Strategies to support teachers experiencing school violence

Abstract

School violence is a growing concern globally and schools in South Africa find it difficult to manage the problem of poor learner behaviour. Despite various educational policies and frameworks developed to preventing school violence, the education system continues to fail teachers. Due to violence, schools are no longer safe places for teachers and learners. Research in the past has focused on how to protect learners against this phenomenon, giving little attention to teachers. Many teachers, who are being violated, threatened, and disrespected by learners as the perpetrators of violence, have been ignored. Therefore, violence against teachers at school is a concern with consequences for society, yet it remains an underresearched phenomenon (Pedrazza, Berlanda, De Cordova, & Fraizzoli, 2018; Espelage, Anderman, Brown, Jones, Lane, McMahon, Reddy & Reynolds, 2013). In South Africa, teachers are regularly exposed to physical violence and verbal attacks by learners. In recent media reports about teachers being attacked by learners, it clearly shows an intent to inflict serious physical harm on the teacher. Most incidents in South Africa are not simply a matter of students expressing their frustration, but it is about the intention to be disruptive and unruly to show others how easy it is to intimidate teachers (Eraslan-Capan, 2014). Learner misbehaviour and aggression can be considered as one of the most serious work-related stress factors in the teaching profession. It is capable of seriously reducing occupational well-being among teachers and prevent them from building positive relationships in the classroom. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify strategies to support teachers on how to manage school violence against them. This study was therefore grounded in the social learning theory from Albert Bandura (1977), which focused on children learning violent behaviour through experience and observation. The main research question for this study was ‘How can teachers be supported to prevent violence against them in schools?’ To investigate the primary question, the following secondary questions needed to be addressed: • What types of violence do teachers experience in schools? What strategies can be used to support teachers from being violently abused at school by learners? This study was guided by an interpretivist paradigm and used a case study methodology. Snowball sampling was used to select teachers as participants for this study. Data were collected from teachers by using semi-structured interviews, and document analysis to allow the researcher to obtain rich descriptive information of their school violence experiences. Teachers shared their own positive and negative experiences associated with school violence. These experiences included the support they received from the schools, the Department of Education and SACE (South African Council for Educators). The teachers provided recommendations on matters where they require more support in order to eradicate school violence. These recommendations would be beneficial to all teachers, School Management Teams (SMTs), the Department of Basic Education (DBE), the South African Council for Educators (SACE), and all other relevant stakeholders who experience this phenomenon across South Africa.