Beyond the Power Imbalance: Exploring the Contexts of Teacher-Targeted Bullying in Taiwan

Abstract Book of the 10th World Conference on Social Sciences and Humanities

Year: 2026

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Beyond the Power Imbalance: Exploring the Contexts of Teacher-Targeted Bullying in Taiwan

Hui Ying Mao, Kuan-Ming Chen

ABSTRACT:

Background: Traditional definitions of school bullying in Taiwan emphasize a power imbalance where more powerful individuals target the less powerful. However, rising incidents of student-on-teacher bullying (TTB) challenge this paradigm. This study investigates the diverse contexts in which teachers experience workplace humiliation within the Taiwanese secondary education system.
Methodology: Utilizing a convergent mixed-methods design, an online survey was administered to 177 in-service secondary school teachers across Taiwan. This submission focuses on the qualitative thematic analysis of open-ended responses regarding authentic field experiences of victimization.
Findings: Thematic analysis categorized teacher-targeted bullying into five distinct contexts: student disrespect, verbal aggression, intentional rule-violation, parental humiliation (perpetrated by students’ parents), and administrative disrespect. The findings reveal that “powerless” students and external stakeholders (parents) can act as transgressors, challenging the traditional victim-transgressor binary.
Conclusions: These findings highlight the highly contextual nature of TTB. The study underscores the necessity for incident-specific support interventions, particularly for cases involving verbal aggression and parental involvement, which emerged as significant sources of professional distress.

Keywords: Teacher-Targeted Bullying; Emotional Responses; Workplace Humiliation; Mixed-Methods Design; Teacher Support