Prevalence of Student Violence Against Teachers: A Meta-Analysis

Objective: Violence directed against teachers is a public health issue that warrants attention in research and practice. There is a growing literature on teacher-directed violence that has examined the prevalence of these incidents, yet there is considerable variation across studies. There is a need for a systematic and comprehensive review to assess the extent of the problem. Method: In the current study, we identified 5,337 articles through our initial screening process, and our final analysis included 24 studies that met criteria for this meta-analysis. We examined prevalence of violence perpetrated against teachers by students and how these rates varied by reporting time frame, reporter, and type of violence. Results: The prevalence of any type of teacher-reported violence victimization within ≤2 years ranged from 20% to 75% with a pooled prevalence of 53%. The prevalence according to a career time frame was lower, ranging from 32% to 40% with a pooled prevalence of 37.79%. Results also show variation in prevalence according to victimization type (e.g., physical attacks or theft of personal property), with lower prevalence rates for more intrusive types of victimization. Conclusions: This study represents the first meta-analysis investigating the prevalence of student violence directed against teachers. Findings provide evidence of the high rate of violence directed toward teachers, especially when accounting for both physical and nonphysical forms of violence. Teacher victimization appears to be an international problem, suggesting that the discourse by policymakers and practitioners should be framed within an international context while also considering local nuances.