate that the victims of ETB were exposed repeatedly over time to verbal, non-verbal, psychological, and physical abuse during and after school hours. ETB had a negative influence on the victims' private lives, as well as on teaching and on learning. Lastly, I found that ETB may lead to a breakdown of relations between victims and the bullies' parents and the members of the community in which schools are situated.
Previous studies suggest that many teachers worldwide are bullied by students. However, deeper understanding of teachers' bullying experiences; of their interpretations of the causes of bullying; and of how they cope with these experiences, is lacking. Using an Internet survey we examined the attributions made by Finnish elementary and lower secondary school teachers for their victimisation; the people with whom they share their experiences; and the links between these. Three kinds of attribution were identified: student-related, institution-related, and teacher-related. Selection of the persons with whom teachers shared their experiences was determined by the nature of the attributions given for victimisation.
School discipline addresses schoolwide, classroom, and individual student needs through broad prevention, targeted intervention, and development of self-discipline. Schools often respond to disruptive students with exclusionary and punitive approaches that have limited value. This article surveys three approaches to improving school discipline practices and student behavior: ecological approaches to classroom management; schoolwide positive behavioral supports; and social and emotional learning. The article examines their epistemological and empirical roots and supporting research, suggesting ways to combine approaches.
Violence directed against K–12 teachers is a serious problem that demands the immediate attention of researchers, providers of teacher pre-service and in-service training, school administrators, community leaders, and policymakers. Surprisingly, little research has been conducted on this growing problem despite the broad impact teacher victimization can have on schooling, recruitment, and retention of highly effective teachers and on student academic and behavioral outcomes. Psychologists should play a leadership role in mitigating school violence, including violence directed toward teachers. There is a need for psychologists to conduct research accurately assessing the types and scope of violence that teachers experience; to comprehensively evaluate the individual, classroom, school, community, institutional, and cultural contextual factors that might predict and/or explain types of teacher violence; and to examine the effectiveness and sustainability of classroom, school, and district-wide prevention and intervention strategies that target teacher violence in school systems. Collectively, the work of psychologists in this area could have a substantial impact on schooling, teacher experience and retention, and overall student performance.
This study reports preliminary findings of a national survey on student violence against teachers in Taiwanese schools; 14,022 students from elementary to high school (grades 4 to 12) participate in this study. Students were given a structured and anonymous questionnaire including a scale for reporting their violent behavior against teachers. Findings suggest the prevalence of violence against teachers varies by gender, grade level, and school type. A majority of perpetrators reported engaging in violence because of a teacher's unreasonable expectations. Findings indicate that intervention programs need to focus on promoting the quality of teacher-student interactions as a major prevention variable.
This paper presents two studies investigating student violence against teachers in Slovakian secondary schools. The studies aimed at gauging the prevalence of student violence (Study 1) and at testing the hypothesis that teacher well-being can be explained by student violence and by teachers' belief in a just world (BJW) (Study 2). Study 1 examined a representative sample of 364 teachers in one of the eight Slovakian provinces, and found that 177 (49%) of them reported at least one experience of violence in the last 30 days. Reports of violence were particularly widespread in vocational schools in the provincial capital. Study 2 investigated a sample of 108 teachers at Slovakian vocational schools, and found that 60 (55%) of them reported at least one experience of violence in the last 15 days. The more violence the teachers reported, the more often they experienced negative affect, the less often they experienced positive affect, and the less satisfied they were with life. Finally, the BJW was adaptively associated with teacher well-being in terms of life satisfaction and positive affect. For victims of violence, BJW was further associated with negative affect: the more they believed in a just world, the less frequently they experienced negative affect. Consequences for research on teacher health and organizational justice research are discussed.
Most studies of school violence have focused on students. Consequently, precursors and consequences of violence experienced by teachers are less well documented. Previous research indicates that (a) verbal victimization, student misbehaviour and perceived violence at school impair teacher emotional well-being, (b) support from principal and colleagues reduces these difficulties and fosters well-being, (c) well-being impacts on professional involvement. However, it is still not clear how those variables relate to each other.
To test and compare - through structural equation modelling - two models of the relationships between perceived school support, exposure to school violence, subjective well-being and professional disengagement. To test - through multigroup analysis - the buffering effect of school support between school violence and well-being.
