BackgroundChild sexual abuse (CSA) and problematic sexual behavior (PSB) are worldwide phenomena that occur across all ages. Kindergarten teachers' proactive involvement can be crucial to the prevention, disclosure and intervention of CSA and PSB. However, research on their experiences of contending with CSA and PSB remains limited.ObjectiveThis study examines kindergarten teachers' experiences in Israel with the CSA and PSB of their students.Participants and settingSemi-structured interviews were conducted with 31 teachers: 11 secular Jewish, seven religious Jewish, nine Druze Arab, and four Muslim Arab.MethodsA qualitative analysis was conducted using the interview transcripts as data.ResultsThe analysis revealed three themes illustrating teachers' professional transformations regarding their knowledge of these phenomena: 1) initial shock, uncertainty and sense of responsibility when exposed to CSA and PSB due to missing knowledge, 2) implementation of prevention and intervention strategies regarding CSA and PSB, and 3) embracing a social role to disseminate CSA and PSB knowledge. The findings indicated that the majority of the teachers went from overwhelming shock and fear due to a lack of knowledge in coping with CSA and PSB to a sense of responsibility as a community leader.ConclusionsThe fragmentation of the Israeli education system isolates kindergartens, and the lack of training and education for the teachers left them alone when contending with the CSA and PSB of their students. Nevertheless, the participants exhibited remarkable agency and resourcefulness, gaining the necessary knowledge and acting as knowledge agents within their communities.
Objective To develop an international consensus statement to advise on designing, delivering and evaluating sport-based interventions (SBIs) aimed at promoting social, psychological and physical well-being in prison.Design Modified Delphi using two rounds of survey questionnaires and two consensus workshops.Participants A multidisciplinary panel of more than 40 experts from 15 international jurisdictions was formed, including representation from the following groups and stakeholders: professionals working in the justice system; officials from sport federations and organisations; academics with research experience of prisons, secure forensic mental health settings and SBIs; and policy-makers in criminal justice and sport.Results A core research team and advisory board developed the initial rationale, statement and survey. This survey produced qualitative data which was analysed thematically. The findings were presented at an in-person workshop. Panellists discussed the findings, and, using a modified nominal group technique, reached a consensus on objectives to be included in a revised statement. The core research team and advisory board revised the statement and recirculated it with a second survey. Findings from the second survey were discussed at a second, virtual, workshop. The core research team and advisory board further revised the consensus statement and recirculated it asking panellists for further comments. This iterative process resulted in seven final statement items; all participants have confirmed that they agreed with the content, objectives and recommendations of the final statement.Conclusions The statement can be used to assist those that design, deliver and evaluate SBIs by providing guidance on: (1) minimum levels of competence for those designing and delivering SBIs; (2) the design and delivery of inclusive programmes prioritising disadvantaged groups; and (3) evaluation measures which are carefully calibrated both to capture proposed programme outcomes and to advance an understanding of the systems, processes and experiences of sport engagement in prison.
BACKGROUND:Schools serve a central role in prevention, disclosure and intervention in cases of child sexual abuse (CSA). As school principals often face CSA cases in their daily work, they may hold the key to making social change on this front. However, research on principals' experiences of contending with CSA remains limited.OBJECTIVE:The current study is part of a larger qualitative research project examining various Israeli educators' coping with CSA among their students in diverse cultural contexts. In this study, we specifically focused on principals. The research questions were: (1) What are the unique ways in which school principals cope with cases of CSA during their course of daily work? (2) Do their cultural contexts and cultural affiliations shape their coping, and if so, how?METHODS:In-depth interviews were conducted with 25 principals from multiple cultural groups (secular, religious and ultra-Orthodox Jews, and Arab-Muslims), which were analyzed using a thematic approach.RESULTS:The findings indicated that principals demonstrate three types of coping strategies in response to encounters with CSA in the course of their work: they may act as "navigators" (exclusively responsible); "sharers" (rely on teamwork); or "balancers" (negotiating between cultural and legal demands). Furthermore, two contextual factors affected their construction of coping: ongoing professional experience in cases of CSA and personal experiences, including being a CSA survivor.CONCLUSIONS:This study highlights the importance of principals in identifying and leading interventions for CSA cases. It also raises the need for training to combine reflective, experience-based practice alongside evidence-informed practice.
