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Insults, threats, bullying: attacks on teachers increase. This is demonstrated by a survey of schools in Germany. One in three school administrations report physical attacks in the last five years.
Violence against teachers has increased dramatically in all types of schools in recent years. The Education and Parenting Association (VBE) presented the results of a Forsa survey conducted on its behalf in January and February of this year among 1302 school administrators.
Physical attacks in every third school
34 percent of those surveyed said that teachers had been physically assaulted on their premises in the past five years. In the same 2018 survey, 26 percent of school principals said there had been such cases in the past five years.
Significantly more schools also reported insults, threats, insults, harassment or intimidation against teachers compared to 2018. 61 percent said there had been cases of this type in recent years.
Eight percent of the attacks even come from the parents. According to the school management, they are unwilling to cooperate in 60 percent of cases when it comes to adequately dealing with their children’s attacks.
“Amazing” results
VBE Federal President Udo Beckmann called the results shocking. According to the survey, 73 percent of teachers in secondary schools are affected by psychological violence, only in primary schools it is slightly less with 61 percent.
Physical violence, on the other hand, is most often directed against teachers in elementary schools, of whom 40 percent report it. Beckmann sees the reason for this in the fact that younger children “still can’t control their emotions that well.” However, it is a worrying number.
On the other hand, insults or threats both in daily school life and through the Internet are reported more frequently by the main, secondary and comprehensive school management. 73 per cent of such schools stated that these cases had occurred in everyday school life in recent years. 52 percent reported insults or threats online.
By comparison, elementary schools are the most peaceful, but even here, more school administrators reported incidents of psychological and physical violence against teachers than in 2018.
In a statement from the Association of German Teachers on the current survey, it is said that there are significantly more incidents in high-point schools. Female teachers must also struggle with students who come from a culture in which women are not considered equals. In the current survey, however, there is no information on the family or other backgrounds of the students.
Hate on the Internet becomes increasingly problematic
The number of respondents reporting attacks and harassment via the Internet also increased. While it was 20 percent in 2018, the number increased to 32 percent in 2020.
The president of the Association of German Teachers, Heinz-Peter Meidinger, said hatred and aggressiveness against teachers with personal attacks and insults, often on social media, had “clearly” become a major problem.
This ranges from YouTube videos of illegally recorded classroom recordings and corresponding comments to harassment of teachers in WhatsApp groups of entire classes. Many parents also see themselves as advocates for their children and hide their behavior.
Lack of help, no accurate recording
The survey also shows that resources are lacking to help those affected. 56 percent of the school management stated that they could not provide their colleagues with adequate support.
According to Beckmann, this requires more trained personnel. He called for the establishment of “multiprofessional teams in all schools.” These must be formed by specialists in education and psychology.
It is not possible to say for sure if there really was an increase in attacks on teachers and how they looked in detail. There are no figures or details on the actual incidents. Picking this up is the job of politics, Beckmann said. You want to generate the necessary pressure to do so with surveys of school directors. It demanded that such incidents be statistically recorded in schools and reported to ministries of education.
Criticisms of the teachers association
The Association of German Teachers criticized the study’s methodology because it compares the results of two surveys that were conducted every two years, but each asked about incidents in the past five years.
However, the teachers’ association supported the statements: “In principle, based on the feedback received from our members, the result of the VBE survey can be confirmed that the aggressiveness, mostly verbal, and often also physical, against teachers has increased. by students and parents, “said Association President Meidinger.
With information from Uwe Jahn, ARD Capital Studio Berlin
