Date of Conferral

2-14-2024

Date of Award

February 2024

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Human Services

Advisor

Dr. Nicole Hamilton

Abstract

Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a recognized public health problem with lasting adverse impacts on survivors, their families, and society, and three million children are affected by CSA. School-based CSA prevention education is the primary prevention method most commonly used to address this social problem. As such, legislators in 28 U.S. regions have enacted laws requiring CSA prevention curricula be administered in public schools. Although several researchers have studied the efficacy of school-based CSA prevention curricula, there has been limited research exploring the experiences of educators implementing the curricula. The goal of this generic qualitative study was to examine the experiences of elementary educators when implementing mandatory CSA prevention curricula in the classroom. The theoretical framework used for this study was Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory exploring the five layers of a child’s ecosystem (microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, and chronosystem). Data for this study were collected through 1:1 semistructured interviews with three state-certified elementary teachers and three state-licensed elementary school counselors, all qualified to implement mandatory CSA prevention curricula. Braun and Clark’s six-step thematic content analysis process was used to analyze the data. Key findings from this study were that educators experience their role in a child’s ecosystem as pivotal and believe that school-based CSA prevention education is crucial to preventing CSA. The results of this study support positive social change by encouraging increased training and support for educators implementing this life-changing training.

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