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A Selected, Annotated Bibliography of Child Maltreatment Reporting by Education Professionals

Prepared by

Valérie Gaston and Janis Sutherland
Child Maltreatment Section
Division of Health Surveillance and Epidemiology
Centre for Healthy Human Development
Health Canada HPB Bldg. #7, Tunney's Pasture
A.L. 0701D
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0L2

Fax: (613) 941-9927
Email: child_maltreatment@hc-sc.gc.ca
Internet Homepage: http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/hsed-dsse/

Child Maltreatment Division Division of Health Surveillance and Epidemiology Centre for Healthy Human Development Health Canada 1998 (212 KB) PDF format [How to download PDF documents]

Table of Contents

• Introduction
  • References
• Methods
  • Search Strategies
  • Keywords
  • Languages
  • Databases Consulted
  • Internet Web Sites
• Canadian articles
• U.S. articles
• International articles
• Index

Distribution

This bibliography is available free of charge from:

National Clearinghouse on Family Violence
Family Violence Prevention Division
Health Promotion and Programs Branch
Health Canada
A.L. 0201A1
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 1B4

Tel: (800) 267-1291 or (613) 941-7285
Fax: (613) 941-8930

Internet Homepage: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/nc-cn

This publication may be provided in alternate formats upon request.

Également disponible en français sous le titre «Bibliographie sélective et annotée sur le signalement par des professionnels de l'éducation de la maltraitance envers les enfants»

Acknowledgements

The Child Maltreatment Division is indebted to the following people who assisted with the review of the bibliography:

Richard Carrière, Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario

Danielle Guay, Direction de la santé publique de Montréal,
Montréal, Québec

Joanne Lacroix, National Clearinghouse on Family Violence,
Health Canada

Chantal Lavergne, Institut de recherche et de développement social des jeunes, Montréal, Québec

Sandi McLeod, National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect, Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, D.C.

Marita Moll, Canadian Teachers' Association, Ottawa, Ontario

Cathy Overbagh, National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect, Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, D.C.

Gordon Phaneuf, Child Maltreatment Division, Health Canada

Rosonna Tite, Memorial University, St-John's, Newfoundland

Introduction

School personnel and teachers in particular are in a unique position to identify suspected cases of abuse because of their daily contact with children in the classroom and lunchroom, on the playground, and in after-school activities. For this reason, teachers, principals, and other school professionals are required by law in Canada, the United States, and several other countries to report suspected cases of abuse and neglect.

Nearly half of all referrals made by professionals to the Ontario Children's Aid Society come from schools⁽¹⁾. In fact, schools were the most common source of referral among mandated and non-mandated reporters and had an above average substantiation rate⁽¹⁾. School staff were the most frequent source of recognition of maltreated children in the United States, according to the Third National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect⁽²⁾.

The significance of the role of school personnel in recognizing and reporting child maltreatment makes this group of professionals an important focal point for research. This bibliography looks at the issue of reporting within the school setting. It contains summaries of articles about mandated reporting for school professionals, mainly teachers. The articles address issues of who is reporting, why they are reporting, and what barriers exist to reporting. Further topics such as policy development and the need for training on the identification of child abuse and neglect are also addressed. The bibliography focuses on articles published in peer review journals after 1990; however, certain key articles published before 1990 have also been included.

Since the studies included in the bibliography vary in their methods of data collection, definitions used, types of questions asked, and applicable laws, generalization of study results should be approached with caution. Several articles are plagued with unreliably low response rates. A further limitation is that the survey designs could not test whether the barriers to reporting affect reporters and non-reporters differently.

Keeping these limitations in mind, several recurrent themes emerge from the articles. For example, common barriers to reporting often mentioned were as follows: lack of evidence, fear of legal ramifications, and fear of parental retaliations on the child. Teachers are more than willing to make reports. However, there often seems to be a significant lack of knowledge regarding both the identification of abuse and reporting procedures. More training in the identification of symptoms of abuse and neglect, especially sexual and emotional abuse, as well as training regarding reporting procedures is necessary to ensure that this group of mandated reporters continues its role as one of the most important stakeholders in child abuse and neglect prevention.

References

1. Trocmé N, McPhee D, Tam KK, Hay T. Ontario Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect. Toronto, Ont.: The Institute for the Prevention of Child Abuse, 1994.

2. Sedlack AJ, Broadhurst DD. Third National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1996.

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