TORONTO, Sept. 2, 2021 鈥� Workplace violence against female elementary school teachers by some of their students is often dismissed or diminished despite serious injury and emotional harm, says the lead author of a new paper out of 91亚色.

That鈥檚 because the issue is often invisible, complex, intertwined, messy and insidious, say co-authors 91亚色 Assistant Professor Tuulia Law of the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies and Professor Chris Bruckert of the University Ottawa.

They are quick to point out that the students are also victims here, as so many cuts to school resources mean supports for students are seldom available. Without them, some students lash out at teachers, often causing serious injury such as concussions. They say there is mounting evidence that student violence against Canadian educators is a pervasive problem, yet it鈥檚 not being taken seriously.

鈥淚t鈥檚 frightening, the kinds of things elementary school teachers in Ontario are experiencing and many of the teachers felt blamed for the violence by the school鈥檚 administrators for a lack of skills or competencies, or even caring,鈥� says Law. 鈥淭hey often reported facing questions that asked things like 鈥� 鈥榳hat did you do to create the problem鈥�?鈥� The response to the violence is gendered.

This kind of workplace violence isn鈥檛 typically covered by the traditional violence-against-women contextual framing, which usually includes sexual assault and domestic violence.

鈥淭eachers are being told by their administrators that this is the new normal. This is teaching today. Teachers are seeing it become routine, and they are outraged,鈥� says Bruckert.

Bruckert surveyed the prevalence of student violence against 70 Ontario teachers from kindergarten to Grade 8 to get an understanding of the situation.
Together they looked at how the dominant framing of violence against women silences their voices and proliferates a one-dimensional image of the lone female victim. The authors say it鈥檚 time to move beyond this image. They explore a new way of looking at the issue through a wider framework that could help make the violence more visible and change how it鈥檚 dealt with.

鈥淚t allows us to see elements and factors leading to, causing and culminating in violence that women experience that we wouldn鈥檛 see in the traditional smaller framing. It鈥檚 really a zooming out to better see things like structural violence, like symbolic violence 鈥� things that are happening at the level of social structures and ideas, and broader systems as well as violence happening in contexts that we don鈥檛 again associate with a traditional framing of violence against women,鈥� says Law.

鈥淲orkplace violence could be something that is happening through how the workplace is organized. It could be happening through organizational culture. It could be happening through various superiors or peers, through men as well as from other women.鈥�

Female teachers experienced higher levels of violence than their male counterparts and more reprisals.

鈥淲e talk a lot about sexual harassment in the workplace as if that鈥檚 the only kind of gendered violence that鈥檚 occurring,鈥� says Bruckert. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think we can talk about workplace violence without talking about gender.鈥�

Next steps?

More front-end resources are needed to support children and prevent these situations in the first place. Budgets have been squeezed so there is less testing of students at the beginning of school, and fewer supports to help them in class and in managing their behaviour.

鈥淒ecisions happening at the political and bureaucratic level over time, can culminate in very harmful effects so in the end it is experienced as violence,鈥� says Law.
The researchers鈥� expanded framework, however, can be applied to other workplaces as a way to more deeply, expansively and comprehensively see what鈥檚 happening with gendered violence. This is particularly important in predominantly female occupations, such as health care, law, and social and community services.
The paper was published in the journal Alternate Routes as part of their current themed issue: Work for Change.

-30-

91亚色 is a modern, multi-campus, urban university located in Toronto, Ontario. Backed by a diverse group of students, faculty, staff, alumni and partners, we bring a uniquely global perspective to help solve societal challenges, drive positive change and prepare our students for success. 91亚色's fully bilingual Glendon Campus is home to Southern Ontario's Centre of Excellence for French Language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education. 91亚色鈥檚 campuses in Costa Rica and India offer students exceptional transnational learning opportunities and innovative programs. Together, we can make things right for our communities, our planet, and our future.聽

Media Contact:
Sandra McLean, 91亚色 Media Relations, 416-272-6317,聽sandramc@yorku.ca

The post Is violence against teachers being normalized? appeared first on News@91亚色.

