Perceiving classroom aggression: the influence of setting, intervention style and group perceptions.
BACKGROUND
Violence and aggression in the classroom are often cited as a major concern within the teaching community. Teachers' perceptions of the appropriateness of intervention behaviours during aggressive incidents, however, are less often examined (Meyer, Astor, & Behre, 2002), nor how they compare to the perceptions of training teachers (John, 2002).


OBJECTIVE
This paper examines differences in the perceptions of practising and training teachers after exposure to an account of a violent incident where a school teacher is assaulted. The paper also investigates the relative and combined influence of classroom condition and teacher intervention on perceptions of classroom violence.


METHODS
Participants included 48 practising teachers, and 48 students undertaking a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) also took part in the study.


METHODS
The study utilized a 2 x 2 x 2 between-subjects factorial design, manipulating the impact of classroom condition, teacher intervention, and observer status on evaluations of the teacher, assailant and school following an incident of violence against the teacher.


RESULTS
Classroom environment, teacher intervention, and observer status influenced evaluations of the teacher and school, but not the assailant.


CONCLUSIONS
Implications of these findings and the applied importance of these results are discussed in relation to school policy, teacher training, and classroom maintenance.
Lawrence
Claire
C
School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, UK. cl@psychology.nottingham.ac.uk
Green
Karen
K
D000328:Adult; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology*; D001290:Attitude; D002648:Child; D003419:Crisis Intervention; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005178:Faculty; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007600:Judgment; D008875:Middle Aged; D015588:Observer Variation; D012920:Social Behavior Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology*; D012931:Social Environment; D012938:Social Perception