Knowledge of child abuse among trainee teachers and teachers in service in Spain

Abstract

The role that schools play in the detection of and intervention into child abuse is fundamental. This study investigates and compares knowledge of child abuse among trainee teachers and in-service teachers in Spain. To this end, a total of 224 teachers (144 teachers in training and 80 teachers in service) working in Early Childhood Education and Primary Education participated in this study, using self-developed scales (Scale of knowledge of child abuse, Scale of action against child abuse, Scale of aspects for improvement in child abuse). The results indicate that there are no significant differences between trainees and teachers in the previous training and in the level of knowledge and action in relation to child abuse. However, significant differences were found in the cases detected and intervened in, with a greater number of teachers in service having detected and acted on cases of child abuse. In regard to the interest in improving the way that child abuse is dealt with, teachers in training obtained a higher average score. In conclusion, we note that the relationship between knowledge about child abuse, action taken and the aspects for improvement is significant and positive, so if a teacher has more knowledge about child abuse, he or she will also know how to act better and will have greater interest in implementing improvement measures.