TORONTO, Sept. 2, 2021 鈥� Workplace violence against female elementary school teachers by some of their students is often dismissed or diminished despite serious injury and emotional harm, says the lead author of a new paper out of 91亚色.

That鈥檚 because the issue is often invisible, complex, intertwined, messy and insidious, say co-authors 91亚色 Assistant Professor Tuulia Law of the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies and Professor Chris Bruckert of the University Ottawa.

They are quick to point out that the students are also victims here, as so many cuts to school resources mean supports for students are seldom available. Without them, some students lash out at teachers, often causing serious injury such as concussions. They say there is mounting evidence that student violence against Canadian educators is a pervasive problem, yet it鈥檚 not being taken seriously.

鈥淚t鈥檚 frightening, the kinds of things elementary school teachers in Ontario are experiencing and many of the teachers felt blamed for the violence by the school鈥檚 administrators for a lack of skills or competencies, or even caring,鈥� says Law. 鈥淭hey often reported facing questions that asked things like 鈥� 鈥榳hat did you do to create the problem鈥�?鈥� The response to the violence is gendered.

This kind of workplace violence isn鈥檛 typically covered by the traditional violence-against-women contextual framing, which usually includes sexual assault and domestic violence.

鈥淭eachers are being told by their administrators that this is the new normal. This is teaching today. Teachers are seeing it become routine, and they are outraged,鈥� says Bruckert.

Bruckert surveyed the prevalence of student violence against 70 Ontario teachers from kindergarten to Grade 8 to get an understanding of the situation.
Together they looked at how the dominant framing of violence against women silences their voices and proliferates a one-dimensional image of the lone female victim. The authors say it鈥檚 time to move beyond this image. They explore a new way of looking at the issue through a wider framework that could help make the violence more visible and change how it鈥檚 dealt with.

鈥淚t allows us to see elements and factors leading to, causing and culminating in violence that women experience that we wouldn鈥檛 see in the traditional smaller framing. It鈥檚 really a zooming out to better see things like structural violence, like symbolic violence 鈥� things that are happening at the level of social structures and ideas, and broader systems as well as violence happening in contexts that we don鈥檛 again associate with a traditional framing of violence against women,鈥� says Law.

鈥淲orkplace violence could be something that is happening through how the workplace is organized. It could be happening through organizational culture. It could be happening through various superiors or peers, through men as well as from other women.鈥�

Female teachers experienced higher levels of violence than their male counterparts and more reprisals.

鈥淲e talk a lot about sexual harassment in the workplace as if that鈥檚 the only kind of gendered violence that鈥檚 occurring,鈥� says Bruckert. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think we can talk about workplace violence without talking about gender.鈥�

Next steps?

More front-end resources are needed to support children and prevent these situations in the first place. Budgets have been squeezed so there is less testing of students at the beginning of school, and fewer supports to help them in class and in managing their behaviour.

鈥淒ecisions happening at the political and bureaucratic level over time, can culminate in very harmful effects so in the end it is experienced as violence,鈥� says Law.
The researchers鈥� expanded framework, however, can be applied to other workplaces as a way to more deeply, expansively and comprehensively see what鈥檚 happening with gendered violence. This is particularly important in predominantly female occupations, such as health care, law, and social and community services.
The paper was published in the journal Alternate Routes as part of their current themed issue: Work for Change.

-30-

91亚色 is a modern, multi-campus, urban university located in Toronto, Ontario. Backed by a diverse group of students, faculty, staff, alumni and partners, we bring a uniquely global perspective to help solve societal challenges, drive positive change and prepare our students for success. 91亚色's fully bilingual Glendon Campus is home to Southern Ontario's Centre of Excellence for French Language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education. 91亚色鈥檚 campuses in Costa Rica and India offer students exceptional transnational learning opportunities and innovative programs. Together, we can make things right for our communities, our planet, and our future.聽

Media Contact:
Sandra McLean, 91亚色 Media Relations, 416-272-6317,聽sandramc@yorku.ca

The post Is violence against teachers being normalized? appeared first on News@91亚色.