HREDU82
Assignment 2 PSYCHOLOGY 2026
Unique number:
Due date: July 2026
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Exploring Teachers’ Experiences of Supporting Learners Who Display Aggressive
Behaviour in South African Schools ........................................................................... 3
Teachers’ Perceptions of the Influence of Disruptive Behaviour on Teaching and
Learning in South African Schools ........................................................................... 12
Bullying in Secondary Schools: Prevalence, Effects and Prevention Strategies in the
Cape Town District ................................................................................................... 22
Understanding Defiant Behaviour: The Role of the School Environment in Providing
Support..................................................................................................................... 31
,TABLE OF CONTENTS
Exploring Teachers’ Experiences of Supporting Learners Who Display Aggressive
Behaviour in South African Schools ........................................................................... 3
Teachers’ Perceptions of the Influence of Disruptive Behaviour on Teaching and
Learning in South African Schools ........................................................................... 12
Bullying in Secondary Schools: Prevalence, Effects and Prevention Strategies in the
Cape Town District ................................................................................................... 22
Understanding Defiant Behaviour: The Role of the School Environment in Providing
Support..................................................................................................................... 31
,Exploring Teachers’ Experiences of Supporting Learners Who Display
Aggressive Behaviour in South African Schools
1. Introduction
Learner aggression has become a serious concern because it weakens school
safety, interrupts teaching and places emotional pressure on teachers. Aggression
may involve bullying, threats, verbal insults, intimidation, damage to property and
physical attacks against learners or school staff. Although these behaviours differ in
seriousness, they can create fear and make it difficult for teachers to maintain
classrooms where learners feel secure and ready to learn. South African schools are
particularly affected because learner behaviour is often connected with poverty,
family instability, community violence, substance misuse and unequal access to
support services (Mncube and Harber, 2013).
Teachers are expected to protect learners, maintain discipline, complete the
curriculum and respond to behavioural difficulties, sometimes without suitable
training or professional support. Their experiences are important because the
success of any school-based intervention depends greatly on how teachers
understand aggression and how confident they feel when responding to it. The
proposed study therefore explores teachers’ experiences, the challenges they face,
the strategies they use and the support they require when assisting aggressive
learners.
This literature review critically examines the meaning and forms of learner
aggression, its contributing factors, its effects on teachers and learning, teachers’
responses and the support available within schools. It also identifies weaknesses in
current scholarship and explains why teachers’ lived experiences require further
investigation.
2. Literature Review
2.1 Understanding learner aggression in schools
Learner aggression refers to behaviour intended to harm, frighten, dominate or
distress another person. It may be physical, verbal, emotional, social or indirect.
, Physical aggression includes hitting, kicking, pushing, fighting and using weapons,
while verbal aggression includes insults, threats, swearing and humiliating
comments. Social aggression may involve deliberate exclusion, spreading rumours
or encouraging other learners to reject a particular person. Bullying is related to
aggression but usually involves repeated harmful behaviour and a power imbalance
between the person responsible and the victim (Coloroso, 2016).
School aggression should not be understood only as serious physical violence. Less
visible conduct, including mocking, intimidation and persistent verbal disrespect, may
also harm teachers and learners. Focusing only on physical incidents can cause
schools to overlook emotional and relational aggression until it becomes severe.
Furlong and Morrison (2000) argue that school violence must be understood within
the social setting of the school because relationships, rules, leadership practices and
disciplinary systems influence how aggressive behaviour develops and continues.
Aggression must also be distinguished from ordinary disagreement or temporary
frustration. Conflict is expected in social settings, but it becomes harmful when
learners repeatedly use threats, force or humiliation instead of constructive
communication. Teachers are therefore required to judge the seriousness, purpose
and context of behaviour before deciding how to respond. This judgement is difficult
because the same behaviour may have different meanings depending on the
learner’s age, personal history and emotional condition.
2.2 Factors contributing to learner aggression
Learner aggression is shaped by several interacting personal, family, school and
community factors. Family conflict, harsh punishment, neglect and exposure to
domestic violence may teach children that aggression is a normal way of solving
disagreements. Children often learn behaviour by observing powerful people around
them, particularly when aggressive conduct appears to produce control or
compliance. Learners may bring these learned responses into the classroom and
use them against peers or teachers (Kaiser and Rasminsky, 2017).
