Violence and aggression against educators is worse than pre-pandemic times, new study says

Violence and aggression against educators is getting worse, according to new research on the growing crisis.

It comes just weeks after 11 Investigates launched an investigative series, Teachers Under Attack, highlighting violence and dangerous behaviors teachers are experiencing in the classroom. WPXI teamed up with our sister stations to survey more than 8,000 teachers about student violence.

DePaul University’s Dr. Susan Dvorak McMahon chairs the American Psychological Association’s Task Force on Violence Against Educators and School Personnel. She has been researching the issue since 2008, and her team of researchers just published two new nationwide surveys today.

“This is a big problem. It’s continuing to be a big problem. It’s worsened. And now we need to sort of say, what can we do about it, said Dvorak McMahon.

“The problem is you can’t really sweep it under the rug... We know that it’s happening. They’re not isolated events,” she said.

The APA’s survey findings show before the pandemic, 42 percent of teachers surveyed reported instances of physical violence from students.

“Our rates did go up from pre-COVID. But they were pretty substantial before COVID as well,” Dvorak McMahon said.

The numbers dropped to 14 percent during the pandemic, when most schools were engaged in virtual learning. But after restrictions were lifted, 56 percent of teachers surveyed reported instances of physical violence from students.

“The violence is not just from students,” Dvorak McMahon said.

The research found one percent of teachers surveyed reported violent encounters with parents before the pandemic. That number jumped to 26 percent post-pandemic.

The researchers say these issues are contributing to an exodus from the teaching profession. Survey responses indicated a growing number of teachers want to resign or transfer somewhere else. That aligns with how teachers responded to our 11 Investigates survey as well.

Dvorak McMahon said her team identified areas teachers need more training in, like trauma-informed practice and de-escalation training. That’s according to responses from survey respondents. She also recommends school leaders start having more dialogue with employees about their needs, staffing, discipline and placement.

“I think that changes really need to occur at all levels,” she said, elaborating that policy changes are needed at the district, state and federal level and more mental health resources for students and educators are needed too, to help address this problem.

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