Penkauskienė, Daiva

Introduction: Teacher victimization is an important occupational stressor that can undermine educators' psychological functioning and professional sustainability. Guided by stress–coping theory, this study examined the relationships among multiple forms of victimization, coping strategies, and psychological well-being.Methods: A nationwide sample of Lithuanian teachers (N = 1,044) completed validated measures assessing exposure to victimization, coping responses, and psychological well-being, including indicators of flourishing and emotional experiences. Structural equation modeling was used to examine direct and indirect relationships among variables.Results: Victimization was associated with poorer psychological well-being, particularly reduced flourishing and increased negative emotional experiences. Adaptive coping strategies–such as active coping, positive reframing, and religious coping–were related to higher well-being, whereas maladaptive strategies, including self-blame, behavioral disengagement, and substance use, were associated with poorer outcomes. Structural equation modeling indicated a small but significant indirect effect (β ≈ .02), suggesting that coping partially mediated the relationship between victimization and well-being. A substantial direct association between victimization and well-being remained (β ≈ −.25, p < .001).Discussion: These findings suggest that strengthening teachers' coping skills may help mitigate the emotional consequences of victimization; however, individual coping alone is insufficient. Supporting teacher well-being requires not only individual-level interventions but also organizational and policy-level efforts aimed at preventing workplace victimization in educational settings.

A phenomenographical study was used to examine how teachers experience violence directed at them in school. The findings identify four ways in which they experience violence, as specified through three interacting dimensional variations: the source, the form and the addressee of impact (the teacher as a professional role, as a person or both). This extends educational research on teacher victimisation by conceptualising the phenomenon through power relations and harm to the professional and/or personal identity of teachers.

Abstract Aim. The aim of this study is to reveal the victimisation of Lithuanian teachers in educational institutions. In order to achieve the aim of the study, the following hypotheses were put forward: traumatic experiences as a student are related to experiences of bullying and violence as a teacher; different forms of violence are interrelated; and teachers who have experienced one form of violence are more likely to experience others. Methods. A quantitative study was conducted, and a questionnaire was developed for data collection using validated scales: Multidimensional Teacher Victimisation Scale (MT-VS-2); Teacher Bullying Experience Scale; Posttraumatic Cognitions Inventory – PTCI-9; Brief COPE. A probabilistic multistage sampling method was used, involving systematic and cluster sampling, with 1,044 teachers participating. Results. Teachers most often experience psychological and verbal abuse (e.g., the incitement of students to disobey, swearing, gossip, etc.), and less often experience physical abuse, damage to property, sexual harassment, and cyber-attacks. Significant correlations were found between early trauma and current bullying by students, parents, colleagues, and administrative staff. Strong links were also found between physical violence and sexual and cyber harassment, as well as between property damage and psychological violence. Conclusions. Teacher victimisation is a complex phenomenon determined by traumatic experiences, interpersonal relationships, and the overall school climate. Teachers most often experience psychological and verbal violence. The different forms of violence experienced by teachers are interrelated. Originality. The study found that trauma experienced by teachers in childhood is positively associated with current experiences of violence and greater visibility of violence.

Teacher victimization is a growing concern with well-documented implications for educators’ psychological well-being. However, less is known about how such experiences relate not only to emotional outcomes but also to critical thinking. This study aimed to examine the associations between different forms of teacher victimization (e.g., physical, social, verbal, and cyber), psychological well-being (flourishing, positive and negative emotions), and critical thinking.

There is a lack of research analyzing how teachers themselves define violence and what patterns of behavior they personally consider to be violent. It is precisely this subjective perception of violence that may explain why some situations remain invisible at the institutional level: they are not named and reported, or they are normalized as part of a teacher’s job, even though, in the long run, they can negatively affect a teacher’s professional identity and well-being. A phenomenographic perspective was applied in this research. It has been found that teachers understand violence in the workplace as pressure to obey, aggressive behavior, insults, public humiliation, and non-transparent decisions, which are characterized by verbal, physical, written, and visual expressions. The scope of the research results shows that the teachers’ perception of violence is not limited to incidents but is revealed as a process of constructing meaning that combines the form of violence, structural features, and orientation toward the teacher as a professional or as a person. The study broadens not only the concept of violence in the school environment but also the field of analysis of the teacher as an object of violence, and it reveals that the teachers’ understanding of violence is more related to administrative power practices.

Tai studijų knyga, skirta magistrantams ir doltorantams, norintiems susipažinti su Lietuvos mokslininkų taikytomis tyrimų metodologijomis. I knygos tomą sudaro aštuoni skyriai, kiekviename iš jų pristatoma skirtinga tyrimų metodologija.

The purpose of this study was to explore the links between the perceived importance of critical thinking skills, self-reported critical thinking skills, and work engagement. The study applied a cross-sectional design, and the sample consisted of 2012 employees; the mean age was 41.93 (SD=11.42). To analyse the links between the constructs, three instruments were used: The Work Engagement Scale (UWES), The Perceived Importance of the Critical Thinking Skills Scale (PICTS), and The self-reported Critical Thinking Skills Scale (CTS). For the statistical analyses, SPSS v.26.0, AMOS v.26.0, JASP v.18, and JAMOVI v.2.2.1 software was applied. Confirmatory factor analyses showed the acceptable model fit and validity of the scales in the Lithuanian population. The structural equation modelling results revealed the complex model of the links between the perceived importance of critical thinking skills, the self-reported critical thinking skills, and the elements of work engagement, namely, vigour, dedication, and absorption. The findings revealed that both self-reported critical thinking and the perceived importance of critical thinking skills positively contributed to work engagement, thus indicating the need to foster critical thinking in organizations so that to ensure their flourishing and efficacy.