Violence and threats are taking a toll on American teachers, new survey finds

Nearly a third of teachers surveyed in a shocking study released on Thursday say they’ve experienced at least one incident of verbal or threatening violence from students during the pandemic, underscoring the challenges America’s educators are facing as they attempt to bridge the gap between a return to the classroom and assisting their students process the trauma of a global pandemic and two years of interrupted learning.

The findings from a task force at the American Psychological Association surveyed nearly 15,000 teachers, school psychologists, support staff and social workers from all 50 states over the 2020-2021 year.

Throughout the pandemic, respondents said they were on the receiving end of verbal and threatening violence from not just students, but also parents, administrators and even other educators they worked alongside, with nearly 40 percent of school administrators reporting instances of verbal and threatening violence from parents during the pandemic.

This uptick in student violence directed at educators has been documented elsewhere.

In January, an EdWeek Research Center monthly survey found that nearly half of all school and district leaders surveyed (44 per cent) said they were receiving more threats of violence by students than they had during pre-pandemic levels.

In just the past year, there was an elementary school teacher who was taken to hospital following an alleged attack by a five-year-old in Florida; a parent who physically attacked a teacher at a California elementary school during a dispute over Covid masks in August; and a Louisiana high school student faced charges of battery after punching her differently-abled teacher in class.

The findings from the task force underscore that the fear that educators are experiencing is real and the result is forcing some to not only consider transfers, but leaving the profession entirely.

In the survey, across all positions – teachers, administrators, social workers and school psychologists – the proportion of respondents who indicated an interest in transferring to a new position ranged from 13 per cent to 26 per cent. Of that same group, a shocking 23 per cent and 43 per cent of respondents said they either wanted to or planned to quit the profession altogether.

The task force’s findings also point to a larger problem within the American education system: training. The group surveyed raised concerns about not having the appropriate kinds of training needed for staff and students in this new learning environment, and that they’d require more mental health training, trauma informed care and cultural awareness advice as they attempt to navigate what is now the third academic year of learning within the context of a global pandemic.

For recommendations, the APA task force, which will present its findings to some members of Congress on Thursday, said that schools first need to invest in research-based solutions to the issues of violence.

Schools should offer training and support for education that emphasises trauma-informed practices, de-escalation tactics, cultural sensitivity and crisis response training, the APA task force wrote in their study.

They also recommended federal policies that would invest in funding training programs for educators, diversifying the workforce and providing funding for mental health services within schools.

The APA task force did not recommend “the need for additional school police or resource officers”.

Instead, they highlighted the need for more trained teachers, social workers, administrators and psychologists who are equipped to address students and parents’ new needs as Covid continues to disrupt their pupils’ at-home and school environments.