Child neglect and abuse is a widespread problem and mandatory reporting is one of society's most important instruments for detecting and supporting children that are affected. Teachers are an occupational professional group in a unique position to identify children affected by abuse and neglect, but previous research shows that teachers often lack proper education and skills to detect children in need of protection and support. The aim of the study is to examine the qualifications student teachers acquire during their undergraduate studies to act as mandated reporters in their future careers. Furthermore the aim is to problematize how prepared student teachers are for this responsibility. All final year student teachers studying F-3 and 4-6 at Linneaus university in Kalmar and Växjö were asked to participate in a web survey. The results of the study showed that education on child neglect and abuse was scarce and received no primary focus during student teachers basic training. The results also showed that only a minority of the student teachers had received information via official guidelines and documents, while previous work experience was a major source of knowledge on child abuse and neglect. Our conclusion of the study is that student teachers are ill prepared for the responsibility as mandated reporters. This is problematized in the discussion where mandatory reporting and it’s prerequisites are put in a different perspective based on society's responsibility regarding child abuse and neglect.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:lnu-85902 |
| Date | January 2019 |
| Creators | Ström, Mattias, Ahnstedt, Joel |
| Publisher | Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för socialt arbete (SA), Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för socialt arbete (SA) |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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