Addressing violence against educators: What do teachers say works?

Area of Science:

• Educational Psychology
• School Safety Research
• Violence Prevention

Background:

• Teacher safety and well-being are critical issues in U.S. schools.
• Limited research exists on effective interventions for school violence targeting educators.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the use and perceived effectiveness of school-based interventions for violence against teachers.
• To identify which approaches are most effective in mitigating verbal, physical, and property violence.

Main Methods:

• Survey of 4,471 prekindergarten-12th grade teachers on intervention use and effectiveness.
• Analysis of reported use and perceived impact of exclusionary discipline, school hardening, prevention, and crisis intervention.

Main Results:

• Prevention practices were rated as most effective in reducing teacher violence.
• Exclusionary discipline and crisis interventions were positively associated with increased violence.
• Effective practice ratings correlated with lower violence likelihoods across categories.

Conclusions:

• Prevention strategies, including social-emotional learning and improved classroom management, are key to enhancing teacher safety.
• School policies should reconsider reliance on exclusionary discipline and crisis interventions due to negative associations.
• Findings inform evidence-based practices for school violence reduction and policy development.