The Decision-making Process

Rationale

Making decisions is a part of all students’ daily lives. For example, they must decide each morning what to wear and what to eat for breakfast. Whether they know it or not, students are already used to making decisions. Yet they are usually unaware of the steps that are important for informed decision making .

We all make decisions that we never put into practice, or only temporarily. New Year’s resolutions are a classic example of this.

With these observations in mind and in an effort to attain the dual goal of increasing health-enhancing behaviours and decreasing health-risking behaviours, the health education curriculum includes the teaching and learning of steps leading to informed decision making and of steps that will help students apply the decisions they make.

The purpose of the Decision-making Process is to teach students to make well-informed decisions and carry them out. These are skills they will use throughout their lives.

Description

A three-level Decision-making Process guides the teaching, learning and evaluation of health education at all grade levels. Each of the three levels of the Decision-making Process is broken down into two steps, as described below.

Level A: Extend Knowledge Base Step 1: Stop to reflect on what you know and feel about the issue. Step 2: Research the issue. Find the facts. Level B: Make an Informed Decision Step 3: Explore options and consequences. Step 4: Make your decision. Level C: Carry out an Action Plan Step 5: Design an action plan for implementing your decision. Step 6: Examine your results. Revise as needed.

Level A of the Decision-making Process reinforces the knowledge that students already possess, expands on it and teaches them to collect and evaluate additional information. Healthy people do this in real life. Students who expand their knowledge and learn to gather and evaluate information are likely to make a commitment to adopting health-enhancing behaviours.

By stressing informed decision making, in Level B of the process, the teacher draws students’ attention to social realities that may or may not prompt them to put into practice what they have learned in health education classes. To do so, students must be able to identify their options and the short- and long-term consequences of their choices. Decision making must take account of social interactions with the family, peers and the wider community. Students learn to establish a support network that can be called upon to resist negative pressures that may lead to health-risking behaviours. They also learn to integrate positive influences, as well as their own principles and beliefs, in making decisions that will promote health in the short- and long-term.

Level C focuses on carrying out action plans and gives students a chance to practise the knowledge and skills they must acquire if they wish to implement their decisions in real life. Students learn to use various approaches to evaluate their progress and review their action plans.

As they learn to evaluate the results of their action plans and to revise them as needed, students come to understand that the Decision-making Process is often cyclical. Sometimes, one needs to go back to a previous step in order to revise or adjust an action plan.

Repeated use of the Decision-making Process allows students to begin assuming social and personal responsibility for their own health and that of others.

Instructional Guidelines for Each Step of the Decision-making Process

The Decision-making Process is introduced and practised very gradually over the five years of the elementary level, so as to respect the developmental level of the students. Further information is provided on this gradual progression later in this section of the curriculum.

At the grade one level, teachers will be guiding students through activities corresponding to all six steps, but the students themselves will only be aware of a very basic three-level process. By grade five, the students will be familiar with all six steps within the three-level process.

The following instructional guidelines emphasize the important points to be addressed at each step. They are intended to assist teachers in planning activities that will guide the students through each step of the Decision-making Process, regardless of the grade level.

Level A: Extend Knowledge Base

Step 1: Stop to reflect on what you know and feel about the issue

Stimulate the students’ interest: encourage them to respond to a story, video, picture or role-playing exercise.

Identify the topic or issue: following the students’ initial reaction, clearly establish how the situation illustrates a health-related topic or issue. If applicable, encourage the students to think about how the topic affects them personally.

Recall relevant knowledge: start a discussion, a circle of knowledge, or a brainstorming session or complete the first column of three in a table (what I know, what I want to find out, what I’ve learned), to highlight what the students already know or feel about the topic.

Step 2: Research the issue. Find the facts

Emphasize the need to find out more: through discussions, checklists, personal inventories or surveys, encourage the students to look into the extent to which their knowledge about the topic is reflected in their day-to-day behaviour. Suggest that they learn more.

Lay the groundwork for their research: invite the students to think about what else they would like to know about the subject and what they need to know. If applicable, invite the students to complete the second column of the table mentioned under the guidelines for step 1.

Find the facts: invite a resource person to talk to the class, read or view documentary sources or encourage the students to develop questionnaires to obtain specific information on the topic.

When planning research activities, refer to the objectives relating to the development of research skills, in Appendix B at the end of this curriculum.

