– I have experienced being attacked with a hammer, says teacher Henriette Selnes. Her student did not like the message she had given him. He got angry and went at her with the hammer. – I then wringed it out of his hand, with the result that he bit my thumb. The day ended at the emergency room where she had to get a tetanus injection for the bite. This is not the only incident of violence Selnes has been exposed to at work as a teacher. Among other things, students have tried to tear her earrings out of her ears. Thousands of cases of violence a year Teachers in grades 1 to 10 have over four times the risk of being exposed to violence and threats than other professional groups. This is revealed in a report from the Norwegian Working Environment Institute (STAMI). Pupils hit, kick, lug and spit. They throw scissors, passes and pointed objects at their teachers. – It may sound like I’m being negative, but the way I see it, there is a crisis in the schools. That’s what the chief protection officer at the schools in Bergen, Bård Vågsholm Husby, says. Bård Vågsholm Husby is the chief protection officer at the schools in Bergen. He says the situation outside the schools is serious. Photo: Private – There are so many teachers and skilled workers who struggle, and who do not experience mastery in their work, because there are so many incidents and especially incidents of violence, he says. In 2022, more than 1,900 cases of violence were reported at kindergartens in schools in Bergen. A Sintef report from 2019 shows that 56 per cent of teachers were exposed to violence within a year. – On top of this, there are many children, especially boys, who obviously do not achieve what we want them to achieve. They don’t fix everyday school life, says Husby. – This is sad in so many ways, there are employees who fall out of working life and there are children who fall out of school. The teachers are disappearing – This is disappointing because it is also one of the reasons why we lose so many teachers after the first few years, says Selnes. Usually, adults will only suffer limited injuries after a child has used violence against them. Nevertheless, it can be mentally taxing when children act out, writes STAMI. According to them, acting out from students can increase the risk of mental health problems, problems with muscles and bones and lead to increased sickness absence. – You get teachers who go to work every day and are unsure how to solve the task, who eventually become tired and despondent and who eventually quit their job. That’s what Jorunn Folkvord in the Education Association says. – Skilled teachers who have a lot to give in Norwegian schools begin to believe that there is something wrong with them and disappear from the profession. In a situation where we need all the teachers we can get, she says. Børge Skåland believes that dealing with violence in schools must be included in teacher education. Photo: Private Bård Skåland is an associate professor at Oslo Met and has researched violence against teachers. He has the same perception of the situation as Folkvord. Teachers he has spoken to talk about loneliness, lack of support, sleep problems and anxiety due to episodes at school. Many blame themselves for what happens at school. – They ask themselves, what did I do wrong? Skåland believes that systematic training for teachers must be started so that they are prepared for episodes of violence. – We must dare to mention this in teacher education. That it is part of the future teaching profession. If not, they are completely unprepared, he says. Most cases in primary school – Most incidents happen in primary school among the youngest pupils, what does that tell you? – That tells me about a kind of breakdown in socialisation. It may seem that the role of guardian has been moved from the home and attempted to be moved to the school, and that is not how it should be, says Skåland. He says the situation may indicate an abdication from the parental role, where the parents have not set good enough frameworks and rules for the children. – They are the ones who decide and the ones who set the rules, says Skåland. Illustration photo. Most cases of violence occur among the youngest children. Photo: Frank May / NTB scanpix – Deprived of all means of consequences Henriette Selnes believes the lack of consequences is one of the reasons why violence is increasing. – We have been deprived of all forms of consequences in the classroom for unacceptable behaviour. – If they are allowed to continue acting out without the students around them seeing that we teachers can somehow stop or correct it, then more people will try and then you will get the numbers we see today, she says. Skåland says his research supports this claim. – It may appear that the legislators have been very eager to secure the students’ rights at the expense of the teachers’ rights as employees. – The Education and Research Committee at the Storting is working on a new version of the Education Act now, which is scheduled to enter into force in 2024. What must it contain to help teachers? – It must include the teacher’s perspective, not just the student’s perspective, as it stands now, it says that it is the student’s subjective experience that is the premise for everything that happens. That’s not enough. It must be an objective experience that can be documented, he says.
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Many teachers are exposed to violence at work in school – Henriette was attacked with a hammer – news Trøndelag
