This article addresses the aspect of school safety that concerns teachers’ victimization by students, discussing the data collection strategy and research methodology, and research findings that give insights into teachers’ physical and emotional distress.
Public discourse on school safety often overlooks victimization of teachers by students. Research sponsored by the National Institute of Justice suggests that verbal, physical, and psychological abuse by students is a serious and pervasive problem that affects many teachers. Researchers from The University of Texas at San Antonio have established that victimization can damage teachers’ emotional, psychological, and physical well-being. But the ultimate impact often depends on the school’s reaction. When teachers feel good about the overall fairness of school procedures, they are more likely to be satisfied with the school’s response to reports they’ve been victimized by a student. There was a positive correlation between teachers’ perceptions of procedural justice within their school community and their satisfaction with both the schools’ responses to teachers’ complaints and the teachers’ own levels of physical and emotional distress.