Pupils’ Aggressive Behaviour towards Teachers in Elementary Schools in Slovakia

Pupils’ aggressive behaviour towards teachers is a serious educational problem prompting social need for its solution in the school environment. The present research study aims to monitor the current state of pupils’ aggressive behaviour towards teachers. The study is of a theoretical-empirical nature. At the theoretical level, the issue is relatively little treated in the Slovak professional literature. It is paid more attention by foreign authors. The empirical section of the study presents results of our research conducted in Slovakia in 2016 among teachers of the elementary school second level in the Banská Bystrica and Žilina regions, as well as among professional staff at centres for pedagogical counselling and prevention. The research paid special attention to forms of aggressive behaviour, gender differences and causes of these serious behavioural disorders in pupils. Pupils’ aggressive behaviour towards teachers may have a variety of forms of which the verbal form such as back-talking and vulgarisms towards teachers is the most frequent. Gender differences recorded in pupils’ aggressive behaviour towards teachers showed the prevalence of boys. From the aspect of causes of pupils’ aggressive behaviour towards teachers, those were mainly improper parenting and a lack of teacher authority.