PRESCHOOL AND PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS' ROLE IN DETECTING AND REPORTING CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT CASES
Keywords:
child abuse and neglect, child abuse reporting, child abuse indicatorsAbstract
Any professional working with children is obliged by law to report
suspected child abuse. However, teachers face several difficulties in
recognizing and reporting abuse and neglect cases.
Using methods similar to those of international studies in this domain
(qualitative analysis of open questions questionnaire) this paper analyses the
responses given by a sample of teachers working in mainstream preschool
and primary school establishments in Cluj, highlighting the issues linked to
their knowledge of child abuse and neglect indicators and their reporting
attitudes.
The results highlight that, although the respondents are aware of possible
signs of child abuse and neglect, there is a lack of thorough knowledge of
child abuse indicators on an individual basis. The results also emphasis on
lack of training in this area and on reporting not being directed to social
services, leaving possible abuse cases outside of special intervention area.
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