Citation

Smith DL, Smith BJ. High Sch. J. 2006; 89(3): 34-42.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, University of North Carolina Press)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The article presents information on a study which finds an interpretive exploration of teachers' perception of violence and its links with their decision to leave urban schools. It also addresses the important research gap and offers some suggestions for trying to lessen teacher attrition in urban districts. The study presents the stories of those who began their career in urban districts and then left with in five years. The threat of violence in the urban schools was a factor that greatly contributed to the stress level for many of the teachers. The exposure to violence in urban schools can have a profound effect on the daily functioning of inner-city schools. The fear that some students feel about going to school is echoed by their teachers and this can play a direct role in the deterioration of community relations for urban schools. In the study one-third of teachers reported that because of the threat of violence, both teachers and students in the schools were less eager to go to school.