BREAKOUT SESSION B5

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10:20 AM – 11:20 AM

North Studio 1

Addressing Violence in Teaching – A Hands-on Workshop

The Normalization of Violence in Schools: Tools to Fight Back

Jennifer Klaassen, ETFO

When an elementary school student engages in violent behaviour, it is the result of unmet needs. As education funding has eroded and students in schools are subject to many societal shifts, the needs have become greater, and the resources to meet them have become more scarce. This has resulted in increasing violence in schools, which is the single greatest health and safety concern of workers in education.

The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario has been engaged in a strategy to address violence in schools since 2017. In two all-member surveys (2017 and 2023) data gathered has allowed for an analysis of the scope of the issue and the gaps in prevention and response that allow violence to continue and grow. Those surveys have also gathered demographic data that paints a picture of the experiences of ETFO members in their first five years of work.

This workshop will give an overview of the issue, particularly as it affects new teachers, examining the impact of the insidious message that violence is part of the job. The data will help identify the gaps in the knowledge of new teachers.

A variety of ETFO resources designed to help members understand and exercise their rights under the Occupational Health and Safety Act will be reviewed. Participants will leave the workshop with the information and tools that new teachers need in order to start careers in which they will be safe from harm due to violence.