Peer-reviewed article
Invisible pressure: a qualitative study of parental mobbing experienced by preschool teachers.
Bağcı SS, Asil AA ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This qualitative study examines mobbing behaviors directed at preschool teachers by parents, analyzing characteristics of parents who engage in mobbing, causes, impacts, and teacher coping strategies. The research involved 17 female preschool teachers and found that early-career teachers were most affected, with mobbing behaviors including verbal abuse, phone harassment, and interference in classroom practices. Teachers reported experiencing fear, stress, and obsessive thoughts, and primarily coped by seeking administrative mediation or direct communication. The study concludes that institutional policies and support mechanisms are needed to address workplace mobbing in educational settings.
Key points
- Mobbing was more frequently exhibited by female parents, and by parents with low or high education levels, small number of children, and high income
- Key contributing factors to mobbing included difficulties setting boundaries with parents and lack of administrative support
- Mobbing behaviors included being perceived as merely a caregiver, interference in classroom practices, phone harassment, verbal abuse, and threatening language
- Most common effects on teachers were fear of job loss, obsessive thoughts, and increased stress levels
- Teachers primarily coped through seeking mediation from school administrators or face-to-face communication
Limitations
This study focuses on teachers' experiences rather than child well-being outcomes, and does not assess impacts on preschool children or educational quality. The research involves only 17 female teachers and provides no information about the countries where the study was conducted, limiting generalizability.
Abstract
This study aims to examine parental mobbing behaviors directed toward preschool teachers and to explore the effects of these behaviors on teachers. Employing a qualitative research method, the study analyzes the characteristics of parents who engage in mobbing, the definitions, the causes, the impacts, and coping strategies related to mobbing based on teachers' lived experiences. The study group consisted of 17 female preschool teachers. The findings indicate that teachers who were exposed to mobbing were predominantly early-career or moderately experienced professionals. According to participants' accounts, mobbing behaviors were more frequently exhibited by female parents. In addition, parents with both low and high educational levels were prone to mobbing, driven by distinct contextual motivations, those with a small number of children, high-income parents were found to be more prone to engaging in mobbing behaviors toward teachers. Teachers identified several key factors contributing to mobbing, including difficulties in setting boundaries with parents, lack of administrative support. Mobbing behaviors reported by teachers included being perceived as caregiver, interference in classroom practices, phone harassment, verbal abuse, and threatening language. The most commonly reported effects of mobbing on teachers were fear of job loss, obsessive thoughts, and increased stress levels. Regarding coping strategies, seeking mediation from school administrators was the most frequently used approach, followed by face-to-face communication. Other strategies included changing communication styles and setting clearer boundaries. Overall, parental mobbing experiences create significant individual and institutional consequences, negatively affecting teachers' professional motivation and overall quality of life. The findings highlight the urgent need for the development of policies and practices aimed at preventing mobbing in educational settings and strengthening support mechanisms for teachers.