Authors

• Kivivuori, Janne (National Research Institute of Legal Policy (Optula))

Keywords

antisocial behaviour, assault, harassment, juvenile delinquency, lower secondary schools, schoolchildren, secondary school teachers, sexual harassment, teaching profession, workplace bullying, youth

Abstract

The survey charted anti-social behaviour and violence against teachers and teacher attitudes towards young people's criminal behaviour. Teachers were asked to what extent they agreed with a number of statements relating to young people's criminal behaviour, its causes and methods for reducing this type of behaviour. They also rated the objectives of the basic education system. Opinions were charted on how much certain things (e.g. truancy, shyness, hashish use) would reflect on the future 15-year-olds and which factors caused young people to break the law.

Teachers were asked whether they had been subjected to verbal abuse, sexual harassment, physical violence or other disruptive behaviour or had been threatened with physical violence. If mental or physical abuse had occurred, further questions clarified the number of incidents during the school year 1996-1997, the location of the latest incident, sex, age and grade level of the perpetrator and the consequences for the perpetrator. Some questions asked whether the assailant has used or threatened to use a weapon and whether the behaviour had reflected the pupil's mental problems.

Background variables included respondents' sex, age, teaching experience, form taught, distance from home to school, province of the school and municipality type.