Individual, Family, Peer, and School Risk Factors for Teacher Victimization

In recent years, bullying and cyberbullying against teachers by students have been recognized as problems affecting educators teaching in different grades. Few studies to date have addressed explanatory risk factors related to the perpetrators (students) rather than the victims (teachers) in a longitudinal design, in order to establish the possible causes of this antisocial behavior to better develop prevention and intervention programs to reduce teacher victimization. The main aim of the present study is to analyze the effect on teacher victimization of individual and interpersonal risk factors, including empathy, moral disengagement, peer and parent support, awareness of online risks, and school climate. A total o251 Italian students (aged 11-19) participated in a longitudinal study. The results showed that, for girls, high moral disengagement, low awareness of online risks and poor school climate were risk factors for later teacher victimization. For boys, high moral disengagement and low awareness of online risks were also risk factors, in addiction to low parental support and high peer support. The findings are discussed along with possible applications for prevention and intervention.

Teacher–Student and Student–Teacher Victimization and their Interrelationship

This chapter examines the victimization of teachers by students and victimization of students by teachers and explores their interrelationships. The chapter reviews the literature on these issues and notes the paucity of research in education on the prevalence and consequences of victimization of students by teachers—this, in contrast to a recent worldwide interest in the victimization of teachers by students. The chapter examines cultural beliefs and shifting norms with regards to corporal punishment of students. A study of student–teacher mutual victimization as reported by Israeli students from several cultural groups. The chapter suggests that students’ reports of being victimized by their teachers are associated with their reports of victimizing teachers, both on the student and school level (especially with regard to more physical and sexual types of victimization) and for all three cultural groups. The chapter explores the role of teacher unions in teacher perpetration and victimization.