Where Have All the Flowers Gone? Child‐protection education for preservice teachers in Australian universities

Abstract

This paper explores crucial issues in the preparation of teachers for effective child protection. A recent survey of institutions involved in teacher education indicated that, while teachers are among the first group of professionals to be nominated by the community as designated notifiers of child maltreatment, there is no systematic treatment of this issue in university courses. All of the Australian universities involved in teacher education were surveyed to determine the nature and extent of programme inclusions on child abuse and the personnel involved in presentation. The results indicated that only a limited number of institutions included the topic at all and only a few of these included it as part of their compulsory course requirements. Ironically, institutions located in states where notification of suspected child abuse is mandatory for teachers generally did not give adequate attention to preparation for this responsibility.

The Teachers’ Role in Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Programs: Implications for Teacher Education.

“…As the teacher's role in school based initiatives is increasingly recognized (Arnold & Maio-Taddeo, 2007;Briggs, 2005Briggs, , 2007Finkelhor, 2009;Mathews, 2011, Wurtele, 2009 there is a need for teachers to develop in-depth understandings and knowledge of 'best practices' around child sexual abuse prevention to enable informed selection and implementation of programs (Wurtele, 2009). We have argued however that there is a lack of professional development in child protection in the Australian context (Arnold & Maio-Taddeo, 2007;Mathews et al, 2009;Watts & Laskey, 1997) and hence a critical need for training. Drawing on evidence from a systematic review of literature five key considerations were identified as imperatives to guide the selecting and facilitating of appropriate child protection curriculum in schools.…”

“…The lack of professional development in child protection in the Australian context has been well documented (Arnold & Maio-Taddeo, 2007;Mathews et al, 2009;Watts & Laskey, 1997). For example, within Australian tertiary institutions research indicates low levels of pre-service teacher training (Watts & Laskey, 1997;Mathews, 2011) with 76.6 per cent of tertiary teacher education programs not addressing child protection (Arnold & Maio-Taddeo, 2007).…”

“…Educators, however, report many barriers to detecting and responding to child abuse and neglect with inadequate education identified as a critical factor (Abrahams, Casey & Daro, 1992: Baxter & Beers, 1990Hawkins & McCallum, 2001;Hazzard & Rupp, 1986;Reiniger, Robison & McHugh, 1995). This lack of education is evident in pre-service teacher training and in-service teacher professional development (Arnold & Maio-Taddeo, 2007;Mathews, 2011;Scholes, 2000;Walsh et al, 2008;Watts & Laskey, 1997).…”

“…For example, within Australian tertiary institutions research indicates low levels of pre-service teacher training (Watts & Laskey, 1997;Mathews, 2011) with 76.6 per cent of tertiary teacher education programs not addressing child protection (Arnold & Maio-Taddeo, 2007). Also of concern are findings that teachers continue to feel ill-equipped to deal with child protection issues that arise within Australian schools (Brown, 2008;Goldman & Grimbeek, 2008;Mathews, 2011;Scholes, 2000, Walsh, Farrell, Schweitzer & Bridgstock, 2005 with these sentiments echoed Internationally (Ireland -McKee & Dillenburger, 2012;New Zealand -Briggs, 2005, 2007; United States -Kenny, 2004; United KingdomNational Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children [NSPCC], 2012).…”

“…Professional development in the area of CSA prevention, however, is seriously lacking (Mathews, 2011) and evidence suggests a critical need for training. To this end, teachers need in-depth knowledge to empower them to carry out their responsibilities in the protection of children, with professional development recommended pre-service and in-service (Arnold & Maio-Taddeo, 2007;Mathews, 2011;Mathews, Walsh, Rassafiani, Butler & Farrell, 2009;Walsh, Laskey, McInnes, Farrell & Mathews, 2011;Watts & Laskey, 1997).…”