A new study has shed light on just how many children teachers save from maltreatment, and it was all thanks to the pandemic. The pandemic brought along many concerns that went well beyond the virus. Children were doing remote learning, and when they weren’t in the classroom, experts were concerned about many things.
One of the things they were concerned with was if signs of maltreatment would be missed. When in class, teachers are able to notice if any children are exhibiting signs of being mistreated at home, and getting the right help. With children learning from behind a computer, this was not that easy.
However, they may have still done a great job. According to US News, a study showed that teachers have a key role in spotting child abuse. The study was published in the Journal of Human Resources, and it can be read in full here.
The study found that the pandemic has shown that teachers play a crucial role when it comes to spotting child abuse, and there may have been up to 8,000 reports of child abuse “missing” during the pandemic due to children not being in the classroom.
Researchers stated that more work needs to be done to fully understand why children are mistreated and that early detection of maltreatment is crucial for the physical and mental health of children. That is why this study is so important, as it officially labels teachers as important figures in the child’s lives.
The study looked at how educators helped to identify these children before the pandemic started. When the pandemic started, the reports started to go down because they were no longer able to support children in the way they were before.
This absence of support from teachers shows just how vital they are when it comes to notifying child abuse and reporting it. The researchers also stated that this has implications for future work in schools. They want to look at the length of the school day, the rise in homeschooling (as this will cause more children to be at home – away from teachers), and how they can further support educators when it comes to noticing and reporting child abuse.
The world did not need another reason to love and respect teachers, but this has given everyone more insight into the role they play, and that it is much more than just teaching children how to read and write.