Elementary School Teachers' Responses to Potential Child Abuse

This study was designed to evaluate: (a) teachers' behavior when they are confronted with potential cases of child abuse and (b) the information teachers require to make accurate decisions regarding the reporting of suspected child abuse. Teachers were presented with three vignettes describing cases of varying levels of suspected maltreatment, and different amounts of additional information. They were then asked to indicate how likely they would be to report the case to Child Protective Services (CPS). It was expected that reporting behavior would increase as available information increased. The results generally did not support this hypothesis. No significant impact on reporting behavior was found when teachers were presented with either the symptom list or the legal interpretation; however, there was a trend toward an interaction with the level of abusive indications in the case. These results are discussed in the context of the need for further training.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:unt.edu/info:ark/67531/metadc2055024
Date05 1900
CreatorsDriskill, Julie D.
ContributorsSewell, Kenneth W., Harrell, Ernest H., Jenkins, Sharon Rae, Martin, Sander
PublisherUniversity of North Texas
Source SetsUniversity of North Texas
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis or Dissertation
Formatvi, 63 p. ; 28 cm., Text
RightsPublic, Copyright, Driskill, Julie D., Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved.

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