Toward Understanding Classroom Socialization: Teacher Roles in Peer Victimization

Teachers play a pivotal role in the prevention and intervention of peer victimization. The purpose of this chapter is to review theoretical and conceptual frameworks of teacher influences on overall peer relations and more specifically peer victimization. This chapter also offers a review of empirical studies on several areas that implicate teacher’s role in peer victimization, such as teaching practices, teacher student relationships/interactions, and classroom experiences for minoritized students. This review provides strong theoretical and empirical rationales of examining teachers’ socialization and interactions with students as a part of classroom ecology. Drawing from this review, we summarize key practical implications, including a social emotional learning approach and use of existing instructional opportunities as prevention and intervention strategies. Discussion on future directions addresses efforts to support teachers toward positive peer relations and classroom ecology.