Social-ecological Factors Associated With Victimization Against School Paraprofessionals By Students

• In Event: The Perils of Educating: A National Sample of School Personnel Perceptions of School Violence

Abstract

In recent years, an increasing number of studies have focused on violence against teachers. However, the variables contributing to victimization against school paraprofessionals remain under-explored. School paraprofessionals play a vital role in supporting student educational and behavioral development within the school hierarchy (Ravalier et al., 2021). These roles, characterized by less authority and varying degrees of student engagement compared to full-time teachers (Andrews, 2020), may expose them to higher risks of victimization by students. Therefore, exploring school paraprofessional victimization is important from an ecological and multidisciplinary service perspective (Astor & Benbenishty, 2018, McMahon et al., 2020; Reddy et al., 2023). To address the current research gaps, this study employed a social-ecological theoretical framework to test the impacts of individual (e.g., gender, race, year of experience, and educational background), school (e.g., school level, number of students, and school climate problems), and community factors (e.g., urbanicity, district support, and neighborhood climate) on victimization against school paraprofessionals.

The sample of this study is from the second wave data of a national online survey designed by the American Psychological Association (APA) Task Force on Violence Against Educators and School Personnel. The survey was conducted from 2021 to 2022 and was open to relevant pre-K-12 school personnel. Participants were from all 50 states and Puerto Rico, yielding a large convenience sample. The final sample includes 1129 school paraprofessionals.
The multiple regression analysis results indicated that individual factors including the year of experience (β = -.07, P < 0.05), school factors including school climate problems (β = .28, P < 0.01), and community factors including district support (β = -.06, P < 0.05) were significantly associated with verbal victimization. In addition, individual factors including the year of experience (β = -.08, P < 0.05), Black or African-American ethnicity (β = -.07, P < 0.05), and Hispanic or Latinx ethnicity (β = -.09, P < 0.05), school factors including school level (β = -.14, P < 0.01) and school climate problems (β = .17, P < 0.01), and community factors including district support (β = -.11, P < 0.01) were significantly associated with physical victimization.
By employing the social-ecological framework, our findings underscore years of experience, school climate problems, and district support emerge as crucial determinants of verbal and physical victimization experiences of school paraprofessionals. It suggested schools might consider professional development focused on safety training, especially for staff with fewer years of experience or those in high-risk environments. Enhancing school climate through policies that foster respect and address discrimination could mitigate some risk factors. Moreover, strengthening district support and community engagement may serve as a protective factor against the victimization of school paraprofessionals.

Authors

• Chaoyue Wu, University of California - Los Angeles

• Ron Avi Astor, University of California - Los Angeles