A safer school for students
New ways to improve the education of children and young people are constantly being sought. Some of the barriers to learning include bullying and child abuse. The negative impact of abuse from children and adults has been shown to have tremendous long-term impacts. The EU-funded project SAFESCHOOLS (Teaching in the 21st century: Responding to bullying and safeguarding issues in Scotland's schools, a longitudinal study of teacher trainees) researched this topic. It monitored new teachers to observe their knowledge, attitudes and confidence in terms of responding to bullying and child protection. Interviews were conducted and survey data was collected on nearly 150 teachers. An additional 23 teacher trainee participants were also interviewed. Results indicate that teacher trainees are not well-equipped to point out or respond to issues related to bullying or child abuse, particularly sexual abuse. Teacher trainees also experience a crisis situation regarding their confidence in handling such issues. The study makes an impact on a local, national and global level. It will foster more support for teachers and improved teacher training environments to help them properly respond to this problem in schools.
