Educators’ experiences and coping strategies in response to learner violence in Mopani district, Limpopo

Journal for Transdisciplinary Research in Southern Africa

 
 
Field Value
 
Title Educators’ experiences and coping strategies in response to learner violence in Mopani district, Limpopo
 
Creator Badimo, Thobile P. Masisi, Itumeleng M.
 
Subject psychology; educational psychology; school violence; teacher well-being; learner behaviour; mental health; classroom management; violence prevention; educator support; substance abuse in schools; family dynamics; community involvement effects; educator; learners; violence; coping strategies; Socio-ecological Model; Mopani district
Description Violence in school settings can induce emotional and psychological distress in educators, resulting in emotional exhaustion and difficulty focusing on daily duties. This article presents the findings from educators’ experiences of violence from learners and their coping mechanisms. Interview data were collected from 11 educators from various schools in the Mopani district in South Africa. The ecological system theory underpinned the study, highlighting how violence arises from an interconnected system’s complex interplay of individual, relational, community, and societal factors. The findings highlight a critical gap in supportive interventions and call for a holistic approach to safeguard educators’ well-being and foster a conducive learning environment. Educators were fearful, stressed, and unsettled in their work environment, which led to burnout. Educators used negative coping mechanisms and showed the need for psychosocial support. One of the study’s recommendations is that the Department of Education and the South African Council of Education (SACE) should help create policies and procedures to reduce school violence.Transdisciplinary contribution: This study contributes to the understanding of the effect of learners’ violence on educators from a variety of disciplines-psychological studies, health studies, social dynamics, educational studies (i.e., school policies and interventions), and criminology studies. The findings call for the need for multidisciplinary interventions and school policy reforms to mitigate the negative consequences of learner violence on educators in educational settings.
 
Publisher AOSIS
 
Contributor Unisa Master’s and Doctoral Bursary Department
Date 2025-03-27
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — qualitative; interviews; explorative approach
Format text/html application/epub+zip text/xml application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/td.v21i1.1527
 
Source The Journal for Transdisciplinary Research in Southern Africa; Vol 21, No 1 (2025); 9 pages 2415-2005 1817-4434
 
Language eng
 
Relation
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:

https://td-sa.net/index.php/td/article/view/1527/2577 https://td-sa.net/index.php/td/article/view/1527/2578 https://td-sa.net/index.php/td/article/view/1527/2580 https://td-sa.net/index.php/td/article/view/1527/2581
 
Coverage South Africa; Limpopo Province 2010; 2020 20; 60; males; females; African
Rights Copyright (c) 2025 Thobile P. Badimo, Itumeleng M. Masisi https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
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