Level B: Make an Informed Decision

Step 3: Explore options and consequences

Identify different ways to deal with the issue: help the students develop a list of options. Accept all suggestions at this point. A brainstorming session is a good method for generating a list of options, but other activities are also useful. These include asking others who are knowledgeable on the topic, or checking in various stories how characters facing a similar situation deal with the issue.

Anticipate the positive and negative consequences of each option: have the students draw up criteria to determine whether a solution is both positive for health and practical to apply. Invite them to weigh the pros and cons of each proposed solution. The criteria may include such factors as cost, others’ values and expectations, and its short- or long-term effectiveness.

Step 4: Make your decision

Choose an option: help the students decide which is the best solution in view of the situation. Classifying or graphing the solutions and their consequences on a decision tree, for instance, will help students compare them and reach a decision.

Level C: Carry out an Action Plan

Step 5: Design an action plan for implementing your decision

Develop an action plan: guide the students by asking questions about how they think they might put their decision into practice. Provide them with an outline featuring the elements they will need to put their decision into practice.

Implement the action plan: if applicable, communicate with parents to inform them of the action plan and explain how to encourage and support their child in applying the action plan.

Step 6: Examine your results. Revise as needed

Check the results of the action plan: encourage the students to think about whether the action plan is working well, and why or why not. Invite the students to make any necessary changes and if applicable, to go back to previous steps of the process.

Each school year of health education begins with a unit introducing the Decision-making Process to the students. This process, which emphasizes information processing, decision-making, and action planning, forms the basis of the year’s health education program.

In grades one to five, the Decision-making Process is introduced gradually. Most of the activities will initially be done with the class as a whole. Action plans might be developed and carried out as a group, or developed as a group and carried out individually until students become more independent in designing plans.

The Wellness Perspectives

The Saskatchewan health education curricula from grades one to nine incorporate a specific perspective at each grade level. These perspectives form a continuum which contributes to the achievement of the aim and goals of the curriculum.

At the elementary level, the following wellness perspectives help students to become increasingly independent with the Decision-making Process:

• Grade 1: Becoming Models of Wellness
  

• Grade 2: Discovering Wellness Patterns
  
• Grade 3: Gathering Facts for Wellness
  
• Grade 4: Applying Decisions for Wellness
  
• Grade 5: Considering the Wellness of Others

The middle level perspectives are as follows:

• Grade 6: Affirming Standards
  

• Grade 7: Committing Self
  
• Grade 8: Supporting Peers
  
• Grade 9: Promoting Health

Toward Independence in Decision Making

Through the perspectives continuum at the elementary level, students acquire increasing independence in using the Decision-making Process, gradually assuming more responsibility for its application. The perspectives also allow for a cognitive progression: as they move from grades 1 to 5, students gradually become aware of the importance of the Decision-making Process itself, and of the role of the steps within each level.

The table on the following page sums up how the perspectives provide a specific focus on the Decision-making Process at each grade level and allow for a gradual progression towards independent decision making.

Grade 1: "Becoming Models of Wellness"

In grade one, students extend their knowledge base so that they may make and implement decisions to adopt health-enhancing behaviours. In doing so, they will provide good models for others to follow. Topics and contexts will often determine to whom they are providing a model: siblings, kindergarten students, peers or the members of their sports team, for example.

Students become aware that there are three important things to do when making decisions:

• Stop! Grade one teachers will plan Level A activities to elicit their students’ feelings and prior knowledge, and to expand their knowledge. The students at this grade level simply learn that they should stop and think before making a decision.
  

• Explore... Level B activities will invite the students to think of several options and to choose one in order to make a decision. The students just think of this as exploring what they might do.
  
• Go! At this grade level, action plans are developed under teacher’s guidance. Typically, the students will use a teacher-designed outline featuring all necessary elements of an action plan and will be invited to complete it by adding missing details.

Grade 2: "Discovering Wellness Patterns"

Grade two builds on the Decision-making Process introduced in grade one. This is the year when students become more independent in exploring options in order to make decisions, as the concept of consequences is formally introduced. They will identify patterns such as cause and effect relationships between behaviours and well-being. They will make and implement decisions based on the consequences of various possible behaviours.

Students use the same process as in grade one, but the steps within Level B are formally introduced. They learn that when they explore in order to make a decision, they need to:

• look at options and consequences and then choose an option.

