Students need a strong, positive relationship with caring adults in school. Although the vast majority of adults in authority interact respectfully with students, some adults physically and psychologically bully students. This article examines the extent to which 50 alternative education students reported being victimized by teachers or other adults during their school career. Of respondents, 86% reported at least one incident of adult physical maltreatment in school and 88% reported at least one incident of adult psychological maltreatment in school. Almost twice as many students reported that an adult, rather than a peer, was involved in their worst school experience (64.4%), with several students indicating that their worst school experience involved being physically mistreated by an adult; half reported being upset by the experience “a lot.” These findings indicate that students are being bullied by teachers to a surprising degree and in a wide range of destructive and harmful ways.
Borg, M. (1999). The extent and nature of bullying among primary and secondary school-children. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 62, 137-153.
2.
Boulton, M., & Underwood, K. (1992). Bully/victim problems among middle school children . Developmental Psychology, 25, 320-330.
3.
Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development. ( 1990). Turning points: Preparing American youth for the 21st century: Recommendations for transforming middle grade schools. New York: Carnegie Corporation of New York.
Comer, J.P. (2001). Schools that develop children. American Prospect, 12(7). Retrieved January 24, 2003, from http://www.prospect.org/print/V12/7/comer-j.htmlhttp://www.ctpta.org/legislative/resolutions.htm#AntiBullying
6.
Couture, L.A. (2004). The medical risks of forced retention of urine . Retrieved January 8, 2006, from http://www.childadvocate.org/1b_medicalrisks.htm
7.
Crosby, R.A., Leichliter, J.S., & Brackbill, R.M. (2000). Longitudinal prediction of STDs among adolescents: Results from a national survey. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 18(4), 312-317.
8.
Hamre, B.K., & Pianta, R.C. (2001, March). Early teacher-child relationships and the trajectory of children's school outcomes through eighth grade. Child Development, 72(2), 625-638.
9.
Heins, K.M. (2003, September). Bullied . . . by the teacher? Better Homes & Gardens Retrieved December 11, 2005, from http://www.nospank.net/heins.htm
10.
Henggeler, S.W. (1996). Treatment of violent juvenile offenders—We have the knowledge: Comment on Gorman-Smith et al. (1996)Journal of Family Psychology, 10, 137-141.
11.
Hyman, I.A. (1990). Reading, writing and the hickory stick: The appalling story of physical and psychological abuse of American school children. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.
12.
Hyman, I., & Perone, D. (1998). The other side of school violence: Educator policies and practices that may contribute to school misbehavior. Journal of School Psychology, 36, 7-27.
13.
Hyman, I.A., & Snook, P. (2002). My Worst School Experience Scale (MWSE). Los Angeles: Western Psychological Services.
14.
Hyman, I.A., Weiler, E., Probone, D., Romano, L., Britton, G., & Shancok, A. (1997). Victims and victimizers: The two faces of school maltreatment. In A. Goldstein & J. Conoley (Eds.), School maltreatment intervention: A practical handbook (pp. 426-459). New York: Guilford.
15.
Hyman, I.A., Zelikoff, W., & Clarke, J. (1988). Psychological and physical abuse in the schools: A paradigm for understanding post-traumatic stress disorder in children and youth. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 1(2), 243-267.
16.
Mahler, M.S., Pine, F., & Bergman, A. (1975). The psychological birth of the human infant: Symbiosis and individuation. New York: Basic Books.
17.
McEvoy, A. (2005, September). Teachers who bully students: Patterns and policy implications. Paper presented at the Hamilton Fish Institute's Persistently Safe Schools Conference, Philadelphia . Retrieved January 20, 2006, from http://www.stopbullyingnow.com/teachers%20who%20bully%20students%20McEvoy.pdf
18.
Metz, M.H. (1983). Sources of constructive social relationships in urban magnet school. American Journal of Education, 91, 202-215.
19.
National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information. (2005). Definitions of child abuse and neglect: State statues series Retrieved January 23, 2006, from http://nccanch.acf.hhs.gov/general/legal/statutes/define.cfm#fn1
20.
Olweus, D. (1993). Bullying at school, what we know and what we can do. Malden, MA: Blackwell.
21.
Rutter, M., Maughan, B., Mortimore, P., Ouston, J., & Smith, A. (1979). Fifteen thousand hours. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
22.
Twemlow, S.W., Fonagy, P., & Sacco, F.C. (2004). The role of the bystander in the social architecture of bullying and violence in schools and communities. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1036, 215-232.
23.
Twemlow, S.W., Fonagy, P., Sacco, F., & Brethour, J. (2006). Teachers who bully students: A hidden traumaInternational Journal for Social Psychiatry. Retrieved January 23, 2006, from http://www.stopbullyingnow.com/Teachers%20Who%20Bully%20Students%20a%20hidden%20trauma.pdf
24.
Vargas-Moll, I. (1991). A descriptive study of school induced stressors among Hispanic studentsDissertation Abstracts International , 53(01A), 0110. (UMI No. AAG9218121)
25.
Wang, M.C., Haertel, G.D., & Walberg, H.J. (1994). Educational resilience in inner cities. In M. C. Wang & E. Gordon (Eds.), Educational resilience in inner-city America: Challenges and prospects (pp. 45-72). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
26.
Werner, E., & Smith, R. (1982). Vulnerable but invincible: A longitudinal study of resilient children and youth. New York: Adams, Bannister, and Cox.
27.
Zelikoff, W. (1990). A retrospective study of school related stressors of educatorsDissertation Abstracts International, 51(08A), 2690. (UMI No. AAG9100360)
