ERIC Number: EJ1273741
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020-Dec
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-1538-4799
EISSN: N/A
Verbal Aggression among Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders: Teacher Perceptions of Harm, Levels of Concern, and Relationship with Certification Status
Smith, Stephen W.; Poling, Daniel V.; Worth, Megan R.; Zhou, Sherry J.; Taylor, Gregory G.
Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, v28 n4 p209-222 Dec 2020
Students who exhibit emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) typically have high frequencies of disruptive and noncompliant behavior including physical and verbal aggression (VA). Physical aggression attracts great concern from school professionals yet VA is often overlooked, despite being a highly pervasive and harmful social act. We surveyed 279 first to 12th grade teachers of students with EBD to assess their perceptions about the harmfulness of VA, students' intent to harm, their concern about the frequency and/or intensity of VA, and concern about types of verbally aggressive messages. We investigated if these perceptions differed when teachers considered students with EBD compared with typical peers and if special education certification related to responsiveness to VA. The majority of teachers reported that VA was either somewhat or very harmful and perceived students with EBD to be just kidding around and not intending to hurt others when perpetrating VA. Compared with noncertified colleagues, certified teachers reported more concern about VA, more intent to harm when students with EBD exhibit VA, and they were more likely than their noncertified counterparts to report the use of a structured intervention/curriculum to reduce VA. We discuss implications for special education teacher preparation and offer suggestions for further research.
Descriptors: Verbal Communication, Aggression, Grade 12, High School Teachers, Teacher Attitudes, Emotional Disturbances, Behavior Disorders, Comparative Analysis, Behavior Problems, Teacher Certification, Special Education, Special Education Teachers, Teacher Education, Victims
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Grade 12; High Schools; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A