Training Teachers to Identify and Intervene with Abused Children

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Abstract
Teachers are a potentially helpful resource for abused children, but generally lack training in child abuse identification and intervention. Elementary and junior high school teachers (n = 104) were surveyed concerning their abuse‐related experience, knowledge and attitudes. Sixty‐eight percent of the teachers reported 3 or fewer hours of education about child abuse and 62% reported no prior experience with abuse cases. Half of the teachers (n = 51) then participated in a one‐day training workshop on child abuse. Repeated measures analyses revealed that treatment teachers, compared to control teachers, increased in knowledge about child abuse and developed more sympathetic attitudes toward the abusive parent. A six‐month follow‐up using self‐report data revealed no significant differences between groups in the number of cases of child abuse identified or reported. However, treatment teachers were significantly (1) more likely to report talking with individual students to determine if abuse was occurring, (2) more likely to report giving a class presentation on child abuse, (3) less likely to report the use of physical punishment in the classroom, (4) more likely to report discussing child abuse with colleagues.

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