Child abuse and academic performance of adolescents in Lesotho - a qualitative study

[摘要] English: Child abuse refers to the intentional use of force aimed at injuring or damaging thechild. Abused children are in most cases characterised by a low self conceptmisbehaviour such as delinquency and truancy, inadequate language development,depression, negativism and abused children appear to be anti-social. The statementof the problem for this study is whether a relationship exists between child abuse andacademic performance. The study focuses on a group of adolescents at SOS schooland Hleoheng primary school in Lesotho.The objectives of this investigation are to show how child abuse can affect theacademic performance of a child and to identify subsequent behavioural changes ofabused children.The family and the school as the child's educational environments, are furtherinvestigated and ways in which these institutions can be the major sources of childabuse are studied. The causes and types of child abuse are also investigated.In this study related local and international literature on child abuse and academicperformance were reviewed. A group of abused adolescents from SOS school andHleoheng primary in Lesotho were used as the target group for the purpose of thisstudy. Structured interviews were used to collect data on the family background ofabused children, the type of abuse they experienced, their emotions, how they relatewith other people, their concentration potential, and specific characteristics that canbe attributed to poor academic performance.The first part of the study defines the concept of child abuse. The general causesand types of child abuse are examined.Numerous factors influence parents or anybody in loco parentis to abuse children. Inthe same way, it has also been discovered that children can also be perpetrators ofchild abuse. Parents, however, abuse children differently, resulting in various formsof abuse namely physical, sexual, emotional and economic abuse as well as neglect.Ideally, it is expected that a child's home is the best place of the upbringing of a child.Therefore, it follows that the family of a child is charged with the responsibility ofnurturing a developing child. The school on the other hand should supplement thechild's family to help the child realise his or her abilities. The family and the schoolare regarded as the major educational environments of a child. The lack ofresponsible adult intervention and guidance based on the principles of love, warmthand security in the life of a child results in many families and schools being theinstitutions of abuse of children. Hence, the ideal functions of both the family and theschool are changed. The children thus find themselves being abused in the privacyof their own homes and in the school environment. The abused childrenconsequently fail to perform well academically due to these complications in theirupbringing. At present, only SOS school in Lesotho reach out to these children in anendeavour to educate them despite their early life experiences. However, due to therapid increase in the number of abused children in Lesotho, SOS school is not in aposition to cater for all these children.This research confirms the relationship between child abuse and academicperformance.

[发布机构] University of the Free State