Citation

Mahome MM. Acta Criminol. 2021; 34(2): 1-25.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, Criminological Society of South Africa)

DOI

10.10520/ejc-crim_v34_n2_a1

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Staff victimisation within the teaching ranks is a phenomenon that has not been extensively researched worldwide, and South Africa is no exception. Incidents of teachers victimising each other may have an emotional and psychological impact on both teachers and learners. Regrettably, violence directed against teachers, and more specifically the victimisation of teachers by their fellow colleagues, has been ignored. Employing the qualitative approach and steered by the Socio-Ecological Theory, the article explores teachers' interpretations and lived experiences to identify the most dominant perpetrators of staff victimisation within the teaching ranks and confirm the existence of the phenomenon. Embedded within the interpretive lens, fifteen teachers and one clinical psychologist were engaged through individual face-to-face interviews as reflective practitioners in gathering primary data and developing heightened understanding of staff victimisation. Secondary data was assembled by analysing existing publications and publicly available data, which are relevant to the topic of staff victimisation within the teaching ranks. Through the thematic analysis of the amassed data, the findings of the study confirmed the existence of staff victimisation, and that it occurs at all levels, vertically and horizontally. It was further established from the interviewed participants that the most dominant perpetrators of staff victimisation within the teaching ranks are principals. Post Level One (PL1) teachers were identified as the most vulnerable group of such attacks, suggesting that the teacher-principal relationship is characterised by power and dominance. Grounded on empirical evidence, this article consequently postulates that, amongst other things, administrative support can serve as a practical focal point for school interventions to prevent and mitigate staff-directed victimisation and its mental health consequences.

Language: en

Keywords

besieging; bullying; mistreatment; socio-ecological; Staff victimisation; violence