Browsing by Author "Punt, Yvette"
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- ItemDie bewustheid, houding en rapporteringspraktyke van grondslagfase-onderwysers rakende kindermishandeling(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2018-12) Punt, Yvette; Conradie, Karlien; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Education. Educational Psychology.ENGLISH SUMMARY : Child abuse is a serious, widespread social problem in South Africa, with one in every three children exposed to sexual and physical abuse before the age of 18 (USB Optimus Stigting, 2016). It not only has an immediate effect on the perpetrator, victim, families, and the community, but the prolonged impact of emotional and psychological scars can also influence the abused child during his or her whole life. Foundation-phase teachers find themselves in an ideal position to identify and report child abuse because of the large amount of time spent with children. Because of this reality, teachers play a vital role in identifying and reporting child abuse to protect and support children. Furthermore, a legal obligation rests on teachers to report child abuse if they suspect it. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine foundation-phase teachers' awareness, attitudes, and reporting practices regarding child abuse. The study is embedded in the social context perspective that considers both the bio-ecological model and social-constructionism. The approaches provided insight into the teachers' different experiences, multiple realities, and different social contexts in which they move around. The bio-ecological approach also provided insight into the various factors that affect an educator's identification and reporting practices. To achieve the objectives of the study, an interpretivist-constructivist qualitative research approach was followed. A multiple case study involving two different schools was used to approach the research questions. Three teachers per school were identified by means of purposive sampling and approached to participate voluntarily in the study. Data were generated by means of in-depth, semi-structured individual and focus group interviews that provided colourful qualitative descriptions. In addition, thematic analysis was used to group the participants' responses in different themes by means of coding. The research findings indicate that the teachers have the highest regard for their professional responsibility to protect children and thus identify and report child abuse. However, this study found that several factors prevent teachers from identifying and reporting child abuse. Although teachers have positive experiences with regard to their support structures, they seem to lack knowledge and training, together with potential challenges that could affect their attitude. These challenges prevent them from effectively fulfilling their role in dealing with abuse and include contextual and cultural beliefs, time limits and administrative aspects, their fear of the consequences of identification and reporting, as well as mistrust in the national protection and justice system. The results of the study also indicate that teachers have different needs with regard to identifying and reporting child abuse. Consequently, meaningful recommendations were made based on the findings from the study. Recommendations have been made especially regarding training, resources, and prevention strategies.