“You Really Don't Know How Much It Hurts:” Children's and Preservice Teachers' Reactions to Childhood Teasing

Abstract The sensitivity of preservice teachers to the impact of teasing on children was examined. Preservice teachers (n = 164) and elementary-age children (n = 184) viewed one of three videotaped responses (i.e., Hostile, Ignore, or Humorous) to an observed teasing incident among children and then evaluated the child actor's response to the teasing and social status of the participants in the teasing episode. Preservice teachers were asked to respond as they thought children would. Results revealed several important differences between responses of preservice teachers and children, including how mad participants would be if they were involved and the effectiveness of the child's response to discourage subsequent teasing. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for understanding teachers' responses to teasing incidents in the school environment.

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