Scholarlink

<p>The growing vulnerability of learners to human rights violations—including neglect, physical and emotional violence, extortion, and sexual abuse, sometimes by relatives or teachers—highlights the urgent need to empower and support teachers as agents of learner protection. Violence against children undermines educational equality by affecting access, achievement, retention, and completion. This article examines how child maltreatment affects educational equality – equal completion, achievement, and outcome – at the primary and secondary levels in sub-Saharan African (SSA) contexts, and how teacher agency in safeguarding students is either constrained or enabled. A narrative review, guided by the PRISMA framework, was conducted using systematic searches in ERIC, Google Scholar, ProQuest, and UNESCO databases. From 407 records, 16 peer-reviewed articles (published between 2001 and 2023) met the inclusion criteria and were analysed. Findings reveal that learners across SSA are exposed to various forms of abuse—physical, sexual, emotional, peer-related, domestic, and cyber—which significantly hinder academic outcomes, especially for girls and vulnerable groups. Teachers face multiple barriers in addressing this abuse, including hierarchical school structures, lack of institutional support, sociocultural norms, poor security, time and financial constraints, and limited systemic solidarity. Also, teacher protection efforts are often individualized in SSA, with co-teachers serving as their greatest support system. Institutionalized supports for teachers are limited, suggesting that child protection is still largely treated as an individual responsibility rather than a systemic priority. Despite these challenges, co-teachers, social workers,&#xa0;personal commitment, empathy, and moral responsibility emerged as key enablers of teacher agency. Protective actions include providing food, emotional support, monitoring attendance, reporting abuse, and engaging with authorities—often without institutional backing. The study concludes that child maltreatment is a critical but overlooked driver of educational inequality in SSA. It recommends structural and policy reforms to recognize child protection as a core educational outcome and teacher agency as essential to achieving equal educational completion and outcome.</p>

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

Educational Impacts of Child Maltreatment and Teacher Agency in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Narrative Review with Policy Implications for Educational Equality

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年11月6日

查看全文
  • Adaobiagu Obiagu,
  • Ezinne Idika

摘要

The growing vulnerability of learners to human rights violations—including neglect, physical and emotional violence, extortion, and sexual abuse, sometimes by relatives or teachers—highlights the urgent need to empower and support teachers as agents of learner protection. Violence against children undermines educational equality by affecting access, achievement, retention, and completion. This article examines how child maltreatment affects educational equality – equal completion, achievement, and outcome – at the primary and secondary levels in sub-Saharan African (SSA) contexts, and how teacher agency in safeguarding students is either constrained or enabled. A narrative review, guided by the PRISMA framework, was conducted using systematic searches in ERIC, Google Scholar, ProQuest, and UNESCO databases. From 407 records, 16 peer-reviewed articles (published between 2001 and 2023) met the inclusion criteria and were analysed. Findings reveal that learners across SSA are exposed to various forms of abuse—physical, sexual, emotional, peer-related, domestic, and cyber—which significantly hinder academic outcomes, especially for girls and vulnerable groups. Teachers face multiple barriers in addressing this abuse, including hierarchical school structures, lack of institutional support, sociocultural norms, poor security, time and financial constraints, and limited systemic solidarity. Also, teacher protection efforts are often individualized in SSA, with co-teachers serving as their greatest support system. Institutionalized supports for teachers are limited, suggesting that child protection is still largely treated as an individual responsibility rather than a systemic priority. Despite these challenges, co-teachers, social workers, personal commitment, empathy, and moral responsibility emerged as key enablers of teacher agency. Protective actions include providing food, emotional support, monitoring attendance, reporting abuse, and engaging with authorities—often without institutional backing. The study concludes that child maltreatment is a critical but overlooked driver of educational inequality in SSA. It recommends structural and policy reforms to recognize child protection as a core educational outcome and teacher agency as essential to achieving equal educational completion and outcome.