Teachers’ Willingness to Seek Help for Violence: The Mediating Effect of School Climate

Although there is increasing research on the prevalence of students’ violence against teachers, very little is known about the way teachers cope with this violence. The main aim of the current study was to investigate teachers’ willingness to seek help from school management and from teacher-colleagues for dealing with violence. In addition, the mediating effect of school climate on the association between victimisation and help-seeking was investigated. Based on a sample of 279 teachers (239 women), the findings revealed that approximately 70% of the teachers’ faced violence against them, although the overall level of violence was moderate. A negative correlation between victimisation and willingness to seek help was found, and teaching experience was negatively associated with willingness to seek help from teacher-colleagues but not from school management. In addition, the association between victimisation and willingness to seek help depended on the school climate and teachers’ affiliation to school, and school discipline and safety mediated the negative associations between the two. The findings stress the need to provide support to teachers who suffer from violence, as well as the importance of the school context in understanding the effects of violence on teachers and their willingness to seek help in school.