Teachers’ Experiences of Being Sexually Harassed by Students: A Case Study of Secondary Teachers in South Korea
Lim, Mina (2020)
2020
Master's Programme in Teacher Education
Kasvatustieteiden ja kulttuurin tiedekunta - Faculty of Education and Culture
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2020-12-04
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202010287630
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202010287630
Tiivistelmä
While sexual harassment towards female teachers is rising in Korea, little attention has been paid to their experience. Previous international publications reveal that male students utilize sexual harassment to enhance their gender power, which trespasses the traditional teacher-student relationship.
To address this gap in the literature, this study explores the experience of Korean secondary female teachers being sexually harassed by male students, their responding strategies, and what support the teachers need. To highlight the subjective feelings and thoughts from the individual experiences, a qualitative case study is used, and semi-structured interviews are conducted.
The findings present sexual harassment by students as a perpetuated phenomenon in secondary schools in Korea. According to the teacher participants, the harassment ranges from sexual remarks to sex-objectification. From the routinized behaviors of male students, the teachers suffer negative feelings that lead to job-related outcomes. In responding, the teachers changed their strategies from confronting to sidestepping. Rather, they employed different teaching methods and increased self-surveillance. To combat this issue, the teachers argued the need for social changes, practical sex/gender education, and the creation of an independent response system.
The study provides useful implications and suggestions for teachers, school administrators, and teacher educators. First, it allowed teachers to speak of their experiences that have not been discussed, and thus were marginalized. This makes the problem visible and brings attention to the other subtle gender issues present in a school context. Then, it gives insights to teacher educators to design gender programs for pre-teachers or in-service teachers.
To address this gap in the literature, this study explores the experience of Korean secondary female teachers being sexually harassed by male students, their responding strategies, and what support the teachers need. To highlight the subjective feelings and thoughts from the individual experiences, a qualitative case study is used, and semi-structured interviews are conducted.
The findings present sexual harassment by students as a perpetuated phenomenon in secondary schools in Korea. According to the teacher participants, the harassment ranges from sexual remarks to sex-objectification. From the routinized behaviors of male students, the teachers suffer negative feelings that lead to job-related outcomes. In responding, the teachers changed their strategies from confronting to sidestepping. Rather, they employed different teaching methods and increased self-surveillance. To combat this issue, the teachers argued the need for social changes, practical sex/gender education, and the creation of an independent response system.
The study provides useful implications and suggestions for teachers, school administrators, and teacher educators. First, it allowed teachers to speak of their experiences that have not been discussed, and thus were marginalized. This makes the problem visible and brings attention to the other subtle gender issues present in a school context. Then, it gives insights to teacher educators to design gender programs for pre-teachers or in-service teachers.