Community conditions also influence behaviour in schools. Many South African
learners live in communities affected by poverty, unemployment, crime, gang activity
and substance misuse. Continued exposure to violence may reduce sensitivity
Assignment 2 PSYCHOLOGY 2026
Unique number:
Due date: July 2026
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Exploring Teachers’ Experiences of Supporting Learners Who Display Aggressive
Behaviour in South African Schools ........................................................................... 3
Teachers’ Perceptions of the Influence of Disruptive Behaviour on Teaching and
Learning in South African Schools ........................................................................... 12
Bullying in Secondary Schools: Prevalence, Effects and Prevention Strategies in the
Cape Town District ................................................................................................... 22
Understanding Defiant Behaviour: The Role of the School Environment in Providing
Support..................................................................................................................... 31
,TABLE OF CONTENTS
Exploring Teachers’ Experiences of Supporting Learners Who Display Aggressive
Behaviour in South African Schools ........................................................................... 3
Teachers’ Perceptions of the Influence of Disruptive Behaviour on Teaching and
Learning in South African Schools ........................................................................... 12
Bullying in Secondary Schools: Prevalence, Effects and Prevention Strategies in the
Cape Town District ................................................................................................... 22
Understanding Defiant Behaviour: The Role of the School Environment in Providing
Support..................................................................................................................... 31
,Exploring Teachers’ Experiences of Supporting Learners Who Display
Aggressive Behaviour in South African Schools
1. Introduction
Learner aggression has become a serious concern because it weakens school
safety, interrupts teaching and places emotional pressure on teachers. Aggression
may involve bullying, threats, verbal insults, intimidation, damage to property and
physical attacks against learners or school staff. Although these behaviours differ in
seriousness, they can create fear and make it difficult for teachers to maintain
classrooms where learners feel secure and ready to learn. South African schools are
particularly affected because learner behaviour is often connected with poverty,
family instability, community violence, substance misuse and unequal access to
support services (Mncube and Harber, 2013).
Teachers are expected to protect learners, maintain discipline, complete the
curriculum and respond to behavioural difficulties, sometimes without suitable
training or professional support. Their experiences are important because the
success of any school-based intervention depends greatly on how teachers
understand aggression and how confident they feel when responding to it. The
proposed study therefore explores teachers’ experiences, the challenges they face,
the strategies they use and the support they require when assisting aggressive
learners.
This literature review critically examines the meaning and forms of learner
aggression, its contributing factors, its effects on teachers and learning, teachers’
responses and the support available within schools. It also identifies weaknesses in
current scholarship and explains why teachers’ lived experiences require further
investigation.
2. Literature Review
2.1 Understanding learner aggression in schools
Learner aggression refers to behaviour intended to harm, frighten, dominate or
distress another person. It may be physical, verbal, emotional, social or indirect.
, Physical aggression includes hitting, kicking, pushing, fighting and using weapons,
while verbal aggression includes insults, threats, swearing and humiliating
comments. Social aggression may involve deliberate exclusion, spreading rumours
or encouraging other learners to reject a particular person. Bullying is related to
aggression but usually involves repeated harmful behaviour and a power imbalance
between the person responsible and the victim (Coloroso, 2016).
School aggression should not be understood only as serious physical violence. Less
visible conduct, including mocking, intimidation and persistent verbal disrespect, may
also harm teachers and learners. Focusing only on physical incidents can cause
schools to overlook emotional and relational aggression until it becomes severe.
Furlong and Morrison (2000) argue that school violence must be understood within
the social setting of the school because relationships, rules, leadership practices and
disciplinary systems influence how aggressive behaviour develops and continues.
Aggression must also be distinguished from ordinary disagreement or temporary
frustration. Conflict is expected in social settings, but it becomes harmful when
learners repeatedly use threats, force or humiliation instead of constructive
communication. Teachers are therefore required to judge the seriousness, purpose
and context of behaviour before deciding how to respond. This judgement is difficult
because the same behaviour may have different meanings depending on the
learner’s age, personal history and emotional condition.
2.2 Factors contributing to learner aggression
Learner aggression is shaped by several interacting personal, family, school and
community factors. Family conflict, harsh punishment, neglect and exposure to
domestic violence may teach children that aggression is a normal way of solving
disagreements. Children often learn behaviour by observing powerful people around
them, particularly when aggressive conduct appears to produce control or
compliance. Learners may bring these learned responses into the classroom and
use them against peers or teachers (Kaiser and Rasminsky, 2017).
Community conditions also influence behaviour in schools. Many South African
learners live in communities affected by poverty, unemployment, crime, gang activity
and substance misuse. Continued exposure to violence may reduce sensitivity
