An Exploration of the Impacts That Experiencing Domestic Violence can Have on a Child’s Primary School Education: View of Educational Staff
| Author | Sarah Louise Holt |
Introduction
The issue of domestic violence (DV) was neither recognised nor accepted as a societal problem prior to the 1970s (McHugh & Frieze, 2006). More recently, perceptions of DV have been transformed from a private, unrecognised phenomenon, to a key public issue high on government and practice agendas (Harne & Radford, 2008). The issue of children living with and experiencing DV is increasingly a more widely acknowledged issue within our society (Cunningham & Baker, 2004). Contemporary research literature is beginning to recognise children living in violent households as 'victims', and adopting a more holistic view of what is encompassed in 'experiencing' DV such as witnessing the aftermath of a violent event (Jaffe & Wolfe, 2011).
The research presented here focuses on primary school children, as they are considered to be of a critical age in terms of awareness and understanding of the DV happening around them (Holt et al., 2008). The study also gathered information on educational staff opinions on the efficacy of Child Protection and Safeguarding (2010) training. A surveybased method in the form of a self-completion, postal questionnaire was employed, and questionnaires were sent to three UK primary schools. The first section of the questionnaire was quantitative and consisted of a rating scale asking participants how frequently they observed certain behaviours in children known or suspected to be experiencing DV. The second section was qualitative and consisted of open-ended questions asking for the participants' experiences of current training and how they believe this could be improved.
This article begins with a brief overview of the literature followed by the methods adopted, findings, discussion and conclusion.
Literature review
Early definitions of DV derived from criminological and sociological perspectives and therefore maintained a one-directional focus on violent and sexual acts or behaviours, exclusively between intimate partners (O'Leary, 2001). Recently however, DV has become less simplistic and encompasses a wide variety of disciplines adopting varying definitions. For example, definitions used by healthcare or social services are unlikely to resemble legal definitions and these may also vary depending how both society and individual victims construct their understanding and experiences of DV (Burton, 2008). A recent Home Office definition (2013) defines DV as:
'…any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive, threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between those aged 16 or over who are, or have been, intimate partners or family members regardless of gender or sexuality. The abuse can encompass, but is not limited to; psychological, physical, sexual, financial and emotional.'
This varies from earlier definitions by attempting to create a more holistic understanding of the notion of DV by incorporating a variety of behaviours, types of victims and abuse rather than solely focusing on violent and sexual acts between intimate partners
Before the 1990s, the term 'child witness' of DV was used frequently in the literature, yet this was confusing for practitioners as the term tended to be associated with merely seeing or hearing the abuse. More recently, practitioners have adopted the terms 'exposure to' or the 'experiencing of' DV which reflects the more holistic view of what children undergo whilst living in a violent household (Jaffe & Wolfe, 2011). Exposure to DV also includes the passive role of the child in '…interpreting, predicting, worrying, and problem solving to protect themselves and others in the family from further abuse' (Cunningham & Baker, 2004:7). For the purposes of this research, the terms 'experiencing' and 'exposure to' DV are holistic terms which do not assume the violence has been observed by the child (Holden, 2003).
The terms encompass the following facts of being a child living in a family experiencing DV being caught up physically in adult DV, seeing, hearing or being told of a violent event, and also witnessing the 'aftermath' of a DV event (Osofsky, 1999). The term 'Affected Children' is used to describe children known to, or expected to, experience DV at home.
There have been many legislative and policy developments in the field of DV in recent years. The Government is piloting DVPOs (Domestic Violence Protection Orders) which allow police to prevent offenders contacting victims or returning to their home for up to 28 days. Domestic Violence Disclosure Schemes have been piloted which include the 'right to know' and the 'right to ask' (also known as 'Clare's Law') which provide individuals with access to information about whether their partner has a violent past (Home Office, 2013a).
Schools and children's services must look to their own policies for guidance when a child is suspected to be experiencing violence at home. In 2010 the 'Safeguarding Children in Education' policy was introduced, stating that every school must have a member of staff who holds lead responsibility for child protection and that children must be made aware of behaviours (such as violence and bullying) which are considered 'unacceptable'. Teachers and professionals are encouraged to identify any concerns they may have regarding a child's welfare and take appropriate action (DfE, 2010). The Department of Education's (2006) policy is that practitioners should first voice their concerns to their manager and if deemed necessary, refer the family to Children's Social Services.
Many studies have concluded that children exposed to DV are significantly more likely to exhibit behavioural and emotional difficulties than non-exposed children (Kitzmann et al., 2003). Primary school children (4-11 years) exposed to DV are at an age where they are developing awareness of family events and beginning to construct an understanding of the conflict and violence within their family (Holt et al., 2008). Children of this age are beginning to mentally process the abuse and evaluate the effect it has on their immediate family members. Consequently, children may feel caught in a self-conflicting bind where they turn to their parents for comfort and security but are unsure when aggression and violence may take over. This causes ongoing uncertainty and fear which can impact their behaviour (Cunningham & Baker, 2004). Primary school children are considered to be at a critical age in terms of awareness and understanding of the DV happening around them (Holt et al., 2008), hence the exclusive focus of this article on the impacts experiencing DV has on primary school children.
Previous studies have found general behavioural, cognitive and emotional implications of exposure to DV on children including; excessive irritability, sleep problems, fear of being alone, immature behaviour, stunted language development, poor concentration, aggressive and antisocial behaviour, anxiety, depression, violent behaviour, low frustration tolerance, poor co-ordination, problems eating and being passive or withdrawn (McGee, 2000; Elderson, 1999; Osofsky, 1999; Mullender & Morley, 1994; James, 1994). A study supported by the NSPCC and conducted by Stanley et al. (2010) collected observations from parents of children who had been exposed to DV. The parents identified behaviours in their children such as hyperactivity, nervousness, depression, anxiety and a lack of confidence (ibid). Little research has been conducted exploring the specific implications that exposure to DV has on children's education and experience at primary school. McGee (2000) found that children known to experience violence at home displayed aggressive behaviour and lacked concentration in school. They were also more likely to have poor attendance, fall asleep in class, come to school early or leave late and not demonstrate their full potential. In addition to this, Mullender and Morley (1994) found pupils dealing with these issues tended to display approval-seeking behaviour, bully other students, fight with classmates, and act as a 'teacher's pet'. Children from violent families have also been found to have a more hesitant and indecisive relationship with their teachers than children from non-violent homes (Graham-Bermann & Levendosky, 1998). On the other hand, Radford et al. (2011a) found that educational success was sometimes used as a coping strategy for the child, offering them something to escape into and use as a form of resilience.
Existing literature suggests that such impairments are more prevalent in young children than in adolescents (Hughes, 1998) and that younger children are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of living in a violent household Levendosky et al., 2003). This vulnerability is one rationale for examining the effects of experiencing DV on primary school children in the current research.
Methodology
A survey-based method in the form of a self-completion, postal questionnaire was used to gather data for this study. This method was used to allow participants to complete the survey at a time that was convenient for them and without time restrictions.
The survey in the current research utilises a form of mixed-methods referred to as 'intramethod mixing' meaning that the questionnaire contained both quantitative and qualitative questions (Tashakkori & Teddlie, 2003). The closed questions, which are easily quantifiable, were used to identify which behaviours or actions were most frequently observed by school staff, whilst the open-ended questions were used to explore participants' opinions and attitudes regarding how Affected Children are treated in schools. The use of open-ended questions has important implications for the results of the study as they are used as an opportunity to reveal any observed behaviours, attitudes or personality traits that may have been missed by the quantitative questions.
The research adheres to a constructivist ontological position, assuming meanings are socially constructed and...
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