Teachers' beliefs about intervening in sexual orientation-based peer victimization

Background and Purpose: Sexual minority adolescents victimized at school do not always receive the desired level of support from teachers. There has been little research, however, to inform our understanding of teachers' responses to sexual orientation-based peer victimization. This study aimed to examine teachers' beliefs about intervening in such incidents. Methodology: We analyzed web-based survey responses from 343 Dutch secondary school teachers (57.7% female; 5.8% sexual minority; mean age = 44.5 years). The survey assessed teachers' beliefs about their role and intentions to intervene in hypothetical scenarios about peer victimization. We examined correlations between beliefs and intentions to intervene. Findings: Nearly all respondents intended to intervene upon observing the victimization of openly lesbian or gay students. Beliefs most strongly related to their intentions were about expected outcomes of their intervention (e.g., exacerbating the situation), knowing what to do in the situation, and feeling a sense of responsibility to intervene. Three-quarters of the respondents felt they could put a stop to victimizing behavior by intervening; only about half indicated that school policies would guide their response. Very few expressed concerns for their own safety or being perceived as gay/lesbian as a result of intervening. Conclusions: Findings suggest that teachers with a greater sense of responsibility and more positive outcome expectations related to intervening in student conflicts, as well as confidence in their abilities to intervene effectively, may be more likely to stop sexual orientation-based peer victimization. Future research must address how teachers' beliefs relate to actual intervention practices.