Theses and Dissertations from DePaul University

Date of Award

Spring 2026

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

College

College of Science and Health

First Advisor

Susan McMahon

Abstract

Educator-directed violence is a serious problem that has adverse effects on the careers and lives of those victimized. Educators and school personnel in the United States experience this violence within institutions that are shaped by long-checkered histories of racism and racial discrimination (Bickford and Clabough, 2021) that continue today (Carver-Thomas, 2018). Thus, there is a need to consider the roles of race and racism in the violence educators and school personnel experience. This study investigated educators’ and other school personnel’s experiences of physical and verbal/threatening violence, harm, and psychological distress. Through a racial stress and trauma framework, this study also examined the influence of race-based violence and racial and ethnic minority status on the severity of harm felt after experiencing violence. Using multiple linear regressions and PROCESS modeling (Hayes, 2022) this study examined cross-sectional survey data from 5,562 educators and school personnel from across the U.S. Results indicated significant role, school context, and identity-based differences in the violence, experienced harm, and psychological distress felt by educators and other school personnel. PROCESS analyses indicated that educator-directed violence was positively associated with psychological distress and that this relation was partially mediated by experienced harm. However, the relation of educator-directed violence and experienced harm was attenuated among educators and school personnel that reported experiencing race-based violence, especially among those from minoritized racial and/or ethnic backgrounds. Findings suggest that race-based violence shapes how educator and school personnel directed violence is appraised rather than directly increasing harm and psychological distress. This underscores the need for detection initiatives and prevention strategies that are equity-focused and address both educator and school personnel directed violence and race-based violence.

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