Public Elementary Teachers' Experiences With Explosive Student Outbursts: A Qualitative Phenomenological Study
The problem explored in this qualitative phenomenological study was the adverse effects on elementary school teachers resulting from experiencing students’ explosive outbursts (Bostic et al., 2021). The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of public general education elementary teachers who experienced explosive student outbursts at school. Two research questions guided this study: How do public general education elementary teachers describe their lived experiences with explosive student outbursts at school? How do public general education elementary teachers describe the outcomes of explosive student outbursts? The theoretical framework was based on Lazarus and Folkman’s (1984) transactional theory of stress and coping. Literature review themes included explosive outburst characteristics and terminology, behavior intervention strategies, adverse effects on teachers, teacher coping strategies, and teacher resilience. Data were gathered through individual semi-structured interviews of eight participants who self-identified as being general elementary teachers from the site district and had experienced explosive student outbursts at school. Following the coding and analysis of the data, several themes were revealed, including primary appraisal of well-being, lived experiences, coping strategies, and outcomes. The findings that focused on the participants’ lived experiences included threat appraisal, explosive behavior characteristics, and coping strategies. Adverse effects, the need for more student services, and teachers experiencing self-blame were findings associated with the outcomes of experiencing students’ explosive outbursts. The study results contribute to the limited research on elementary teachers’ experiences with students’ explosive outbursts, and stakeholders can use the results to create support systems for teachers. Keywords: adverse effects, coping strategies, explosive behaviors, explosive student outbursts, elementary teachers.
adverse effects, coping strategies, explosive behaviors, explosive student outbursts, elementary teachers, Education, Elementary Education
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