OCCUPATIONAL VIOLENCE IN SCHOOLS- The way forward

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.

There was an observational study surveyed conducted across 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.

School educators support the learning of all students, including those with complex challenging behaviors, which can lead to physically and psychologically dangerous situations.

Globally, there has been an increase in student-perpetrated violence against educators, with this violence having a negative impact on educators’ physical and mental wellbeing (Espelage et al., 2013;?Longobardi et al., 2018;?Reddy et al., 2018).

Occupational violence (OV) is any action, incident, or behaviour that diverges from acceptable conduct in which an individual is attacked, threatened, hurt, or wounded during, or as a direct result of, their work (International Labour Organization, 2003). Exposure to OV can increase educators’ stress and contribute to other negative consequences including burnout and leaving the profession (Buchanan et al., 2013;?Burns et al., 2020).

Estimates of the prevalence of teacher-directed violence vary greatly; however, it appears to be escalating around the world (Espelage et al., 2013;?Longobardi et al., 2018;?McMahon et al., 2017). A systematic review of 37 studies found that educators experience violence from students in all school settings and grade levels (Reddy et al., 2018). A meta-analysis of 24 studies concluded that half of all teachers reported experiencing at least one form of violence from students in the preceding two?years (Longobardi et al., 2018).

A longitudinal study of Australian school leaders found that the reported prevalence of physical violence directed at teachers by students rose from 27% in 2011 to 42% in 2018 (Riley, 2019). In 2018, school principals were 9.3 times more likely to experience violence compared to other Australian professions. This was even higher in government schools, at 10.5 times the rates experienced in other Australian professions (Riley, 2019).

Another Australian study found that, in the 12 months prior to completing the survey, 560 teachers surveyed reported being bullied or harassed by a student, with 10% being punched or hit (Billett et al., 2019).

In Western Australia, 68% of educators reported experiencing OV at least once in the past two?years (Lowe et al., 2020). Finally, a survey of 1145 teachers in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) found that five per cent of teachers reported experiencing extreme violence from students every day, and an additional six per cent reported this level of violence at least once or twice a week (Shaddock et al., 2015).

Exposure to violence from students may have a range of negative physical, psychological, and professional impacts, including physical injury and emotional distress (Moon & McCluskey, 2020), burnout (Bass et al., 2016;?Wei et al., 2013), impaired job performance (Moon & McCluskey, 2020), and leaving the profession (Buchanan et al., 2013;?Galand et al., 2007).

Unfortunately, there tends to be a cultural acceptance that OV is a normal part of education (Shaddock et al., 2015), particularly in special education settings (Schofield et al., 2019). Educators working in disability education are four times more likely to experience physical violence from students compared to mainstream settings (Wei et al., 2013).

For over 20 years Team Teach has taken the lead in developing and supporting positive behaviors with transformative training , promoting a balanced approach towards reducing risk, restraint and restriction. This prudent approach enables educators and employers to comply with their legal responsibilities to safeguard people and services , while at the same time improving relationships and quality of life for the children and educators.

Whilst we understand the huge issue around Occupational Violence (OV) in schools we are seeing greatly improved results from the Team Teach Training provided in schools. Lettie, a Team Teach Trainer and Education Assistant for South Ballajura Education reported a 50% decrease in staff injuries and a 40% decrease in physical interventions that jumped to 82% post Team Teach training.

Lettie mentioned "Taking on Team Teach framework and strategies had a profound effect on staff culture, confidence and consistency and overall improvement in student outcomes"

Team Teach Training is about making a difference for your staff and educators to feel confident and competent using the Team Teach strategies to support a safe, positive working environment that benefits both students and teachers.

Please feel free to contact Team Teach via email [email protected] or via our website https://www.teamteach.com.au/about-team-teach/

You can also contact Karen Gamblin (Education Specialist ANZ ) on 0420 261 637 or Sean Matthews (Disability Specialist ANZ) on 0437148168

Special acknowledgement regarding information that is contained in this blog obtained by Australian Journal of Education -How do preschool to year 6 educators prevent and cope with occupational violence from students?