Front Matter for Including Information on Child Abuse and Neglect in the Undergraduate Curriculum
American Psychological Association
Public Interest Directorate
750 First Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002-4242
(202) 336-5500
TDD: (202) 336-6123
Compiled by:
Jeffrey J. Haugaard, PhD
Department of Human Development and Family Studies
Cornell University
Dear Colleague:
This publication is designed to promote education about child abuse and neglect. It provides guidance to faculty members who would like to add information about child abuse and neglect to their current courses or who would like to develop courses focused on child abuse and neglect.
Many of your students will enter professions in which they will have contact with abused and neglected children or with adults who have been abused and neglected as children. Consequently, learning about the causes and consequences of abuse and neglect, about strategies for preventing abuse and neglect, and about therapeutic services for abused and neglected children and adults will be an important component of their education.
Publication of this booklet has been sponsored by the American Psychological Association (APA) Public Interest Directorate, the APA Child Abuse and Neglect Working Group and by the Section on Child Maltreatment (Section I) of the Division of Child, Youth, and Family Services (Division 37). An important mission of both groups is to increase knowledge about child maltreatment within professional groups and in the general public.
Thank you for your interest in including information on child maltreatment in your
courses. Please feel free to share this publication with others. For additional copies of this publication, please contact the Public Interest Directorate, American Psychological Association, 750 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242.
Sincerely,
Diane J. Willis, PhD
Chair
Child Abuse and Neglect Working Group
Jeffery J. Haugaard, PhD
Member, Child Abuse and Neglect Working Group
President, Section on Child Maltreatment
Deborah Ascione, MS
Utah State UniversityDavina M. Brown, PhD
Franklin Pierce CollegeSusan Esquilin, PhD
Montclair, NJJoann Grayson, PhD
James Madison UniversityGloria Koepping, PhD
Highline Community CollegeBonnie Seegmiller, PhD
Hunter CollegeDavid A. Wolfe, PhD
University of Western Ontario
.
Diane J. Willis, PhD, Chair
University of Oklahoma Health Sciences CenterJudith L. Alpert, PhD
New York UniversityJudith V. Becker, PhD
University of ArizonaBarbara L. Bonner, PhD
University of Oklahoma Health Sciences CenterStuart N. Hart, PhD
Indiana University - Purdue University at IndianapolisJeffrey J. Haugaard, PhD
Cornell UniversityGary B. Melton, PhD
University of South CarolinaCarol S. (Sue) White, PhD
MetroHealth Medical Center, Cleveland, OH
Education is an essential component of the effort to prevent child abuse and neglect and reduce the consequences to abused and neglected children. This publication provides guidance for professors and lecturers who would like to incorporate information about child abuse and neglect into their teaching.
In the introduction, several reasons about why child abuse and neglect should be included in undergraduate courses are provided. In addition, examples of ways that child abuse and neglect information can be included in undergraduate courses are described. In Section I, the topics that could be incorporated into an undergraduate course on child abuse and neglect are described along with a list of references that provide an overview of each topic. Section II lists a variety of general sources of information on child abuse and neglect.
Education is an essential component of the effort to prevent child abuse and neglect and reduce the consequences to abused and neglected children. Education about child abuse and neglect at the undergraduate level is important for several reasons:
Three general ways that educators can incorporate information into undergraduate courses are detailed below.
This publication is designed to facilitate the inclusion of child abuse and neglect material in existing classes and the development of courses that focus on child abuse and neglect. It consists of an outline of the topics that could be included in a comprehensive semester-long course on child abuse and neglect and a series of references to the literature and other educational materials for each topic.
Professors and lecturers who would like to incorporate information about child abuse and neglect into current classes can use the guide to locate literature and other materials on the specific topics that they plan to include. Most of the literature references are to research and theoretical reviews. These reviews include references to the primary sources of the research and theory and, thus, provide guidance to those seeking in-depth information.
The American Psychological Association (APA) Working Group on Implications for Education and Training of Child Abuse and Neglect Issues encouraged the development of the guide. Following the decision to create the guide, the APA Child Abuse and Neglect Working Group sought, through requests for course syllabi and reading lists in the APA Monitor and directorate and division newsletters, the expertise of psychologists who were teaching about child abuse and neglect. The syllabi and lists were compiled, along with information provided by the members of the Working Group, into this guide. During its development, the guide was reviewed by experts in child abuse and neglect from across the country to ensure its accuracy and representativeness.
Comments about, or suggestions for additions to, this guide should be addressed to the Division 37 Section on Child Maltreatment, c/o Mary Campbell, Public Interest Directorate, American Psychological Association, 750 First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242.
Copyright © 1997 by the American Psychological Association. This material may be reproduced without permission, provided acknowledgement is given to the American Psychological Association.