Understanding violence against teachers in Israel: prevalence, risk factors, outcomes, theory, and implications for research, practice

While the school violence literature has only recently recognized the problem of violence directed at teachers, the latest findings demonstrate a concerning phenomenon with sizeable rates worldwide. This chapter reviews teachers’ experience with school violence in terms of how it manifests, its magnitude and scope worldwide, and the consequences for teachers’ emotional, behavioral, and occupational outcomes and students’ learning and healthy development. The chapter also provides a review of the ecological educational model of school violence and safety to guide research on violence against teachers and practice methods for intervention and prevention. Preliminary findings from our research on violence against teachers in Israel are included to demonstrate the utility of the ecological perspective for studying this problem. In particular, we suggest employing a multiperspective approach that considers the perceptions and reports of teachers, students, and parents on the topic. Implications for future research, practice, and policy are discussed.