Educators’ experiences and coping strategies in response to learner violence in Mopani district, Limpopo

Abstract

Violence in school settings can induce emotional and psychological distress in educators, resulting in emotional exhaustion and difficulty focusing on daily duties. This article presents the findings from educators’ experiences of violence from learners and their coping mechanisms. Interview data were collected from 11 educators from various schools in the Mopani district in South Africa. The ecological system theory underpinned the study, highlighting how violence arises from an interconnected system’s complex interplay of individual, relational, community, and societal factors. The findings highlight a critical gap in supportive interventions and call for a holistic approach to safeguard educators’ well-being and foster a conducive learning environment. Educators were fearful, stressed, and unsettled in their work environment, which led to burnout. Educators used negative coping mechanisms and showed the need for psychosocial support. One of the study’s recommendations is that the Department of Education and the South African Council of Education (SACE) should help create policies and procedures to reduce school violence.

Transdisciplinary contribution: This study contributes to the understanding of the effect of learners’ violence on educators from a variety of disciplines-psychological studies, health studies, social dynamics, educational studies (i.e., school policies and interventions), and criminology studies. The findings call for the need for multidisciplinary interventions and school policy reforms to mitigate the negative consequences of learner violence on educators in educational settings.