Participants in this study were 487 French-speaking teachers (57% female) randomly selected from 24 secondary schools in Belgium.
Participants completed a questionnaire on school leadership, relationships with colleagues, verbal victimization, students' misbehaviour, perceived violence, depression, somatization, anxiety and professional disengagement.
The results support a model in which perceived school support has a direct effect on exposure to school violence, subjective well-being and professional disengagement, while the effect of school violence on disengagement is totally mediated by well-being. No evidence of a moderating effect of school support was found.
The results of this study suggest that the negative emotional impact of some forms of school violence could be an important factor in a teacher's intention to leave, and that school support could be even more important for both teacher emotional well-being and professional disengagement.
The student bullying of teachers (SBT) is a distinct, complex and multi-faceted problem which was first empirically examined in the late 1990s by researchers in Finland (Kivivuori, 1996) and in the United Kingdom (Terry, 1998; Pervin and Turner, 1998) who suggested that particular patterns and characteristics of student behaviour towards teachers may be identified as bullying, rather than general disruptive behaviour or violence. SBT is an emerging global issue, yet it is under-recognised in academic, societal and political spheres compared with violence against teachers and other forms of bullying, resulting in limited conceptual understanding and awareness of the phenomenon. An in-depth understanding of SBT is fundamental to establishing an effective response to address the issue. Therefore, this article seeks to advance conceptual understanding and awareness of SBT and to highlight the ways in which the phenomenon may be manifested. The difficulties associated with establishing a definitive definition of SBT are explored under the three central components of a bullying definition –intent to harm, repetition and power imbalance. These components are discussed in relation to the unique qualities and complexities of SBT. The manifestation and prevalence of SBT both in Ireland and in an international context are also explored.
Informed by the most up-to-date research from around the world, as well as examples of good practice, this handbook analyzes values education in the context of a range of school-based measures associated with student wellbeing. These include social, emotional, moral and spiritual growth – elements that seem to be present where intellectual advancement and academic achievement are being maximized. This text comes as ‘values education’ widens in scope from being concerned with morality, ethics, civics and citizenship to a broader definition synonymous with a holistic approach to education in general. This expanded purview is frequently described as pedagogy relating to ‘values’ and ‘wellbeing’.
This contemporary understanding of values education, or values and wellbeing pedagogy, fits well with recent neuroscience research. This has shown that notions of cognition, or intellect, are far more intertwined with social and emotional growth than earlier educational paradigms have allowed for. In other words, the best laid plans about the technical aspects of pedagogy are bound to fail unless the growth of the whole person – social, emotional, moral, spiritual and intellectual, is the pedagogical target. Teachers and educationalists will find that this handbook provides evidence, culled from both research and practice, of the beneficial effects of such a ‘values and wellbeing’ pedagogy.
At the core of education, the notion of wellbeing permeates both learner and teacher wellbeing. This book explores the central role and responsibility of education in ensuring the wellbeing of children and young people. Through the employment of vignettes, proactive educational wellbeing initiatives are provided to address issues pertaining to learner and teacher wellbeing, mainstream classrooms, educational marginalisation, disabilities, cyber citizens, initial teacher education and rural education. Through employing diverging theoretical approaches of; expectancy x value theory; ecological systems theory and community practices across digital imagery; case studies; questionnaires and survey methodology, the key message of the centrality of wellbeing to educational success pervades. This book provides a critical engagement with the educational discourse of wellbeing, whilst addressing issues impacting on wellbeing with worldwide implications. It offers a unique insight into both learner and teacher wellbeing and how education can contribute to enhancing wellbeing outcomes for society in general. © 2016 Faye McCallum and Deborah Price for selection and editorial matter; individual chapters, the contributors. All rights reserved.
This book illuminates, commemorates, and builds upon Bacchi?s ?WPR? approach. It outlines the trajectory of the development of the ?WPR? approach from Bacchi?s early engagements with feminist thinking, as an academic in scholarly environments which were often the preserve of men, towards the theoretical sophistication of an approach which requires an ongoing critical assessment of assumptions about the social world, social ?problems?, policy agendas deemed to respond to those ?problems?, and the researcher?s positioning.
