NCJ Number
222089
Journal
Journal of School Violence Volume: 7 Issue: 1 Dated: 2008 Pages: 115-130
Date Published
2008
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This article investigates experiences of absentee students related to classroom violence.
Abstract
Findings of the survey reveal that the social power of a teacher influencing the class climate may range from absolute domination of the teacher characterized by absolute control, to domination of a student distinguished by their control over the situation in the classroom. These two extreme manifestations of social power illustrate the complexity of class climate in cases of bullying. On the one hand, a teacher forces students to suffer tension and fear; on the other hand, students attempt to inflict the same emotions on a teacher. As a result of each situation, children either stop attending classes, or teachers quit school. Both suffer emotional discomfort. Children’s experiences associated with these extreme manifestations of power in the classroom are negative. Children not only suffer tension and fear, but also become weary and cannot follow the lesson, gradually losing their motivation to learn. However, the most critical situation occurs in cases of bullying by teachers where children are insulted, labeled as idiots, zombie, ignored, or even intimidated. Experiences of absentee students showed that teachers' reactionary behavior to their conduct, learning results, or personality was not merely disciplinary policy, but reinforced students' perceptions that they were not welcome at school. Manifestations of school violence, especially bullying by teachers, undermine a child's security as well as the process of learning. Data were collected from qualitative semistructured individual and focus group interviews with children that had experiences of absenteeism in Lithuanian schools. References