Teacher's verbal abuse triggered by child's inattentive behaviour can produce a vicious circle that raises the risk of delinquency and learning problems. Researchers from the University of Quebec, in Montreal, stated that these findings are not intended to blame the teachers, given that a child's behaviour is also a factor. They underscore the need for better support of classroom teachers in dealing with problematic children. The researchers followed 399 children for 7 years, starting in kindergarten. Each child was given a booklet listing his or her classmates, and asked to circle at least three children who were always picked on by the teacher. Usually, a single child was circled and frequently it was the same child year after year - but in many classes no child was chosen. The majority of children (85%) had almost no risk of being verbally abused by a teacher during the course of the study. But the remaining 15% were at risk, and this risk increased with time. The researchers found that boys, as well as children who showed antisocial behaviour and inattention problems in kindergarten, were the most frequent targets of teacher abuse. To determine whether the verbal abuse had long-lasting effects, the researchers used statistical techniques to evaluate for the effects of other factors. After controlling for all other factors, it was found that being the target of verbal abuse contributes not only to the risk of being delinquent during early adolescence, but also worsens the child's academic performance. Any effort to cope with the problem must address the teachers and the children, because this is a dual problem. However, better training is needed to help teachers cope with disruptive children without becoming abusive. This is a taboo subject, but it's something that it needs to be talked about. It may be just another indication of how stressful classroom management can be for teachers.
Pediatrics,
May 2006