Teachers’ Experiences with Physical or Verbal Aggression in the Aftermath of COVID-19

Authors

Juana M. Lang, University of Phoenix, Arizona, USAFollow
Lucinda A. Hines, University of Phoenix, Arizona, USAFollow
Karen Johnson, University of Phoenix, Arizona, USAFollow

Abstract

This hermeneutical phenomenology study explored teachers’ lived experiences facing verbal or physical aggression from students after schools reopened post-COVID-19. Grounded in Bandura’s Social Learning Theory, Heider’s Attribution Theory, and Lazarus and Folkman’s Transactional Stress Theory, the study addressed the research question: What were teachers’ lived experiences with verbal or physical aggression from students after the first wave of COVID-19? Purposive and snowball sampling strategies were used in the study. The sample included four teachers (two middle schools and two high schools) from the Southeastern U.S. Data were collected through open-ended iterative interviews and analyzed thematically. Findings revealed four themes: teachers experiencing aggression, initial and persisting feelings related to the aggression, perceived aggression attributions, and coping strategies. These insights may inform educational policy, practice, and theory development regarding teacher-directed violence post-pandemic.

Keywords

physical abuse, verbal abuse, aggression, qualitative, hermeneutical phenomenology, phenomenology

Author Bio(s)

Juana M. Lang, Ed.D., is a researcher affiliated with the Center for Technology and Instruction Research and a research fellow at the Center for Leadership Studies at the University of Phoenix. She is interested in conducting educational research to assist leaders in solving the problems plaguing the field. Lang is a part-time college professor and a K-12 educator. She is an Editor for The Qualitative Report at Nova Southeastern University. Correspondence regarding this article can be addressed to Dr. Juana Lang, vickyhavana@email.phoenix.edu

Karen Johnson, Ed.D., is a researcher, author, and faculty at the University of Phoenix, where she has advised more than 100 doctoral students completing their dissertations since 2005. Johnson is a Research Fellow and Special Interest Group leader in the UoP Research Hub, where she shares her expertise on phenomenology as a research design. She has published and presented internationally and is an editorial board member of The Qualitative Report at Nova Southeastern. Dr. Johnson’s email is kjohnsonil@email.phoenix.edukjohnsonil@email.phoenix.edu

Lucinda Hines, DHA, is a healthcare executive with over 30 years of administrative experience with the U.S. Air Force, Air Force Reserve, and the Department of Veterans Affairs. She aims to inspire, encourage, and motivate others to acquire new knowledge and skills. Dr. Hines is a research fellow with the Center for Leadership Studies and Organizational Research and the Air Force lead for Credentialing and Privileging. Dr. Hines’s email is lucindahines@email.phoenix.edu

Acknowledgements

This research study was not funded by any organization, and there is no conflict of interest to disclose. The authors would like to acknowledge the Center for Educational and Instructional Technology Research at the University of Phoenix and Drs. Mansureth Kebritchi and Andrew Lawlor for their encouragement and insight while writing this manuscript. The authors thank the teachers who voluntarily participated in this study.

Publication Date

11-30-2025

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2025.6909

Recommended APA Citation

Lang, J. M., Hines, L. A., & Johnson, K. (2025). Teachers’ experiences with physical or verbal aggression in the aftermath of COVID-19. The Qualitative Report, 30(11), 4592-4610. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2025.6909

ORCID ID

https://orcid.org/0009-0007-5259-3847