School barometer
Survey: Teachers observe violence in schools
“It is shocking that so many teachers have to experience various forms of violence in their everyday lives” (symbolic image). photo
© Marijan Murat/dpa
Violence among students is no longer an isolated case. Many teachers are making this observation, a new survey shows.
Almost every second teacher in Germany sees psychological or physical violence among students at a problematic level at their own school. This comes from a published, representative one Survey by the Robert Bosch Foundation. Afterwards, 47 percent of the teachers surveyed said that these problems existed at their school.
For the current edition of the German School Barometer, 1,608 teachers at general and vocational schools in Germany were surveyed by the opinion research institute Forsa between November 13th and December 3rd last year. This is a representative survey of the current situation in schools in Germany. The Robert Bosch Foundation has been carrying out this regularly since 2019.
Biggest challenge: behavior
Teachers see the behavior of students as the biggest challenge in their professional work. 35 percent of teachers said this in the current survey. The second most frequently mentioned (33 percent) was dealing with heterogeneous classes. According to the Robert Bosch Foundation, this refers to classes in which the students have individual learning histories, different cultural and family backgrounds and, under certain circumstances, special support needs.
When asked what needed to be done most urgently in schools, 41 percent saw a need for action on the staff shortage. Dagmar Wolf from the Robert Bosch Foundation viewed the survey results as a snapshot of a sick system. Teachers have long had to compensate for the consequences of the “massive staff shortage” and constantly cope with new stresses. At the same time, professional well-being will be extremely important in the future in order to keep teachers in schools and make the profession more attractive for young people again.
A good third also see an urgent need for action in dilapidated school buildings: 35 percent of the teachers surveyed believed investments in renovation and renovation were necessary. According to the Robert Bosch Foundation, the need is roughly the same in all regions and social situations.
27 percent would change careers
In general, the survey also shows that although, according to the survey, the majority (75 percent) of teachers are satisfied with their jobs and their schools, 27 percent would change careers if they could.
With a view to the survey, the chairwoman of the philologists’ association, Susanne Lin-Klitzing, told the Berlin “Tagesspiegel”: “It is shocking that so many teachers have to experience various forms of violence in everyday life.” The growing level of violence in schools, the shortage of teachers and the dilapidated condition of many schools led to additional stress for everyone. Therefore, investments must be made in schools.
Federal Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger (FDP) also called the results alarming. It makes it clear how great the pressure to act in education is now, she told the daily newspapers of the Funke media group.