Aggression and violence against educators and school personnel have raised public health concerns that require attention from researchers, policymakers, and training providers in U.S. schools. School aggression and violence have negative effects on school personnel health and retention and on student achievement and development. In partnership with several national organizations, the American Psychological Association (APA) Task Force on Violence Against Educators and School Personnel administered two national, multi-informant, cross-sectional surveys. Time 1 data were collected in 2020-2021 from 14,966 respondents; participants reflected on their experiences of violence and aggression before COVID-19 and during COVID-19 restrictions in this survey. One year later, in 2022, 11,814 respondents completed the Time 2 survey after COVID-19 restrictions ended. Participants included teachers, school psychologists, social workers, counselors, staff members, and administrators from all 50 states and Puerto Rico. Rates of violence and aggression directed against educators by students, parents, colleagues, and administrators were substantial before COVID-19, were lower during COVID-19 restrictions, and returned to prepandemic levels or higher after COVID-19 restrictions. After COVID-19 restrictions, 22%-80% of respondents reported verbal or threatening aggression, and 2%-56% of respondents reported physical violence at least once during the year, varying by stakeholder role and aggressor. Rates of intentions to quit the profession ranged from 21% to 43% during COVID-19 restrictions (2020-2021) and from 23% to 57% after COVID-19 restrictions (2021-2022), varying by stakeholder role. Participants across roles reported substantial rates of anxiety and stress, especially during and after COVID-19 restrictions, and identified specific training needs. Implications for theory, research, training, and policy are presented. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Violence against teachers has received increasing attention worldwide, with high rates of verbal, threatening, physical, and property violence in schools. Teacher-directed violence contributes to poor mental and physical health, high rates of turnover, and diminished student achievement. Despite these findings, there is a dearth of research on violence experienced by paraprofessionals who play key roles in supporting students with the greatest learning and behavioral needs in schools. Using a sample of 1993 paraprofessionals, this study is one of the first to investigate paraprofessionals’ experiences of violence in school settings. We found that the rate of student violence against paraprofessionals was 37% for property offenses, 49.5% for physical violence, and 54% for verbal and threatening violence. Further, we employed a socio-ecological model of individual, classroom, school, and community factors to predict paraprofessional experiences of violence from students in schools. Negative binomial regression results revealed that student-staff relationship problems and student behavioral concerns were positively related to verbal and threatening, physical, and property violence against paraprofessionals. Paraprofessionals working in elementary schools were more likely to report physical violence compared to those working in middle or high school settings. Implications for research and educational practice are also presented.

Researchers have examined the importance of school administrative support for teacher safety, victimization, anxiety, and retention; however, studies to date have rarely focused on school administrators’ perceptions of support by their district leaders, and its relation to administrators’ anxiety/stress, safety, and their intentions to transfer or quit their jobs. In the current study of 457 PreK-12th grade school administrators in the United States, structural equation modeling was used to examine relations between administrators’ perceptions of support from their district leaders and their anxiety/stress, safety, and intentions to transfer or quit their jobs. Administrator experiences of violence by student offenders served as a moderator. Results indicated that administrators’ perceptions of district leaders’ support were associated with lower intentions to transfer or quit their positions both directly and indirectly as a function of decreased anxiety/stress. District support was positively related to administrator safety, particularly for administrators who reported experiencing more student violence. Findings highlight the importance of district support of administrators for reducing mental health concerns and transfer/quit intentions in the context of student violence against school administrators. Implications of findings for research and practice are presented.

The prevalence of teacher-directed violence has been well-documented around the world. However, interventions focused on the prevention of teacher victimization have received less attention. Understanding how to reduce teacher-directed violence is vital to preserving the overall well-being of teachers, supporting their teaching, reducing teacher burnout, and providing recommendations for future research. The current scoping review reports on teacher-directed violence interventions in K–12 school settings (n = 2). In addition, emerging evidence is described that provides recommendations for developing teacher-directed violence interventions (n = 6). The results from this scoping review reinforce the need for further study of teacher victimization-focused interventions to support the essential work of teachers.