ERIC Number: EJ942190
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2006-Feb
Pages: 19
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0961-205X
EISSN: N/A
Teachers' Reactions to Children's Aggression
Nesdale, Drew; Pickering, Kaye
Social Development, v15 n1 p109-127 Feb 2006
Drawing on social schema theory (Fiske & Taylor, 1991) and social identity theory (Tajfel & Turner, 1979), this study examined the impact on teachers' reactions to children's aggression of three variables, two of which were related to the aggressors and one was related to the teachers. Experienced female elementary school teachers (N=90) each read a scenario that described an aggressive episode committed by a group of boys against a boy from another class. The aggressors were either good or bad children, who were either popular or unpopular with their classroom peers. In addition, the scenario manipulated the teachers' identification with, or commitment to, the class to be either high or low. Analysis of the teachers' ratings of causal responsibility, liking, and recommended punishment revealed a consistent negative response from the teachers towards the aggressors versus the victim. However, the teachers' responses were also interactively influenced by the aggressors' goodness and popularity, as well as the teachers' class identification. The results are discussed in relation to other findings on teachers' responses to school aggression and bullying, as well as how their responses might best be explained.
Descriptors: Aggression, Elementary School Teachers, Teacher Attitudes, Schemata (Cognition), Social Theories, Males, Peer Acceptance, Bullying, Attribution Theory, Punishment, Negative Attitudes, Vignettes
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A