Grade Level	Wellness Perspective	Decision-making Process	Instructional Guidelines
Grade One	Becoming Models of Wellness	Stop! Explore... Go!	Students make and implement decisions to adopt health-enhancing behaviours in order to provide good models for others to follow The steps within each level are used by teachers in lesson planning, but not formally introduced to students
Grade Two	Discovering Wellness Patterns	Stop! Explore... Look at options and consequences Choose an option Go!	Build on the Decision-making Process from grade one Formally introduce the steps within Level B
Grade Three	Gathering Facts for Wellness	Stop! Think Research Explore... Look at options and consequences Choose an option Go!	Build on the Decision-making Process from grade two Formally introduce the steps within Level A
Grade Four	Applying Decisions for Wellness	Stop! Think Research Explore... Look at options and consequences Choose an option Go! Design and carry out an action plan Examine the results. Revise as needed	Build on the Decision-making Process from grade three Formally introduce the steps within Level C
Grade Five	Considering the Wellness of Others	Stop! Think Research Explore... Look at options and consequences Choose an option Go! Design and carry out an action plan Examine the results. Revise as needed	Students use the same Decision-making Process as in grade four. Focus students’ attention on expectations of others and of self to determine priorities when making responsible decisions

Level C activities reinforce the patterns, or relationships between behaviours and their results. As students analyze their plans, they might reflect on how their well-being or the well-being of others has changed as a consequence of the decision they made and implemented.

Grade 3: "Gathering Facts for Wellness"

Grade three builds on the Decision-making Process used in grade two. Students now focus on the need to base health-related decisions on facts. They gain independence in gathering and evaluating information before making a decision.

Students use the same process as in grade two, but the steps within Level A are formally introduced. They learn that when they stop before making a decision, they need to:

• think about what they already know
  

• and then research the topic to obtain factual information.

In Levels B and C, students reflect on the benefits of an accurate information base for making and implementing health-related decisions.

Grade 4: "Applying Decisions for Wellness"

Grade four builds on the Decision-making Process used in grade three. Students’ attention is drawn to the skills necessary for applying or implementing the decisions they make. They gain independence in designing and evaluating action plans.

Students use the same process as in grade three, but the steps within Level C are formally introduced. They learn that in order to go ahead and apply a decision, they need to:

• design and carry out an action plan for implementing the decision they made
  

• and then examine the results of their plan to check if everything is working according to plan, and revise as needed.

Grade 5: "Considering the Wellness of Others"

Grade five students, being familiar with all six steps of the Decision-making Process, begin to check alternatives available to them against expectations of others and of self to determine priorities when making responsible decisions. They learn to consider family values, rules and regulations of school, laws of society, and their own as well as their peers’ expectations. They learn to recognize that when expectations are conflicting, it may be difficult to face pressures from various sources. The grade five wellness perspective focuses students’ attention on sorting through expectations in order to deal with such pressures and make responsible health-enhancing decisions. Students make decisions based on their consequences for the wellness of themselves and others.

Students at the grade five level may begin to use more sophisticated terminology for the Decision-making Process once they are familiar with all steps of the process. The terminology used in the description at the beginning of this section might be introduced at this level.

The Cumulative Nature of the Wellness Perspectives

The perspectives continuum is cumulative in nature and could be compared to a spiral. For example, while students in grade five focus on checking expectations, they continue to act as models, discover patterns, gather facts and apply decisions based on carefully designed plans. The perspectives for each grade of the elementary level build upon those of previous years and prepare students for the perspectives of middle level health education.

Figure 3 provides a visual representation of the Decision-making Process as it is presented to students at the elementary level.

Sharing the Responsibility

Students gain health knowledge and attitudes at home, at school and in the community as well as in the classroom. The teacher and the school share the responsibility for quality health education with parents, health professionals, school administrators and community youth leaders.

This curriculum suggests that the classroom program be linked to other programs which may exist in the school and in the community, in order to reinforce what the home and health care agencies already do. The establishment of a parent advisory committee or local liaison committee supports the concept of shared responsibility and is strongly recommended. Such a committee provides a forum for discussion and facilitates program coordination.

A local liaison committee may already exist in some communities, as this recommendation has been included in the health education curriculum for grades 7 to 9 since 1985. If this is the case, membership of the existing committee might be reviewed or expanded to include representation from parents of students in the elementary grades. Some communities might find it preferable to establish subcommittees for each level of the school program - an elementary and a high school subcommittee for example.

