School violence in Israel: Perceptions of homeroom teachers

Most research on school violence focuses on the experiences of the students rather than on the perceptions of the educational staff. As part of the first national survey on school violence in Israel, this study examines the perceptions of homeroom teachers on violence in their schools. Self-administered anonymous questionnaires were answered by 1521 teachers from 232 schools. This sample, derived from schools throughout Israel, represents all the sectors in public education in Israel, including primary, junior high and high schools from the Jewish religious, Jewish secular and Arab sectors. Our findings indicate that many teachers in Israel are exposed to a considerable amount of verbal and physical violence. Even so, most of them think that violence is not a big problem at their school and, consequently, report feeling safe within school grounds. Teachers also report on a lack of training in dealing with violence. There are slight but clear differences between teachers in different school levels and cultural groups.