Pre-school and primary teachers in the process of detecting child maltreatment in Andalusia (Spain) / El profesorado de Infantil y Primaria en el proceso de detección del maltrato infantil en Andalucía (España)

Abstract

This study analyses teachers’ knowledge about child maltreatment in the family and explores their professional background in dealing with this problem. 227 pre-school and primary teachers from Andalusia (Spain) participated in the study. The majority of the teachers had never reported a case of child maltreatment during their professional background. These situations were experienced by the teachers with high levels of emotional impact, and both they and their schools showed high levels of involvement in cases identified. Three teacher profiles were identified, the group of trained teachers being the most capable of identifying more complex signs of child maltreatment, followed by those with more years of seniority. The process of detection and reporting of child maltreatment in the school setting is complex, and a wide range of elements need to be analysed conjointly.