The Local Liaison Committee

Role

A local liaison committee is recommended to support the teacher and to facilitate coordinated planning. The committee structure and mandate will vary from one area to another depending on the number of classrooms, the size of the community, health-related programming in the community and other factors. It is recommended that responsibility for setting up the committee be considered by the local school board and assigned either to a trustee or a school administrator.

Functions

The main functions of the committee would be to:

• provide support to the classroom and total school program;
  

• provide liaison with health-related programming in the community;
  
• provide a forum for discussion of parent/student/school health-related issues and concerns.

Membership

Membership should reflect groups in the community who have an interest in the health and well-being of youth. In some communities, there will be many support systems, such as church youth groups, 4-H, Scouts, and Guides. In others there will be very few. Membership should be representative of groups that do exist so program opportunities in the community can be known and coordinated.

Membership should include:

• the school principal;
  

• a local school trustee;
  
• a health professional.

Membership might also include:

• a health promotion staff member of the local health district;
  

• a member of the clergy;
  
• a parent;
  
• a representative from a local youth club;
  
• a student representative (might be from the Student Representative Council);
  
• a representative from the business and professional community;
  
• an Indian or Métis representative;
  
• others who have a special contribution to make.

Duties

Duties of the local liaison committee may include:

• keeping informed of special learning experiences planned for the classroom and the total school;
  

• finding out about health-related programming in the community that is or could be supportive of the classroom program;
  
• offering advice about special concerns or problems that might arise in the classroom program in such a way as to facilitate resolution of the concerns;
  
• providing feedback from the community about reactions to classroom programming so that future planning will be facilitated;
  
• consulting with teachers responsible for the delivery of health education in each school, on a request from them;
  
• establishing subcommittees, as required, to support the classroom and total school programs (e.g., a subcommittee to assist in evaluating instructional resource materials).

Frequency of Meetings

Frequency of the meetings should be determined by the needs of the classroom and school program. At least two meetings a year might be pre-scheduled.

Parent and Community Involvement

It is important that parents and representatives of community health interest groups have opportunities to be informed of the school’s contribution to the total health education of the student, and to be invited to become involved as appropriate and administratively feasible. The school will gain by having a well informed community so that mutual goals and objectives for the students are enhanced.

It is suggested that:

• the school provide opportunities to share program plans with parents and representatives of community health interest groups;
  

• curriculum guides and materials be made available for consultation;
  
• parents be informed of any major changes planned in the program and be given an opportunity to discuss the changes;
  
• parents and interested citizens be asked to serve as volunteers for special events, and as resource persons to the class, when skills they have would enhance the program;
  
• parents and community health interest groups be invited to become involved through representation on the local liaison committee.

Total School Involvement

The health education program in the classroom needs the support of total school involvement in order to be effective. Within the Comprehensive School Health model described in the introduction to this document, the school can provide such support in two ways: by providing support services to the students and by promoting a healthy school environment.

HIV/AIDS Education

Although significant progress has been made in slowing the spread of the epidemic in some areas, HIV/AIDS continues to be a major health risk and sustained prevention efforts are necessary. Factors such as the following point to the need for early education as an effective measure in the fight against this life-threatening disease:

• The median age of persons infected with HIV is declining.
  

• The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infects people of all ages.
  
• There is still no cure for AIDS and no vaccine to prevent this disease.

However, AIDS, unlike many diseases, is totally preventable.

The Ministers of Health and Education have declared the need to strengthen HIV/AIDS instruction in Saskatchewan schools. Among the activities included in this initiative has been the implementation of age-appropriate HIV/AIDS education, as of the 1997-98 school year, for students in each of grades 1-5 as part of the health education program. The content of the interim document published at that time is now part of this curriculum. HIV/AIDS education is a small part of health education.

Age-appropriate Instruction

Many people wonder why the topic of HIV/AIDS should be approached with children at such an early age. Yet today’s children are affected by HIV/AIDS in various ways:

• They hear about this topic on TV, in school and at home. Some children have picked up inaccurate information from peers or have misinterpreted the information they heard. As a result, unfounded fears and concerns about HIV infection have developed among young children, who are often unduly afraid that they or their parents might catch AIDS. It is important to dispel such fears by teaching children how HIV is not spread.
  