Problem Statement The studies investigating bullying behaviours exhibited by students toward teachers are limited in number. Since teachers are perceived as powerful adults compared to the teenagers and are responsible for managing the classroom, it is commonly thought that they cannot be considered the victims of students. Such thoughts may have put limitations on research studies examining this matter. It is known that student-teacher interactions have effects on school climate and are extremely important in terms of carrying out anti-bullying programs. For this reason, it was thought that collecting more detailed data about bullying behaviours exhibited by students toward teachers can provide useful information for prevention efforts. Purpose of the Study: The purpose of this research is to determine the existence and characteristics of students' bullying toward teachers in Turkey according to the gender of teachers and to draw the attention of those preparing anti-bullying programs and of teacher trainers to the subject. Methods: Participants of the study were volunteer teachers (n=540) serving at the Osmangazi district of Bursa city. A questionnaire was used to determine behaviours related to bullying exhibited by students toward teachers according to teacher perceptions. The obtained data were analyzed by using frequencies, percentages, and chi square tests. Results: The comparisons showed that there were no significant differences among bullied and non-bullied participant teachers in terms of gender. On the other hand, male teachers experienced more physical bullying and female teachers experienced more verbal bullying and gossiping. It was determined that there are significant differences among female and male teachers in terms of the gender of the students and in terms of some locations. Conclusions and Recommendations: The findings showed that the gender of the teachers and students are important in terms of bullying behaviours exhibited by students toward teachers. Therefore, it should be taken into consideration if bullying is included in the content of whole school anti-bullying programs, pre-service, and in-service teacher training programs. In this context, it is believed that future research investigating the differences between bullied and non-bullied teachers, the characteristics of bully students, the variables such as school size, class size, and the effects of students' bullying toward teachers on school climate and teacher performance will contribute to the improvement of teacher education programs and anti-bullying programs.
There has been a rapid increase in the cyberbullying of teachers in schools by their students. One aspect of this phenomenon is the posting of visual recordings of teachers and teacher-student interaction on easily accessible websites such as YouTube. Whilst research on the cyberbullying of students by other students has received a great deal of attention, research on the cyberbullying of teachers by students is still in its infancy. This paper addresses key issues that have emerged by examining such recordings which have been posted on YouTube. This paper focuses on one illustrative example from each of three national settings, which feature teachers in Brazil, Portugal and England. The analysis of these three recordings indicates that we need to develop a new conceptual framework in order to understand the cyberbullying of teachers by students. There appears to have been a radical shift in the way students can challenge teacher authority through the use of digital media. Combatting this phenomenon needs to be seen in the context of developing an anti-cyberbullying policy for the whole school. We conclude that teachers, head teachers, students, parents and welfare professionals need to work together to consider how best to deal with the cyberbullying of teachers by students, within the context of developing a positive school community ethos, the adoption of an anti-cyberbullying policy for the whole school, and addressing cyberbullying through the personal and social education curriculum.
Education has been powerfully affected by the rise of a neoliberal political, economic and cultural agenda. The Australian experience since the 1980s is outlined. Educators need to understand neoliberalism, and also to think about the nature of education itself, as a social process of nurturing capacities for practice. Education itself cannot be commodified; but access to education can be. Markets require a rationing of education, and the creation of hierarchies and mechanisms of competition. Hence, the redefinition of schools and universities as firms, and the striking revival of competitive testing, as well as the expansion of public funding of private schools. Teachers are placed under performative pressures that tend to narrow the curriculum in schools, and make the sector's workforce more insecure. Even the knowledge base of education is impacted, with technicization of professional knowledge and a growth of cultural fakery around education. Bases for alternatives exist, but have not yet found institutional articulation.
This book introduces an approach to policy analysis called 'what's the problem represented to be?' It argues that policies contain implicit representations of the 'problems' they purport to address and that these 'problem representations' need to be subjected to critical scrutiny. The book targets the way in which 'women's inequality' is represented as a 'problem' by examining key policy initiatives in the areas of education, pay equity, abortion, sexual harassment, domestic violence and equality policy.