While there is a burgeoning body of literature on visual methods in ethnography, including drawing and illustration as method for collecting and exploring data, little has been written about how artistic illustrations can be used as a representational method for finished ethnographic texts. Based on an illustrated ethnography–a PhD thesis on sport pedagogy in youth detention–this paper explores what artistic illustrations can do for representations of ethnographic texts. An important starting point of the paper is that artistic illustrations are purpose-full–they can be used strategically to highlight some details over others, thus making it possible for researchers to selectively accomplish several aims when it comes to representation. Particularly, we focus on ethical, affective, and descriptive purposes for using artistic illustrations when publishing research on sport in total institutions. We present selected illustrations from the thesis together with analytical and procedural commentary to shed light on some strategic thinking behind the production of the illustrations. Finally, we conclude with some reflections on the methodology and discuss some further considerations for illustrating ethnographic texts in terms of benefits, risks, and possibilities.
Background:Child sexual abuse (CSA) has grave implications for survivors, as well as repercussions for the survivors' family members and professionals, such as teachers, who work with child survivors of sexual abuse. Objective:As teachers are often key supportive figures for CSA survivors, the present study aims to contribute to the understanding of teachers' experiences when working with students who have undergone CSA. Methods:Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposeful sample of 31 elementary school teachers to illustrate how their basic world beliefs and professional functioning were altered by their encounters with CSA victims. Results:The qualitative thematic analysis indicated that teachers facing pupils who experienced CSA underwent a fracture in their basic beliefs about the safety of the children in their classrooms. The traumatic event elicited a reconstruction of their beliefs about CSA and their role as classroom leaders to meet the demands of the changed classroom environment. Conclusion:The findings highlight the importance of accounting for the needs of teachers, as members of the school community, in responding to CSA. In addition, they suggest the importance of receiving transformative learning skills training to prepare teachers to handle the repercussions of CSA in their classrooms.
This article examines pedagogies of sport in youth detention, drawing on ethnography (primarily participatory observations and interviews) at two all-male youth detention homes in Sweden. Focusing on youths’ experiences situated in discourse and practice, three pedagogies of doing sport in youth detention are described: withholding sport, busying with sport, and sport as developmental community. The young men in this study experienced mixed messages through sport, revealing how rehabilitation through sport was obscured by predominant pedagogies of withholding sport (i.e., punishment or correction) and busying with sport (i.e., containment or filling the time). Yet there were glimpses of another pedagogy, sport as developmental community, and the experiences and pedagogical work underpinning this endeavor are highlighted. This study illustrates how competing functions of youth justice—punishment, containment, and development—are accomplished, and experienced, through (sport) pedagogical practice.
Studies indicate that sport within youth institutional settings can be beneficial (e.g. learning social skills) or problematic (e.g. social exclusion) depending on how they are structured, delivered and, ultimately, experienced by students. In this article, we examine the experiences of students and staff in an educational sport program at a Swedish all-male youth detention home (ages 16-20) in order to increase understanding of the pedagogical approach of a sports-based program for detained youth. Drawing on interviews with both students and staff, we identify and elaborate four aspects of the program-building a pedagogical platform, 'seeing' and meeting students, creating a supportive environment, and thinking beyond the institution-that were collectively represented to initiate and guide a process of growth and change for students. We discuss how these aspects of the program's pedagogical approach, in contrast to deficiency-based approaches, can provide a useful framework for delivering sport in ways that can benefit detained youth and other young people in socially vulnerable situations.