Teachers' Perspectives on Their Role in Responding to Child Neglect

Although teachers are arguably in the best position to recognize signs of child neglect in its earliest stages, there is a notable gap in research examining their perspectives. In this study, we examined how Jewish and Arab in-service and pre-service teachers in Israel perceive their role in responding to child neglect, their attitudes toward it, and what this role should consist of. Focus groups were conducted with 107 participants across two groups: (a) 10 with in-service Jewish and Arab teachers; and (b) seven with pre-service Jewish and Arab teachers. Overall, teachers acknowledged their central role in identifying, reporting, and intervening in cases of child neglect and were strongly committed to doing so. Nevertheless, they also conveyed their hesitance: They were overburdened with too many other tasks, and such work extended beyond their professional responsibility/expertise. A major obstacle to teachers' inclination to engage in such cases was lack of knowledge and the complete absence/inadequacy of training provided in pre-service teaching programs and on-the-job training for in-service teachers. Importantly, teachers suggested several ways that schools could contribute to child neglect responses, including attending to children's emotional needs and counterbalancing negative experiences of unresponsive/rejecting parenting; adopting a whole-school approach to the handling of neglect that would encompass all school staff (e.g., cafeteria workers, bus drivers) and even other pupils; and supporting and educating parents through improved communication and establishing collaborative relationships based on trust. This study calls for a broader view of teachers' role in responding to neglect that would extend beyond the detection and reporting of child neglect to the implementation of whole-school trauma-informed practices and the fostering of teacher-parent partnerships. A prerequisite for such initiatives is providing teachers with proper training and supervision that would prepare them for their role.