U.S. teachers experience violence, threats, harassment during pandemic: survey

LOS ANGELES, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Almost half of U.S. teachers expressed desire to quit or transfer jobs as many educators and school personnel in the country reported that they experienced violence, threats and harassment during the COVID-19 pandemic, a survey has found.

According to the latest survey data released by the American Psychological Association on Thursday, one out of every three teachers (33 percent) reported at least one incident of verbal harassment or threatening behavior from a student, and 29 percent reported at least one incident from a parent of a student. The numbers were even higher for school administrators as around 37 percent of them reported at least one incident of harassment or threat of violence from a student and 42 percent reported the same from a parent.

The survey said that around 14 percent of teachers reported incidents of physical violence from a student. Additionally, at least 18 percent of school psychologists and social workers, 15 percent of school administrators and 22 percent of other school staff reported at least one violent incident by a student during the pandemic.

Around 49 percent of teachers expressed a desire or plan to quit or transfer to another school. More teachers reported a desire to quit (43 percent) than to transfer (26 percent), according to the survey, conducted from July 2020 to June 2021.

"As teachers and schools learn to adjust to the realities of education during COVID, it is important to understand school safety concerns and how best to address them to create an effective and safe environment for students, teachers and school staff," said Susan Dvorak McMahon, chair of the APA Task Force on Violence Against Educators and School Personnel, which conducted the survey in collaboration with national education and related organizations, in a news release.

"Violence against educators is a public health problem, and we need comprehensive, research-based solutions," McMahon noted.

The task force of the American Psychological Association surveyed 14,966 participants, including 9,370 teachers, 860 administrators, 1,499 school psychologists and social workers, and 3,237 other pre-K through 12th grade school staff members from all 50 U.S. states and Puerto Rico.