AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AGE THROUGT THE EYES OF TEACHERS
Keywords:
aggression, aggressive behavior, teachers, distance learning situationAbstract
The situation of a global pandemic has presented primary school teachers with a new challenge – working
with young students in an electronic environment. Unlike older students, their perception and assimilation of the
learning material is dictated by additional circumstances: increased work with parents, faster exhaustion and
limitation of the children's real communication with the teacher. The changed form of education logically led to
changes in the students' behavior as well. Conducted research shows that from a mental health perspective, the
COVID-19 pandemic can be seen as a traumatic event that causes reactions and behaviors similar to those of posttraumatic
syndrome. According to the surveyed 102 primary teachers, the forms of aggressive behavior (88.2%),
refusal to work in class (69.7%), the use of verbal attacks during work (30.4%) and violation of tolerance have
greatly increased in communication through the use of obscene gestures (42.2%). The results of a survey with free
answers gives an opportunity to look for the reasons for this. There was a statistically significant difference in
female versus male teacher ratings that age was not a significant predictor of the development of aggressive
behavior (t (102) = - 2.074, p < .05) at elementary school age. This also applies to the gender of students – for
women, gender plays a small role, while for male teachers it is decisive (t (102) = - 2.767, p < .05). Younger
teachers (25-30 years) have higher tolerance to aggressive behavior online, they pay less attention to them and focus
on the lesson (M=7.8), unlike adults (45-55 years). Their tolerance is low (M=2.95). Learning in an online
environment is not placed in the first position as a factor for manifested aggression, it is preceded by family relations
(75.5%), the behavior of the teacher (42.2%) and the physical and mental workload of the student (36.7%). These
results prove that the online learning situation, by itself, does not increase the student's aggressive activity. It
manifests itself as a consequence of the limited real environment of communication between the teacher and the
students and the standards of behavior laid down in it.
References
Манчева, Р. (2022). Психокорекция на девиантността в поведението, Благоевград. УИ на ЮЗУ“Неофит Рилски“
Николова, С. (2022). Модел за диагностика и превенция на агресивността в поведението на ученици от начална училищна възраст, Благоевград, Унив.изд-во „Неофит Рилски“
Bridgland, V.M., Moeck, E.K., Green, D.M., Swain, T.L., Nayda, D.M., Matson, L.A., et al. (2021). Why the COVID-19 pandemic is a traumatic stressor, PLoS One,16:e0240146. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0240146
Chemtob, C.M., Novaco, R.W., Hamada, R.S., Gross, D.M., & Smith, G. (1997). Anger regulation deficits in combat-related PTSD, J Traumatic Stress, 10:17-36. doi: 10.1002/jts.2490100104
Jenkins, L.N., Demaray, М.К., & Tennant, J. (2017.) Social, emotional, and cognitive factors associated with bullying, School Psychology Review.;46 (1): 42–64.
Leff, S.S., & Waasdorp, T.E. (2013). Effect of aggression and bullying on children and adolescents: Implications for prevention and intervention, Current Psychiatry Reports; 15 (3): 343.
Musci, R.J., Bradshaw, C.P., Maher, B., Uhl, G.R., Kellam, S.G., & Ialongo, N.S. (2014). Reducing aggression and impulsivity through school-based prevention programs: a gene by intervention interaction. 15 (6): 831–4
Rizkalla, N., & Segal, S.P. (2019). Trauma during humanitarian work: effects on intimacy, well-being and PTSD symptoms, Eur J Psychotraumatol, 10:,1679065. doi: 10.1080/20008198.2019.1679065
Walters, G.D., & Espelage, D.L. (2018). From victim to victimizer: Hostility, anger, and depression as mediators of antisocial victimization–bullying. J Sch Psychol, 68, 73-83
Weiss, N.H., Tull, M.T., Viana, A.G., Anestis, M.D., & Gratz, K.L. (2012). Impulsive behavior as an emotion regulation strategy: Examining associations between posttraumatic stress disorder, emotion dysregulation, and impulsive behavior among substance-dependent patients, J Anx Disord. 26:453–8.doi: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2012.01.007
Ye, B., Zeng, Y., Im, H., Liu, M., Wang, X., & Yang, Q. (2021). The relationship between fear of COVID-19 and online aggressive behavior: a moderated mediation model. Front Psychol, 12:589615. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.589615
Zhen, B., Yao, B., & Zhou, H. (2022). Pandemic Exposure, Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, Conflict Behaviors, and Online Aggressive Behaviors Among College Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Examining the Moderating Role of Gender, Psychiatry, Public Mental Health, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.809173
