Teachers’ Powerful Words
In primary grades, the teacher-child relationship exerts a major influence on children’s social, behavioral, emotional, and academic adjustment. When college students are asked to recall the 2 most negative experiences in their lives, incidences of verbal abuse by a teacher (e.g., public humiliation in front of the class) were mentioned more often than any other type of negative experience. But the truth is, very little is known about the potential effect of verbal abuse by teachers and the potential effect on child development. Verbal abuse includes: public ridicule, teasing, name calling, yelling, and even acts of neglect (e.g., ignoring).
In this study, 399 children were assessed yearly over a period of 7 years (starting in kindergarten). To assess verbal abuse by the teacher as well as acceptance versus rejection by one’s peer group among children in kindergarten through 4th grade, the researchers utilized peer nomination (i.e., they asked students “Who always who gets picked on by the teacher?”; and “Who is liked most and liked least?”).
Child adjustment was measured from kindergarten through 4th grade through teacher questionnaire. Child adjustment in older children was assessed by both teacher evaluations and self-reports.
The vast majority of children have almost zero risk of becoming a target of verbal abuse over the course of elementary school. However 15% of children seem to be at relatively high levels of such abuse. Boys are more likely than girls to be at risk. Also, children with high levels of early antisocial behavior and attention problems in kindergarten are at high risk. Verbal abuse in elementary school is significantly related to subsequent delinquent behavior and academic difficulties in early adolescence. Depression in adolescence was not related to teacher verbal abuse in elementary school, but to peer rejection at those early ages.
(Brendgen M, et al. Pediatrics 2006; 117(5):1585-1598.)
Comment. I am a bit skeptical of the conclusions drawn from this data because children that are apt to being verbally abused may also be apt to having later delinquency. The teachers’ contribution may be incidental. Nevertheless, we know that a great teacher-student relationship can turn a child around, so perhaps a poor teacher-student relationship can turn a child in the opposite direction. – H.T.
|
