Child protection training in sport‐related degrees and initial teacher training for physical education: an audit

Abstract

This article reports on an online survey of child protection training for students on sport-related and Initial Teacher Training Physical Education degrees, and on the views of recently graduated teachers of the usefulness of such training in their everyday work. The results indicate that child protection training is provided in most courses but in varying amounts. Respondents to the survey reported positively, in the main, about the effects of new requirements for teacher training (Every Child Matters: Change for Children, Department for Education and Skills, 2004). Reasons given for not including child protection in courses were: lack of time; the perceived vocational nature of the topic; lack of fit with course aims and objectives; lack of relevance; and the research rather than professional orientation of the course. Recently graduated teachers' views on their pre-service child protection training differed from the claims made about this in the survey. In particular, they raised concerns about their lack of preparation for dealing with potential child protection situations. The article concludes that child protection training within sport-related degrees is deficient in both consistency of delivery and in content, and that, in addition to preparing students to recognise signs and indicators of abuse, curricula should also address undergraduates' confidence and skills for responding to abuse in their everyday professional practice.

Exploring types of individual unlearning by local health-care managers: an original empirical approach

“…After applying the inclusion criteria described in the previous section to the 31 pre-service publications, 20 studies reported in a total of 21 publications 25,26,44,61,63,70,81,83,92,94,117,142,148,156,174,189,191,195,200,201,213 were included in the synthesis (one study was reported in two separate publications, 26,156 and data from both of these were extracted for this report), with 10 references 57,67,85,88,116,179,192,199,202,206 being excluded. Table 45 provides an overview of the key characteristics of the included studies.…”

“…In terms of country, the highest percentage of studies were conducted in the UK (n = 9, 25,63,70,83,92,117,142,174,191 45%), followed by Australia (n = 7, 44,94,189,195,200,201,213 35%). There was one study each from Finland, 26,156 Zimbabwe 81 and the USA, 61 with one study not explicit about the country but it most likely being the USA.…”

“…117 When stated the courses were predominantly postgraduate, although there was a minority of undergraduate Bachelor degree courses. In terms of the level of education, eight studies 26,70,92,156,189,191,195,200,201 provided training for teachers at the secondary level, two 94,142 provided training at the primary level and six 25,44,81,117,148,213 provided training at both primary and secondary level, with four studies 61,63,83,174 not stating the level of training. The subject areas of the teaching degrees were rarely specified; however, in two studies 26,156,213 the teachers were studying PE and health, one study 191 included PGCE science and geography teachers and in another 70 the teachers were enrolled on psychology, business and creative and media secondary PGCE courses.…”

“…25,117,174 In all but one case the survey of providers was reported in addition to assessment of health training for trainee teachers themselves. The exception was the study by Arnold and Maio-Taddeo, 44 which assessed the coverage of child protection by university teacher training providers, surveying course managers and representatives of the teacher registration body of each Australian state or territory.…”

“…This was in the context of child protection legislation in the Children Act 2004 and government guidance on safeguarding children in education, 234 which they suggest 'recognises that teachers should receive training as part of their initial training but does not elaborate upon what this should entail' (p. 318). Rossato and Brackenridge, 174 in their study of child protection in sport-related degrees, cite ECM and new TDA professional standards for teachers as providing a framework to promote child protection. The study investigated teacher educators' perceived impact of ECM and new ITT guidelines for child protection training within higher education sport/PE courses.…”