• Some children are infected, some live with family members who are, some know people who are. In addition to having to cope with a severe illness, these children often have to face the harmful negative reactions of their peers or of their peers’ parents due to misinformation about HIV transmission, and to the stigma that is still often associated with AIDS. It is important to teach young children that persons with AIDS need compassion and moral support in addition to medical care.
  
• The risks of HIV/AIDS infection among young children are very few, but they are real. Children should be made aware of those rare situations which do present a risk, and learn to avoid behaviours that might cause infection.

For these reasons, we must provide relevant, accurate basic information about HIV/AIDS to young children, so that they understand this disease better, and so that they develop behaviours to maintain or improve their physical, social and emotional well-being and that of their peers, families and communities.

The health education curriculum responds to young children’s specific needs for information on HIV/AIDS. The following content is considered appropriate to the age of students at the elementary level with regards to HIV/AIDS education:

• HIV is not casually transmitted. It does not spread by coughing, sneezing, sharing food or drink, by being close to someone who has AIDS, or by touching someone who has AIDS. HIV is not spread through the use of objects (telephone, drinking fountain, toilet seat) that an infected person may have used. Insect bites do not spread the HI virus. However, one may get other germs and viruses in some of these situations, so the usual guidelines for proper hygiene practices should be followed.
  

• AIDS is very hard to get when you are a child. There are very few situations and behaviours that present a risk of infection for children. Essentially, these are situations which involve direct contact with the blood of an infected person (e.g., touching an infected person’s wound when you have a scratch yourself or accidental poking with a used hypodermic syringe carrying the virus).
  
• AIDS is a very severe disease. Scientists have found ways to help people who have AIDS, but they have not yet found a cure or a vaccine. They are working very hard to find one. Until then, the best way to fight AIDS is to learn about how the HI virus is spread and to avoid risky behaviours.
  
• People who have AIDS, like all people who are sick, need moral support and compassion in addition to medical care. There are several ways we can help people who are ill, including people who have AIDS. We can send them cards, phone them, visit them, give them flowers and pictures, bake something for them, do some grocery shopping for them, or do some chores for them.

At the grades one to four levels, sexual transmission of HIV/AIDS is not considered to be age-appropriate and is not addressed at all in the suggested activities. At the grade five level, minimal information on this issue may be included, as modeled in the sample unit.

As in all subject areas, care is required when arranging for guest speakers and classroom presenters. It is the responsibility of teachers to clarify with guest speakers what the curriculum defines as age-appropriate HIV/AIDS instruction.

HIV/AIDS Instruction in Context

HIV/AIDS is not addressed as a separate topic in this curriculum. Rather, HIV/AIDS instruction is incorporated within the context of various topics such as the prevention of infectious diseases, the human body’s immune system, safety issues, or the importance of moral support and compassion in addition to medical care in the treatment of illnesses. The following page provides an overview of how HIV/AIDS instruction is incorporated into various topics at each grade level in the sample units related to A Healthy Body in this curriculum.

Learning objectives related to HIV/AIDS education are key learning objectives: they represent a required part of the elementary level health education curriculum. These key learning objectives are:

• Students will understand some problems of physical health, one of which is HIV/AIDS;
  

• Students will establish daily habits for caring for their bodies in order to improve health and prevent illnesses, including HIV/AIDS;
  
• Students will value behaviours which contribute to good health or which prevent disability or illness, including HIV/AIDS;
  
• Students will demonstrate compassion for people suffering from ill health, including people with HIV/AIDS.

