Pre-school teachers 'perceptions about child abuse and negligence

This study is a qualitative study to determine how preschool teachers perceive child abuse and neglect. The research was carried out with 36 pre-school teachers working in preschool education institutions of Gaziantep Ministry of National Education. Phenomology study was preferred for deep and detailed understanding of the research. In order to reach different views, pre-school teachers working at various socio-economic levels and having different seniority years were reached. In the research process, the researcher used a semi-structured interview form, one of the qualitative data collection tools, in order to reveal the opinions of teachers in depth. In the interview form, questions were asked to determine how preschool teachers perceived child abuse and neglect. During the preparation of these questions, pilot interviews were conducted with teachers and the opinions of two preschool education experts were utilized. Content and descriptive analysis were used in the analysis of the qualitative data obtained. According to the findings of the research, the perceptions of preschool teachers towards child abuse and neglect were examined under the six categories of abuse and neglect in the literature. Preschool teachers have some knowledge and sensitivity about child abuse and neglect, but their knowledge is insufficient. In addition, it is concluded that they perceive the concepts of abuse and neglect according to their symptoms on the child as well as abuse behavior. Teachers believe that children are often abused and neglected by people responsible for their care. It was also concluded that the participants defined abuse better than neglect. Keywords: Preschool teacher, child, abuse, neglect