In this study we investigated the relations between reactive and proactive aggressiveness in pupils and a perceptual orientation described as interest in signs of weakness in a teacher who is new to the class. Self-reported data were collected from a sample of 10th grade pupils. There was a substantial and significant relation between proactive aggressiveness and a perceptual orientation towards weakness in teachers new to the class. Reactive aggressiveness was significantly but weakly related to perceptual orientation towards weakness. Results are discussed as adding to knowledge about the two types of aggressiveness, and as information that can guide teachers' practice.
This paper addresses the issue of bullying of teachers by pupils, which is referred to as teacher targeted bullying (TTB). The aim of this study was to document the nature, duration and level of TTB in an inner London school. The writers believe the results indicate the need for public and professional recognition that TTB exists and that it is a complex problem which can affect teacher performance, morale, and student learning.
Purpose
– This study seeks to identify 172 American elementary, middle, and high school teachers' perceptions of the major sources and intensity of the experience of mistreatment by a principal, the effects of such mistreatment, how these perceptions varied by demographic variables, teachers' coping skills, and teachers' perceptions of contributing factors.
Design/methodology/approach
– Participants completed a piloted, validated online questionnaire.
Findings
– The participants reported experiencing a wide range of abusive principal behaviors that resulted in serious or extensive harmful psychological/emotional, physical/physiological, and work‐related effects to themselves, their work, and their families. An overwhelming majority (77 percent) indicated they would leave their job for another because of the harm caused by the principal's mistreatment. Mistreated teachers typically did not enact problem‐focused coping strategies. Differences were found among teachers of various demographic categories for several variables.
Originality/value
– The findings of this current, quantitative study expand the authors' earlier qualitative research on the topic of teacher mistreatment; these are the only studies on this topic completed in the USA. Practical implications and suggestions for future research are included.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to estimate the prevalence of staff bullying in Australian schools, to identify bullies and targets and to examine some implications for school leaders in dealing with staff bullying.
Design/methodology/approach
The quantitative research design survey instrument contained 11 demographic items, 44 questions of bullying experience, two lists of possible bullies and targets, plus three open‐ended questions.
Findings
Data revealed that 99.6 per cent of respondents had experienced some form of bullying during their employment. Half the respondents experienced 32 or more of the 44 listed survey items, while their health was adversely affected by persistent and frequent bullying.
Practical implications
The research revealed the existence of workplace bullying in Australian schools and some obvious implications for leadership. It profiled the experiences of respondents and identified strategies to eliminate or reduce bullying in Australian schools.
Originality/value
The exploratory study was the first national online survey into staff bullying in Australian schools.
This article analyses a recently completed research project, to answer the question, on what were the findings based? It draws on the hermeneutics of Gadamer to explore the relationship between researcher and research subject in qualitative educational research. It argues that all qualitative research findings are simultaneously subjective and objective, being essentially constructed interpretations of data which are partly, but only partly, external to the researcher. Yet many contemporary educational researchers tend to focus almost exclusively on either the subject matter under investigation or upon the standpoint of the researcher him/herself. A simultaneous combination of both is necessary to understand the nature of research findings.
Background. The relationship between teachers and pupils as a possible medium for bullying behaviour has not figured significantly in research into this area, despite possible consequences with regard to levels of aggressive behaviour generally within schools.
Aims. It was argued that bullying might not be restricted to peer-abuse, but that it may manifest across the peer divide, which for the purposes of this study has been referred to as ‘cross-peer abuse’. The study specifically examined the ‘cross-peer abuse’ of teachers by their pupils, and primarily aimed to establish incidence. Secondary considerations were also mooted, however, concerning gender differences, and length of service.
Samples. This study acquired data regarding the incidence of bullying against teachers by pupils (N=101) from the teaching staff of seven urban high schools.
Methods. Questionnaires were distributed to teaching staff. The questionnaire was explicit in its definition of bullying, in order to pre-empt subjective perceptions of the behaviour.
Results. The results indicate a probability that an incidence of cross-peer abuse — definable as bullying against teachers by their pupils — exists, both from teachers' self reported data, and that reported regarding their colleagues. Higher incidence for females was found not to be the case. Predictions that less experienced teachers may be more at risk were supported.
