Do teachers bully students? Findings from a survey of students in an alternative education setting

Students need a strong,, positive relationship with caring adults in school. Although the vast majority of adults in authority interact respectfully with students, some adults physically and psychologically bully students. This article examines the extent to which 50 alternative education students reported being victimized by teachers or other adults during their school career. Of respondents, 86% reported at least one incident of adult physical maltreatment in school and 88% reported at least one incident of adult psychological maltreatment in school. Almost twice as many students reported that an adult, rather than a peer, was involved in their worst school experience (64.4%), with several students indicating that their worst school experience involved being physically mistreated by an adult; half reported being upset by the experience "a lot." These findings indicate that students are being bullied by teachers to a surprising degree and in a wide range of destructive and harmful ways.