An Overview of Grade 1 to 5 HIV/AIDS Education

Grade 1	The concept of infectious diseases is introduced with examples like colds, chicken pox, measles. The immune system is discussed and likened to guards fighting off germs and viruses that try to attack our body. Activities focus on adopting practices to prevent infections and infectious diseases, and to keep our immune system strong. HIV is explicitly cited as an enemy stronger than our "guards" and AIDS as an infectious disease caused by this virus. However, it is made clear that, unlike colds and chicken pox, AIDS cannot be transmitted by playing with or touching someone who has it.
Grade 2	One of the sample units at this level focuses on emotional support for people who are ill. A story book in which a child is rejected by peers because he has AIDS serves as the basis for discussing how the HI virus is not spread. The reading of this story leads into the broader topic of demonstrating compassion toward people who are sick.
Grade 3	An activity focuses on what children should do if they were to find a used hypodermic syringe. The transmission of the HI virus is discussed within this context. Other activities in the grade 3 unit focus on managing or controlling diseases. Students research this topic. AIDS is listed as a potential topic for research.
Grade 4	A sample unit looks at the role of technology and medical research in the evolution of treatments for various illnesses; both advantages and limitations of technology in medical research are explored. Progress made in treating HIV/AIDS is addressed.
Grade 5	More specific information about how AIDS is transmitted is introduced in the sample unit. In their search for information on facts and misconceptions about HIV/AIDS Ä which is the topic of the model unit for this grade level Ä students are informed that the most common routes of infection are by sharing needles or engaging in sexual activities with an infected person.

Informing Parents and Community

Parents should be notified that HIV/AIDS instruction is to occur in their child’s classroom, and should be informed about the scope and objectives of HIV/AIDS instruction at the elementary level. A letter or an information bulletin could be mailed prior to the teaching of units within which the topic is addressed. A sample letter to parents and guardians is included in Appendix C at the end of this document.

Additionally, an information meeting is strongly recommended, as this format facilitates communication and allows for questions to be asked and concerns to be raised.

The local liaison committee might provide a forum for discussion of questions and concerns related to HIV/AIDS instruction among other topics. The committee might offer advice about concerns or problems related to the delivery of HIV/AIDS instruction within the community, in order to facilitate resolution of concerns voiced. It might also assist in acquiring and selecting resources that meet the community needs for HIV/AIDS instruction.

Due to the sensitivity of the topic for some families or students, parents have the option to remove their child from HIV/AIDS education (the sample form provided in Appendix D at the end of this document might be used for this purpose).

Students who do not attend classes when HIV/AIDS instruction takes place are required to participate in all other lessons of the units which deal with this portion of the program. In most cases at the elementary level, HIV/AIDS is addressed in a maximum of one or two lessons. At the grade five level, most of the sample unit deals with the topic.

In the sample units included in this document, the mention "including HIV/AIDS" appears in the learning objectives only when a lesson does include HIV/AIDS instruction. When planning for instruction, teachers should therefore identify the lesson(s) where HIV/AIDS is to be addressed and make alternate arrangements for students who do not attend HIV/AIDS lessons.

Teacher Background Information

Health-related information in general, and HIV/AIDS-related information in particular, may change rapidly. It is difficult to predict how soon new research might invalidate the basic HIV/AIDS information provided in this section of the curriculum guide.

For this reason, it is the responsibility of all teachers to maintain an accurate, up-to-date information base. Sample units in this curriculum guide include addresses where such information may be obtained.

HIV is a preventable, chronic, progressive condition. Over time, the HI virus breaks down the body’s ability to protect itself from infections, leaving individuals vulnerable to a variety of life-threatening diseases. This final stage of the disease is called AIDS.

The HI virus is fragile. It does not live long or well outside the human body. It can be washed from hands or skin with regular soap.

HIV is most often transmitted through unprotected sexual intercourse, through needle sharing, or through blood or blood product transfusion. As of 1985, improvements in blood screening have practically eliminated the risk of transmission of the virus through transfusion. The HI virus can also be transmitted from mother to child throughout pregnancy, during childbirth, and breastfeeding.

Universal Precautions

Universal Precautions (UP) is a concept or system of infection control that is designed to prevent the spread of blood-borne diseases. The application of universal precautions means that everyone’s blood is treated with a presumption that it might be infected with blood-borne diseases such as Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, or HIV. Universal Precautions include:

• wearing disposable latex gloves when providing first aid for bleeding noses or other injuries where there is evidence of blood or bloody bodily fluids (bloody saliva, bloody urine, etc.)
  

• disinfecting blood-soiled surfaces with a fresh bleach solution (one part bleach to 9 parts water).

Teachers at all grade levels should teach the students under their charge that they should seek assistance from an adult when a peer is injured and there is blood or body fluid loss. To prevent the development of undue fear about blood, students should be taught that intact skin is a good barrier against blood-borne diseases. However, non-intact skin (cuts, rashes, eczema, psoriasis) provides a vehicle for the entry of blood-borne pathogens into the blood system, hence the use of gloves is a standard that teachers will always employ as a precaution when there is a bloody injury.

