Speaker
Description
Background/Objectives: Teachers need safe and supportive working conditions in order to be effective in handling bullying. This study hypothesized that teachers will feel better able to handle bullying when their working conditions are characterized by high perceptions of agency and administrative support, and will feel less able when they experience burnout and aggression by students.
Methods/Results: A sample of 11,366 middle school teachers completed a state-mandated 2023 School Climate and Working Conditions Survey. The following scales (with good psychometric properties) served as predictors in a multilevel linear regression model: perceptions of agency, administrative support, burnout, and experiences of aggression by students. The outcome variable was “I feel equipped to successfully handle incidents of bullying,” measured on a 6-point Likert scale (strongly disagree to strongly agree). School-level characteristics (school size, percent non-White students, percent English Learners, percent students with disabilities, percent students receiving free/reduced-price meals) and teacher-level characteristics (race, gender, years teaching experience) were covariates.
Over half of teachers agreed or strongly agreed that they felt equipped to successfully handle bullying. Administrative support was the strongest predictors of this outcome. Teacher agency, Black race, Hispanic ethnicity, male gender, and more teaching experience were also positively associated with ability to handle bullying. Burnout and experiences of aggression by students were negatively associated with ability to handle bullying.
Conclusions: School anti-bullying efforts might not be effective if teachers do not experience positive working conditions. Implications for practitioners and future research will be discussed.
Keywords
middle school, teachers, bullying prevention
| Please also indicate what kind of contribution it is: | Scientific |
|---|---|
| Please indicate what type of scientific contribution it is | Quantitative method study |
