The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency and nature of incidents of physical abuse of teachers on school grounds in a large metropolitan district in Florida. In an effort to achieve this purpose, a survey instrument was developed, field tested and validated by a sample of Florida public school teachers and administrators. The survey instrument contained 44 statements concerning the nature and prevalence of physical attacks upon certificated personnel in elementary, middle and senior high schools. The study was concerned with who were the attackers, characteristics of persons attacked, locations of attacks, attitudes of teachers toward attackers and teaching as a career, change of teacher's work habits as a result of an attack, and consequences for the attackers. / Conclusions from this study indicate the following: (1) The attacker was a black student with prior behavior problems and was perceived by the victim to have low intelligence. (2) Teachers most attacked at the elementary level taught special education, while abused teachers from middle and senior high schools taught English, shop or home economics. Victims were most likely to be females, 36-40 years of age, with 6-10 years of experience who sustained minor injuries which required little or no medical attention and who lost less than one week from work. (3) Teachers were most frequently attacked in classrooms and corridors, usually during the school day while classes were in session. (4) Most attacked teachers maintained a positive attitude toward their students and preferred to remain in the teaching profession. (5) The overwhelming majority of attacked teachers changed their working habits by not arriving at work as early as before, and by not remaining after school to chaperone extracurricular activities. (6) Consequences for the offenders included conferencing, classroom or school reassignment, corporal punishment, suspension and expulsion. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 44-03, Section: A, page: 0616. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1983.
Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_75068 |
Contributors | ALDERMAN, ELIZABETH WATSON., Florida State University |
Source Sets | Florida State University |
Detected Language | English |
Type | Text |
Format | 148 p. |
Rights | On campus use only. |
Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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