Verbal Abuse in Schools: Analyzing the Features of Teachers’ Verbal Abuse From the Linguistic Perspective

This study aims to investigate the forms of verbal abuse by teachers toward students during the teaching and learning process, the prototype of verbal abuse recognized by teachers, and the specific features of verbal abuse of students by teachers. This study used mixed methods that combine qualitative and quantitative methods. The quantitative method focused on investigating the frequency of verbal abuse by teachers using the Korean Verbal Abuse Questionnaire. Meanwhile, the qualitative method examined the prototype of verbal abuse recognized by teachers and the features of verbal abuse that teachers use toward students. This study recruited 204 students from the fourth to the sixth grades of elementary school and 30 teacher representatives from five elementary schools in Indonesia. The data were collected through online surveys and interviews. The data on the frequency of verbal abuse by teachers during the teaching and learning process were analyzed using descriptive statistics. In contrast, the data from the open-ended questionnaire for teachers and the interviews with students and teachers were analyzed using content analysis. This study found that there are four types of verbal abuse by teachers. These are raising their voices, telling students that they are acting stupid or like brats, scolding, and calling names that make students feel inadequate. Teachers tend to define abuse as something that is physically aggressive, suggesting that teachers often categorize abuse within the realm of physical violence. There are four types of verbal abuse features found in teachers’ utterances; these are labeling students’ cognitive ability, labeling students’ behaviors, shaming students’ physiques, and raising their voices. The results of this study can be employed to develop communication strategies for teachers to lessen verbal abuse during the teaching and learning process.