Conclusions. The results are sufficiently convincing to suggest that the problem is more pervasive than anticipated, and would warrant more substantive research. If, as has been implied by some research, bullying follows a cyclic pattern, then the role of the teacher within that cycle may be regarded as significant. As an additional stress factor for teachers, there may be significant implications for future legal redress, if bully-abuse by pupils could be established as an intrinsic part of such medical difficulties.
Data collected from 731 teachers were used to examine the consequences of violence directed toward teachers while in the workplace. Analyses showed that the majority of respondents (n = 585, 80.0%) had experienced school-related violence—broadly defined—at one point in their careers. Serious violence (actual, attempted, or threatened physical violence) was less common, but still common enough to be of concern (n = 202, 27.6%). Violence predicted physical and emotional effects, as well as teaching-related functioning. In addition, a model with fear as a potential mediator revealed that both fear and violence were independently predictive of these negative outcomes. Finally, analyses showed that, in general, women reported higher levels of physical symptoms compared to men. We discuss the implications of violence against teachers in terms of personal consequences and the implications for mental health professionals working in an educational setting.
Evaluation of the Impact That Teacher Targeted Bullying Has on Perception and Stress
- E Byers
Byers, E. 2012. "Evaluation of the Impact That Teacher Targeted Bullying Has on Perception and
Stress. " MSc thesis, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand. https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/7ff7/074c172b18656ae82ff71e5a9494f9c5dfbf.pdf.
The Dynamics of Student Violence against Teachers at a Co-Educational Secondary School in the St George East Education District of Trinidad And Tobago: Teachers’ Perceptions
- C Millington
Millington, C. 2016. "The Dynamics of Student Violence against Teachers at a Co-Educational
Secondary School in the St George East Education District of Trinidad And Tobago: Teachers'
Perceptions. " M. Ed. thesis, University of West Indies, St Augustine, Trinidad.
Teachers-the New Targets of Schoolyard Bullies?
- J Benefield
Benefield, J. 2004. "Teachers-the New Targets of Schoolyard Bullies?" Paper to National Conference
of the New Zealand Association for Research in Education. Westpac Stadium, Wellington,
November 24-26.
The Prevention of Educator-Targeted Bullying: The Perspectives of School Principals
- C De Wet
de Wet, C. 2011. "The Prevention of Educator-Targeted Bullying: The Perspectives of School
Principals. " Journal for Christian Scholarship 47 (1): 1-21.
Understanding Teacher-Targeted Bullying: Commenters' Views
- C De Wet
de Wet, C. 2019. "Understanding Teacher-Targeted Bullying: Commenters' Views. " Bulgarian
Comparative Education Society 17 (3): 94-100.
Staffroom Bullies in Catholic Schools
- D Duncan
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Journal of Law and Education 10 (1): 47-58.
Review of Funding for Schooling. Canberra, ACT, Australia: Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations
- Gonski
Gonski. 2011. December. Review of Funding for Schooling. Canberra, ACT, Australia: Department of
Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. https://docs.education.gov.au/system/files/
doc/other/review-of-funding-for-schooling-final-report-dec-2011.pdf.
Defining Bullying: A Conceptual Definition of School-Based Bullying for the Australian Research and Academic Community, 1-43. Canberra
- S Hemphill
- J Heerde
- R Gomo
Hemphill, S., J. Heerde, and R. Gomo. 2014. Defining Bullying: A Conceptual Definition of School-Based Bullying for the Australian Research and Academic Community, 1-43. Canberra, ACT:
Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth, Australian Department of Education.
Harassment and Violence Towards Teachers
- J Kivivuori
Kivivuori, J. 1997. Harassment and Violence Towards Teachers. Helsinki: National Research Institute
of Legal Policy.
One Teaching Profession: Teacher Registration in Australia
- J Montgomery
Montgomery, J. 2019. "Teacher-Directed Violence-a Literature Review. " Educația Plus 24: 123-132.
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Australia. National Review of Teacher Registration. https://www.aitsl.edu.au/docs/default-source/
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Schools and the Law: The Phenomenon of School Violence
- K Tronc
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Leader 32 (1): 35-36.
How Safe Are Our Teachers?
- L Younghusband
Younghusband, L. 2009. "How Safe Are Our Teachers?" Education Canada 49 (3): 48-50.
- Bacchi C