NCJ Number
214892
Journal
Child Abuse & Neglect Volume: 30 Issue: 6 Dated: June 2006 Pages: 691-707
Date Published
June 2006
Length
17 pages
Annotation
This study examined the links between physical, emotional, and sexual abuse of school students by education staff in Israel with a number of variables that characterized the students (gender, age, and relationship with teachers) and the school (socioeconomic status of the students' families and school neighborhood, school level, and ethnic affiliation).
Abstract
The author recommends that teachers be trained, monitored, supported, and held accountable in order to reduce the abusive treatment of students while improving positive interactions with them. Further, it is important to provide sufficient resources for quality educational services in schools that serve low socioeconomic communities. Also, parents and children in such communities should be encouraged to report abuse by teachers and demand better treatment of their children. Almost one-third of the 17,465 students in grades 4-11 in 319 schools across Israel reported being emotionally maltreated by school staff, and almost 25 percent of primary and junior high students, as well as one-fifth of high school students reported being physically abused by school staff. Nearly 8 percent of secondary school students reported being sexually abused by school staff. The students most at risk for abuse were boys, Arab children, and children in schools located in low socioeconomic neighborhoods with a high percentage of students from families with low socioeconomic status. The study sample was nationally representative of children in grades 4-11. Each student completed a questionnaire during class that focused on demographic information and abusive treatment by teachers. Data were also obtained on the socioeconomic status of students' families and the schools' neighborhoods. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to examine the relationships among the variables. 6 tables and 37 references