Teachers have faced escalating verbal and physical aggression since schools reopened following the pandemic, and a threatening school climate makes it both harder to retain teachers and heightens staff stress and anxiety, according an Education Week article.
But when teachers are supported by their principals, especially regarding student discipline, they experience less stress and feel safer on the job.
A nationally representative survey of 5,500 P-12 teachers shows a positive correlation between a teacher’s intention to transfer or quit the profession and their perception of administrator support. The study results were published in July in the Educational Researcher, a journal published by the American Educational Research Association.
Principal support can be “massively effective in promoting teacher well-being,” says Andrew Perry, the lead author of the study and a senior lecturer at Ohio State University. “Principals who simply communicate with their teachers and show them that they’re there, that they have their backs, can have [a] positive impact on school climate.”
Teachers face higher levels of verbal aggression—such as slurs, insults, and gestures—than physical aggression, like getting bitten, scratched, or having objects thrown at them. But even nonphysical aggression, Perry says, can compound over time and create an unsafe and traumatic work environment for them.
“This is a call to action for practitioners, policymakers, and future researchers to really get a handle on this victimization, to try to prevent it,” says Perry. “Principal support can do its good job to make teachers feel safe … and avoid an attrition crisis among teachers.”
How a school addresses student discipline is directly linked to the levels of violence faced by teachers. Restorative discipline policies, which focus on preventing violence, are more effective in reducing teacher victimization than zero-tolerance, exclusionary policies, research indicates.
In a 2024 study, Perry evaluated whether different kinds of policies—school hardening, zero-tolerance, restorative practices, and crisis intervention—were perceived to be effective by teachers.
Exclusionary discipline and school hardening policies (such as the installation of metal detectors and security cameras) were associated with higher odds of teachers experiencing violence. In contrast, prevention strategies that foster better student-teacher relationships, focus on counseling, and incentivize positive behavior improved school climate and reduced the likelihood of violence against educators.
“It’s not particularly costly or intensive to encourage positive interactions between students and teachers or teachers and their colleagues,” says Perry. He recommends that principals, too, communicate regularly with teachers and show them support and respect.
External factors like a staffing shortage can puncture morale, but when principals show teachers they have their backs or acknowledge the challenges of teaching, it can be a powerful tool against victimization.
Education Week
