This small-scale quasi-experimental study set out to examine the effects of a brief training programme aiming to develop primary school teachers' knowledge, attitudes and confidence in recognising and responding to children who display sexual behaviours. Data on prevalence of sexual behaviours observed by teachers in the study, their level of concern and their response strategies were also examined. There were overall improvements in 16 of the 23 self-report questionnaire items after the training session, 6 of which, in comparison to a control group, were sustained at the three-week follow-up. These results suggest that short training courses can be a viable option in improving primary teachers' knowledge and confidence in dealing with children's sexual behaviours within the school setting. These significant findings are discussed in relation to implications for policy and practice as well as future research.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.