Prevalence and predictors of self-reported student maltreatment by teachers in South Korea

This study first investigated the prevalence of emotional and physical maltreatment by teachers in South Korea and then identified factors that predict student maltreatment by teachers. Specific areas of interest were the associations between student demographic characteristics (gender and grade level), family (economic status), and school experience (academic performance and student-teacher relationships) and how these characteristics were related to student maltreatment. Data were obtained by questionnaire from a random sample of 1,777 students in middle schools in Seoul, the largest metropolitan area, and its surrounding province, Gyeonggi-Do. Questionnaires were completed during school time. All information was collected anonymously. Of those surveyed, 18.2% reported emotional maltreatment by teachers and 24.3% physical maltreatment. Overall, 30.7% reported being either emotionally or physically mistreated by teachers at least once in the previous year. Hierarchical regression analysis showed that gender, family economic status, academic performance, and student-teacher relationships were predictors of student maltreatment by teachers. The results have practical and policy implications for the design of programs that will results in altering abusive teacher classroom behavior.