Teacher-to-Student Victimization: The Role of Teachers’ Victimization and School Social and Organizational Climates

Prior research has largely neglected the issue of violence perpetrated by teachers against students, even though evidence indicates its prevalence worldwide. Research has also overlooked teachers’ perspectives on these concerning phenomena, relying predominantly on student reports. To address this gap, this cross-sectional study used a sample of 214 teachers from six Hebrew-language and four Arabic-language middle and high schools across Israel (69.2% female; 61.2% older than 41 years) to predict teachers’ reports on teacher-to-student victimization based on teachers’ victimization by students and parents, school social climate, and three dimensions of the school organizational climate: interpersonal conflict at work, trust in the principal, and job socialization. Chi-square and t-tests were used to examine the bivariate associations between teacher-to-student victimization and the predictors, and a three-step hierarchical binary logistic regression was used to examine multivariate associations. Teachers who reported teacher-to-student victimization scored higher on interpersonal conflict at work, social climate, trust in the principal, and job socialization compared to those who did not report such violence. Binary logistic regression analysis predicting teacher-to-student victimization revealed that Arabic-speaking teachers were more likely to report such victimization compared to their Hebrew-speaking counterparts. Teachers who reported a less positive school climate and higher levels of interpersonal conflict in the workplace were far more likely to report incidents of teacher-to-student victimization. The study highlights key directions for practice to address teacher-to-student victimization, including the establishment of a more positive social and organizational climate, with an emphasis on the role of the school principal as a central component of this initiative.