"I don't want to come back now": Teacher directed violence

Madeleine Erskine, Catherine Ferguson and Kay Ayre
Edith Cowan University, Australia

Teacher directed violence (TDV) is characterised as damaging physical or verbal aggression directed towards teachers by students, parents, or colleagues. In this article the researchers explore the experiences of three secondary teachers in Western Australia who have experienced TDV. Given the limited sample size, this qualitative study employs an interpretative phenomenological approach that draws on attribution theory to explore employment decisions made by teachers following TDV. Semi-structured interviews focusing on the lived experiences of the participants were subjected to interpretative phenomenological analysis. The findings from the study suggest that blame; relationships; and responses and reactions felt after the incident of TDV are key factors in employment decisions. Implications are discussed in relation to teacher welfare, turnover, and attrition.
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Authors: Madeleine Erskine (corresponding author) is a doctoral student at Edith Cowan University, Western Australia. Her background is in psychology and education. She has been teaching for twenty-five years and is currently tutoring in the Bachelor of Education course at ECU. Her research interests include teacher directed violence, teacher wellbeing, and school climate. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2775-0920 Email: m.erskine@ecu.edu.au Dr Catherine Ferguson is a Senior Research Fellow in the School of Education at Edith Cowan University, Western Australia. Her research interests include the working conditions of teachers and school leadership. She currently conducts research in adult literacy and adult education. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6204-7301 Email: c.ferguson@ecu.edu.au Dr Kay Ayre is a lecturer in Early Childhood Studies in the School of Education at Edith Cowan University, Western Australia. She has a background in early years teaching and behaviour support. Her research interests are in challenging behaviour of children, trauma-informed behaviour support, trauma-informed practice, and childhood wellbeing. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8505-6940 Email: k.ayre@ecu.edu.au Please cite as: Erskine, M., Ferguson, C. & Ayre, K. (2023). "I don't want to come back now": Teacher directed violence. Issues in Educational Research, 33(3), 920-936. http://www.iier.org.au/iier33/erskine.pdf