“I keep warning the new teachers, you’ll have elephant skin”: Teachers coping with physical violence perpetrated toward them by their pupils

Abstract

This study aimed to describe and analyze the experiences of Israeli teachers subject to physical violence from their pupils. Thematic analysis of interviews with 32 elementary school teachers from Northern Israel (11 Jewish and 21 Arab) revealed two themes. The first, “shattered beliefs,” described teachers’ experiences of broken professional beliefs about the nature of teacher-pupil interactions. The second described teachers’ coping with the altered sense of their professional role as a negotiation of extremes involving their social environment, professional commitment, and interpretation of the violent event. Implications of the study highlight the need for the school community to adopt a trauma-informed approach to allow teachers’ trauma and needs to be recognized in the aftermath of violent incidents and include the exploration of support from the school environment.