SECTION THREE
2.3 Focus on teachers as victims
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members. In trying to maintain discipline teachers have to be weary of being targets of learner abuse as well as of being accused of child abuse.
Teaching has been described as one of the most perilous vocations in South Africa today (Maharaj, 2003). Teachers seem to have become the primary target of frustrated learners.There has been a surge in pupil power in schools,which has been fostered by the recent emphasis and publicity on pupil rights and empowerment through student representative councils. The idea of learners being given power without being taught responsibility has been strongly gaining momentum. In a recent media report, Naidoo (2004) quoted a principal as saying "The kids have changed. They are more aware of their rights and less aware of their responsibilities. In the broader scheme of things they are placing more emphasis on rights than on basic values". What is being highlighted is that schools seem to be caught in a web of regulations that strongly favour the learner.
The scenario being painted by the media,in the meantime,is the large scale collapse of discipline in many schools which has eroded into the culture of learning.
The survey of British Columbia teachers by Lyon and Douglas (1999) examined the effects of violence on teaching as a career, as well as emotional and physical effects.
Between and 60,9%and 84% reported that some sort of career, physical and emotional symptoms occurred . Over half of the participants reported decreased job satisfaction and also acknowledged that violence led to poorer job performance and absence from work. ever 6.0% of the sample made reference to physical symptoms such as sleep disturbances, fatigue and head aches. The emotional impact (84%) included frustration, stress and anger.
In Sutton, a report by Jackson (2001) revealed that more teachers are becoming victims of violence in its various forms. This claim was explained by the Sutton union officials as being due to an increasingly litigious society in which parents and children are more conscious of their rights thereby creating a climate for public service workers to face the wrath of a growing minority. More recently, Monteith (2003) released figures from a Scottish school showing that a teacher is attacked every 15 minutes and that the level
of violence against teachers has increased by 700% since 1997. These reports, both locally and internationally, raise serious concerns about the protection of teachers. The need to probe and question manifestations of violence in its various forms against teachers cannot be ignored any longer.
In a number of countries, with strong pressure from teacher unions, measures are being put in place to safeguard teachers. Some measures being debated and proposed include: laws imposing civil or criminal liability on parents for their children's violent behaviour, stricter enforcement of school disciplinary codes, alternate educational settings for disruptive youths, psycho-educational interventions and specialised courts for handling juveniles (Redding and Shalf, 2001; Jackson, 2001). In South Africa, learner on teacher violence is still a grey area. Below is an exploration of the support structures that exists for South African teachers.
2.3.2Teacher support: Legislation and Policies
In 1999, the Secretariat for Safety and Security, the Department of Education and the National Youth Commission developed a joint framework document called "Tirisano- Towards an Intervention Strategy to Address Youth Violence in schools". In this document, school safety is highlighted as a critical obstacle in learning. Reference is made to teachers inflicting violence on learners through corporal punishment, learner on learner violence, male on female violence as well as violence from youth outside the school. In terms of the South African common law, the teachers' duty of care is vested in his or her role of in loco parent (Oosthuizen,1999).
No reference is made to learner on teacher violence.The entire "safe schools" initiative is driven by giving support and guidance to the youth. In providing a safety net for the youth, the safety and dignity of teachers has been sidelined. While teachers are being made accountable for dealing with violence in schools through broad guidelines given by the Department of Education, no categorical commitment is made to safeguard the teacher. The aggressive and violent backlash of the youth that has been highlighted in
the media recently (Bisetty, 2003; Maharaj, 2003; Naidoo, 2004) due to increased learner rights being implemented is an area in which the DoE is silent.
A further exploration within the education framework to uncover support structures for teachers, pointed to the role of the School Governing Body. Section 8 of the South African School's Act provides that the governing body of a public school must adopt a code of conduct. In this code, violations against teachers can be addressed through sanctions being imposed. Should any learner be found guilty of contravening the code of conduct, they can be subjected to one of the following punitive measures:
• Be suspended from school for a period of not more than one week from school.
• A recommendation for expulsion,.which can only be granted by the Head of Department of the Department of Education.
According to Beckmann, Foster & Smith (1997), the South African School's Act does not specify:
• A definition of serious misconduct to justify expulsion.
• The specific disciplinary procedures to be followed.
• Provisions of due process to ensure the rights of all parties concerned.
What seems to be evident is that violence against teachers is an offence that can only be addressed within the ambits of a school's code of conduct,which is based on shaky grounds. There are no clear directives as to whether violations against teachers are categorised as serious misconduct. A further problem is that decisions made by School Governing Bodies to expel learners are more often overturned by the Head of Department and does not get the attention it deserves as reported by Baloyi (2004) in the Independent on Saturday. Since evidence points to the fact that nothing much can be done to stop learners except the use of detention and a few days suspension which is largely ineffective, a very strong message is being sent out. Learners are being exposed to ineffectual and inept authority that reinforces that 'actions' have no consequences. The implications, not only for promoting teacher safety, but also for values,morals and learning are mind boggling.
The launch of the KwaZulu Natal education department's Employee Assistance
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Programme (EAP) is a policy that serves the purpose of providing assistance to every employee who experiences personal as well as work. related problems. Although reference is made to workplace violence and trauma counselling, it is not clear whether learner on teacher violence is included. This policy is underpinned by job performance.
The usefulness of the programme is thus debatable as it is vague in the range of support that it provides and it does not include preventative measures as part of its support programme. Should control measures be put in place to reduce problems that teacher's experience, less time would be spent on damage control.
A review of all legislation and policies that govern teachers basically indicates that there are no support structures for the protection of teachers against learner abuse. While reference is made to the safety and security of learners and teachers, generally, there are no specific deterrents to protect the dignity and safety of teachers against learners.
Much of the legislation on safety and security in schools is based on the premise that teachers are adults and can take care of themselves while learners are vulnerable.
Thus, the emphasis is on the protection and rights of learners. This has been further entrenched through the formation of Representative Council of Learners (RCL) providing a power base for teenagers where they are given opportunities to make choices and decisions in school governance.
While on the one hand, learners are seen as being vulnerable and needing protection against abuse from teachers, at the same time by giving them the power to make decisions it has assumed that they are not so impotent. The Jakata Post (2000) aptly points out that we should not be deluded by believing that teenagers are helpless, because in reality, many are street wise, idealistic and aware. Policies in schools are
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---lacking in that they do not make learners accountable for their actions. As a result, the
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An important lesson can be learnt from Britain's education system. According to a report by Phillips (2005), Britain's young have been taught that authority is bunk and that the most important consideration is that no one's feelings, including their own, should be hurt. This kind of philosophy has resulted in a horrifying litany of social, moral and intellectual disintegration. A study of European teenagers as reported by Phillips (2005) has found that Britain has produced a lost generation who have become anti-social champions of the world. Thus, in promoting a society with rights and entitlements, it has eroded duty and responsibility which in essence provides a values base.
In focusing on teachers as victims, the literature reveals that teachers are subjected to various forms of abuse which manifests itself in negative repercussions. In South Africa specifically, there are no effective support structures in place to cushion and protect teachers from being victims of violence in schools. The following summarises some of the shortcomings:
• A safe school's policy that does not include learner-on-teacher violence
• The South African School's Act does not make provision to ensure that the rights of all parties at school tribunals
• The South African School's Act does not specify what serious misconduct is and thus there are no clear guidelines as to which category violence against teachers fall into.
• It is practically impossible with the existing policies to expel learners regardless of how serious the transgression is.
• The EAP programme does not include preventative measures to violence
• None of the existing legislation and policies in education make provision for the safety of the teacher.