Note: the risk of infection is not so great as to delay providing assistance to an injured person. For more information on Universal Precautions, contact your local health district.

Protection of Children: The School’s Role in Reporting Child Abuse

The following guidelines are adapted from Awareness of Child Abuse, in the Saskatchewan Education publication Challenges, Choices and Changes (1997).

The neglect and abuse of children is unacceptable. It is always emotionally devastating, not only to the child but to the entire family. Schools play a significant role in the lives of children and their families. As all children must attend school, teachers, principals, and school support personnel play an important role in protecting children from abuse and neglect through reporting suspected abuse. Knowledge of symptoms of child abuse, and of reporting procedures is essential for all school employees to ensure such protection.

Symptoms of Child Abuse

Students often do not tell that they are being abused or neglected, for various reasons. They may feel ashamed or guilty for being mistreated, or threatened by the consequences of disclosure.

When students do report that they are being abused, it is important for school employees to assure them that their report is being taken seriously, that reporting was the right thing to do, and that they will receive some help.

There are some definite signs that may signal that a student is being abused. Please note that no single sign or behaviour is an absolute indicator of abuse or neglect.

Physical Abuse

Characteristics of physical abuse include:

• unexplained injuries or bruising that cannot be explained through the child’s everyday living (e.g., occasional bruises of the shins, knees, elbows or forehead are common for any active child); suspect abuse when a child is bruised on the eyes, mouth, back, buttocks, genital area, thighs or calves;
  

• the presence of several injuries that are in various stages of healing;
  
• the presence of various injuries over a period of time;
  
• injuries not consistent with the child’s age and development.

Emotional Abuse

Emotional abuse is just as devastating to a child’s development as injuries sustained by physical abuse. Emotional abuse often has visible signs:

• apathy or depression;
  

• antisocial or hostile behaviour;
  
• loss of appetite, refusal to eat or over eating;
  
• bedwetting and/or diarrhea of a non-medical origin;
  
• frequent psychosomatic complaints (headache, nausea, abdominal pain);
  
• child fails to thrive.

Sexual Abuse

This form of abuse makes the child both a victim and a prisoner, as he or she is often pressured into silence about the activity by the abuser. It leaves children feeling helpless and guilty, perceiving they have no place to turn for help and no way out.

Characteristics of child sexual abuse include:

• unusual or excessive itching in the genital or anal area;
  

• torn, stained or bloody underwear (observed if the child requires bathroom assistance);
  
• pregnancy or venereal disease;
  
• injuries to the vaginal or anal areas (e.g., bruising, swelling or infection);
  
• young child shows knowledge or interest in adult sexual behaviour, not appropriate for age;
  
• child is known to be victim of other forms of abuse;
  
• sores in the mouth;
  
• eating or sleep disturbances;
  
• recurring physical ailments.

Neglect

Physical and emotional neglect may take the form of:

• abandonment;
  

• unattended medical and dental needs;
  
• consistent lack of supervision, especially in dangerous situations;
  
• consistent hunger, inappropriate dress for the weather, poor hygiene;
  
• persistent conditions (e.g., scabies, head lice, diaper rash or other skin disorder).

Duty to Report

The Child and Family Services Act (Section 12) dictates that every person who suspects that a child is being neglected or abused, whether sexually, emotionally, physically, or is involved in some form of ritual abuse must report this to a Social Services child protection worker or a police officer.

A teacher or other school system employee who suspects a child is being abused shall immediately inform the principal of the school, who must immediately report suspected cases of child abuse or neglect.

The role of educators is to:

• report suspected cases of child abuse;
  

• cooperate with police by providing information;
  
• cooperate with other professionals involved in investigations of child abuse;
  
• monitor the progress of the child and share information with other professionals;
  
• provide academic, social and emotional support to the child.

Educators and school personnel should support the endeavours of the Child Abuse Investigation team but are not part of the investigative team.

When an interview is requested by a child protection worker or police officer, direct immediate access to the child is to be allowed in the school setting.

As school staff are not responsible to investigate allegations of abuse, they shall not contact the child’s family, the alleged abuser or other individuals to either inform or further investigate the cause or circumstances of the suspected abuse. That is the role of the child protection worker and the police.

The degree of observation and participation required from the school for follow-up should be agreed upon between the child protection worker and any other persons involved with the child and family.