2012 Volume 8 Pages 6-16
Purpose: The objectives of this study were to review trends in research on school responses to child abuse, and to identify the current status and issues regarding responses to child abuse by yogo teachers, the only health professionals placed in schools.
Methods: We searched the Japanese literature from 2000―when the Child Abuse Prevention Law was enacted―to 2010 in Japana Centra revuo Medicina Web, Ver.4 and Citation Information by The National Institute of Informatics (CiNii) using the keywords "child abuse," "school children (elementary and junior/high school students)," "school," and "yogo teacher." The research design, methods, and contents of these studies on school responses to child abuse were sorted for analysis.
Results: Eleven articles were retrieved, of which four were studies of yogo teachers. Analysis of the eleven articles generated four general types of responses: "support for child abuse issue," "calls for improvement of school organizational systems," "workshops about child abuse," and "calls for improvement of laws and regulations." The results demonstrated that yogo teachers were often in positions where child abuse could be detected at an early stage, and in many cases they were practically involved.
Discussion: Yogo teachers were highly aware of their roles and potential roles in child abuse cases. Additional empirical studies should be conducted to examine specific support that would help promote school responses to child abuse issues. Yogo teachers should be permitted to fully exercise their professional knowledge in the school’s response to child abuse issues from preventive perspectives. Future special investigations on the expert-team support involving families should be conducted with Yogo teachers.
