“They are Empty Baskets”: Teachers’ Perspective on Violence Among Children

Abstract

Violence behaviour in Kindergarten children has raised concerns about how teachers handle children's violence cases. Teachers' involvement in preventing and coping with children's violent behaviour relies on teachers' assessment of the situation or the care. Perceptions of children's violence could be different among teachers and academics. Using grounded theory, this research tries to discover the underlying dominant discourses behind teachers' perception of violence among children. This study interviewed three teachers who work at one of Kindergarten in West Bandung District, Indonesia. The findings show that there are three discourses embedded in teachers' perception of violence among children. The discourses are the normalization of violence among children, the innocent child, and blaming the adults. All of these discourses are perpetuated by the dominant developmentalism discourse. Viewed from a poststructuralist lens, this study discusses alternative perspectives about violent behaviour in Kindergarten. The findings may be helpful for preventive programs.