A survey of primary school educators' attitudes towards child sexual abuse in a South African black community.
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Date
1998
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Abstract
This study examines primary school educators' attitudes towards the sexual abuse of children
in a South African black community. The aims of this study are threefold: to assess educators' knowledge and attitudes towards, and management recommendations for child
sexual abuse. to examine differences in the attitudes of male and female educators and lastly,
to look at differences in opinions of different age groups of educators. A sample of 155
educators in the Edendale area was randomly selected. These schools fall under the ex-
Department of Education and Training and are traditional African schools. Educators were
asked to read a case vignette describing a child sexual abuse case. They were then asked to
respond to a questionnaire divided into three categories - knowledge, attitudes and
management recommendations. Educators were asked to indicate the extent to which they
agreed with the various statements. The data was analysed using means, frequencies and
standard deviations for each statement. To examine the effects of age and gender, chi-square tests for independent samples were conducted per statement. Results showed that teachers
have some knowledge in the area of child sexual abuse and were able to identify emotional and behavioural signs in the classroom, but that they had insufficient knowledge about the incestuous abuse of children. Results also indicated that teachers have a positive attitude towards intervention. Teachers agreed that a child needs to receive treatment from
psychologists and that abuse should not be kept secret. In looking at significant differences
in the gender of the educators, it appeared that more female teachers thought that young
children are more traumatized by abuse than older children, and that more female teachers
felt that a child should directly confront the perpetrator. Lastly, results showed that teachers know some procedures for dealing with abused children. In-service training was recommended as a means of helping teachers deal effectively with sexually abused children.
Description
Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1998.
Keywords
Child abuse., Theses--Education.