Anger Control and Zero-Violence Training: Transforming Classroom Practice and School Climate in Timor-Leste

School violence is a critical issue in various education systems, including Timor-Leste, where teachers' choice of physical and verbal aggression undermines the well-being of students and their academic performance. This qualitative case study examined how anger control and zero-violence training can be applied to teaching methods and improve the school climate in basic education schools. Semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions were used to gather data on 32 teachers in a primary school that had already attended the training, and a thematic analysis was used. Four themes were identified, including the difficulty of teachers regulating their emotions and dealing with the aggression of students, adopting restorative and student-centred approaches, attitude and professional identity changes, and suggestions on how to maintain the effects of training. The results indicate that training improved the emotional awareness of teachers and decreased the use of punitive discipline, but success would be greater in the long term with systemic support from schools and parents. The study helps address the existing gap in the literature on teacher emotional competencies in Timor-Leste. It proposes that anger management and zero-violence training be incorporated into pre-service and in-service teacher training as a way of ensuring safe, supportive, and inclusive classrooms.