School Administrators Face More Parental Hostility Than Teachers, Study Finds

School administrators, the people tasked with keeping campuses safe, are themselves increasingly on the receiving end of verbal abuse from parents, according to new research.

The study, published in the journal Psychology of Violence, surveyed school personnel at three points: before the COVID-19 pandemic, during remote learning, and after restrictions were lifted. The results were unexpected: administrators were far more likely than teachers or school mental health professionals to report experiencing verbal aggression and threats from parents.

After pandemic restrictions ended, 77% of administrators said they had faced parental hostility — a rate nearly 3.5 times higher than that reported by teachers. The research was led by Eric Anderman, a professor of educational psychology at The Ohio State University, with colleagues from the American Psychological Association’s Task Force on Violence Against Educators.

While physical violence in schools often makes headlines, this study zeroed in on the verbal aggression educators face daily — intimidation, cyberbullying, public humiliation, and identity-based slurs.

Anderman explained that administrators are often the first point of contact for angry parents. “They are the face of the school,” he said. During the pandemic, frustration over online learning and learning loss was often directed at them. “Administrators take the brunt of that,” he added.

The study found that aggression dipped during remote learning but rose to even higher levels afterward. Anderman noted that while physical aggression does occur, it is far less common than verbal abuse.

He also pointed to the role of online spaces, noting that much of the aggression during the height of restrictions happened through social media.

The research suggests that positive relationships between educators and parents can reduce such incidents. Anderman recommends that schools start the year by reaching out to parents with good news, not just problems. He also stressed the importance of community support and district-level backing for administrators.

For parents, he advised approaching schools with a constructive mindset rather than anger. “Principals, administrators, teachers, they go into this profession because they want to help people,” he said. “When people come in attack mode, they’re going to be defensive.”

The study also highlights the broader impact of such aggression, which has been linked to educators’ intentions to quit and to students’ decisions about whether to enter the profession.