Date
4-2022
Department
School of Education
Degree
Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership (EdD)
Chair
Antionette Stroter
Keywords
Hazing, Teacher Perceptions, High School, Middle School, Bullying
Disciplines
Education | Educational Leadership
Recommended Citation
Joseph, DeLisa A., "Teacher Perceptions of Hazing among Middle & High School Students: A Phenomenological Study" (2022). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 3457.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/3457
Abstract
The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to explore teacher perceptions of hazing at the middle and high school levels. Additionally, this study explored coaches’, school counselors’, and school leadership team members’ experiences of hazing among middle and high school students. Relevant literature related to hazing within education, the comparison, and contrast of hazing and bullying, policies, group dynamics, imitation, and student perceptions were reviewed. The theory that guided this study was Albert Bandura’s 1986 Social Cognitive Theory, as it emphasizes social influence and external and internal social reinforcement. The research questions used were (1) What are teachers’ perceptions of hazing among middle and high school students? (2) What are coaches’ perceptions of hazing among middle and high school students? (3) What are school counselors’ perceptions of hazing among middle and high school students? (4) What are the school leadership teams’ perceptions of hazing among middle and high school students? (5) To what extent do hazing and bullying overlap among middle and high school students? The sample participants were from middle and high schools including teachers, coaches, and school leadership team members. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, focus groups, researcher field notes, and document analysis of student and school archival data. As indicated by Moustakas, all data were analyzed through epoché, phenomenological reduction, imagination variation, and meaning synthesis. As data were analyzed, themes associated with power, a culture of silence, unwritten rules, and intentionality were developed, which allowed me as the researcher to make implications and recommendations geared towards prevention for future research.
