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Why context matters for teacher perpetrated violent discipline: A multi-level study on attitudes, norms, teacher
Anette Kirika1, Florian Scharpf1, Faustine Bwire Masath2
1Institute for Interdisciplinary Research on Conflict & Violence, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany; Department of Psychology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany.
Background:
Worldwide many children experience violent discipline by teachers in schools. To prevent it effectively, key determinants need to be examined systematically.
Objective:
This study investigates structural (meetings and activities), interpersonal (norms on violent discipline, quality of relationships among teachers) and individual factors (attitudes towards violent discipline, perceived stress) and their relation to teacher violent discipline.
Participants:
In a multi-informant approach, 117 head teachers, 1490 teachers, and 3495 students from 72 school clusters in Ghana, Tanzania and Uganda were included.
Methods:
Using multilevel analysis, we examined the relations between structural, interpersonal and individual factors and violent discipline (reported by teachers and students) on both individual and school level. Fixed effects with random intercepts were examined.
Results:
On the teacher level, favorable attitudes (f2 = 0.11), norms (f2 = 0.07) supporting violent discipline, and higher work-related stress (f2 = 0.04), were positively associated with teacher violent discipline. At the school level, favorable school norms (f2 = 0.84), lower quality of teacher relationships (f2 = 0.12), and higher stress levels (f2 = 0.07) were linked to more teacher violent discipline. In the student-reported data, head teachers' favorable attitudes towards violent discipline were related with more teacher violent discipline. Better quality of teacher relationships and school-wide activities were associated with less violent discipline.
Conclusions:
In the school context, both individual- (attitudes, perceived norms and stress) and school-level factors (school norms) contribute to children's risk of violent discipline. Preventative interventions should address both individual and contextual determinants of violent discipline within the immediate social environment of children.
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