CHILD ABUSE: IMPLICATIONS FOR EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Abused Child

Child abuse practices is as old as time itself. It is not exclusive to a tribe, place, people or region. The relative differences which exist between societies however defines the limits and boundaries of child abuse. A major question to ask would be, who is a child?
A child is a young human being below the legal age or a person with little or no experience in a particular area.  For the context of this piece, both definitions will be useful.
Abuse on the other hand as defined by Miriam Webster dictionaries (online) is to treat in a way that causes damage.
Combining both definitions, child abuse could be defined as the use of forceful or harmful practices in a bid to exert control, coerce or manipulate a child into submitting to the wishes of the one exerting such control. This individual could be a parent/guardian, caretaker, sibling or a more matured person. Lowenthal (1996) assert that child abuse could be physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse or could present itself in the form of total neglect of the child.
Educational development addresses the role played by the school in the development of an individual covering personal development, economic growth, improved wellbeing, resilence and social cohesion. While this is an expansion on traditional ideas of educational development which paid great attention to school achievement, and tested products of schooling, the term development is broad and covers the different stages of growth. Orobosa in Umobong (2010) opine that development is a progressive unfolding of the potentialities of given reality.
Education on the other hand is designed to promote better relationships, improve cohesion and social stability and improve the overall state of the nation through the acquisition of the necessary skills required by such society. In the light of education, these realities cover the expectations of a teaching and learning process. These realities unfold in the process of time as individuals pass through various experiences which shape the outcome of the educational experience. Sanders (1969) insist that development refers to a process of change which occurs in things which are, or may be conceived of, as systems.
Every year cases of child abuse is reported and documented in all societies. But, in Africa, especially in  Nigeria, the term CHILD ABUSE is relative in context. Moreso, due to the multifaceted culture which creates room for certain practices like early and forced marriages and the likes which ordinarily should have been termed as abuse but is acceptable by our local laws. for example, the giving out in marriage of teenage girks between the ages of 13 to 17.
Beating of children as a form of correction is widely accepted in Africa resulting in multiple instances of physical harm to these children. Many children who live with relatives other than their biological parents end up been at the receiving end of this kind of abuse.
For children from families with low socioeconomic , the need to contribute their quota to the daily survival of the home is imperative, and so they end up on he streets hawking goods when they should be either at home or in school. This exposes these children to sexual exploitation and abuse. This does not rule out the fact that child abuse is found in every corner, from people with high socioeconomic status to those living in abject poverty. 
Abused children are affected by their experiences and this is shown in their academic achievement, willingness to participate in the teaching and learning process. More worrisome, is the abuse of the child by the teacher either physically, emotionally, sexually or total neglect on the part of the teacher in the classroom.
Forms of child abuse
Child abuse involves the following;

• physical abuse, 
• sexual abuse,
• emotional abuse,
• neglect

Physical abuse
Physical abuse covers all abuse which involves contact resulting in bodily harm on a child by he care giver. Most often, it is characterized by bruises, cuts, breaks to the bone which could potentially lead to death Physical abuse is mostly used to make a child submit to the demands of the elder or care giver and is the weapon used to force little children of school age into hawking on the streets.
Emotional abuse
This is a more subtle kind of abuse which psychologically distabilizes a child through words or acts of a parent or care giver with far reaching consequences. This deals a big blow on the personalty development of the child. Teachers and parents tend to practice this kind of abuse which is exhibited in the little comparisons and demands on the conscience of the child made by parents and teachers. This kind of abuse leaves the child feeling inadequate and belittled and as such children begin to act in ways which show the interactions they have had.
Indicators of emotional abuse include but is not limited to the following;

• Low self esteem
• Inferiority complex
• Anxiety

The challenging part being cases of teachers calling students names because they do not fit in the expectations of them. This labelling pattern could lead to self fulfilling prophecy where children begin to act in ways that conform with the label they bear. This could likely lead to a rise in truancy and deviance.
Sexual abuse
This kind of abuse covers penetration of the child by the abuser, masturbating a child, oral sex, subjecting a child to watch pornography and any activity which gives any form of satisfaction to the abuser. Sexually abused children go through several adverse consequences, although the nature and extent of these consequences differ with each child and may extend into adulthood.
Consequences of sexual abuse may include

1. Depression
2. Low self esteem
3. Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
4. Difficulty with peer relations
5. Inability to trust
6. Teenage pregnancy
7. Isolation and fear
8. Self harming behaviour
9. Alcohol and substance abuse
10. Running away from the home

Daignaut and Herbert in Mathews (2011) that sexual abuse often affects the child at school, producing pedagogical challenges for teachers and schools in dealing with affected children's academic, behavioural and social needs. 
Neglect
UNICEF in FRN (2007) reports that thousands of children living on the streets of Lagos and other major cities are neglected by their parents or abandoned and exposed to so many hazards and threats. Children from poor homes are usually left to their own vices to fend for themselves. This form of child abuse is not exclusive to poor families. The rich and middle class families show neglect when children are left to the care of neighbour or house help who may take undue advantage of them to abuse them. In other instances these children are left on their own without supervision leading to bodily harm or death.


References
Federal Republic of Nigeria. (2007). Assessment of Violence Against Children at the Basic       education in Nigeria. Federal Ministry of Education in collaboration with UNICEF
Impact of Abuse and Neglect-Parents. (2011). Retrieved from https://www.childhelp.org/speak up and be safe.
Lowenthal, B. (1996). Educational Implication of Child Abuse. Intervention in School and Clinic. Sage Publishers. Vol. 32(1) 21-25
Petersen, A. C. (2014). Consequences of child abuse and neglect; New directions in child abuse and research. US National Academies Press.
Sanders, D. P (1969). Toward a theory of educational development. Vol. 13(3). Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org
Umobong, M. E (2010). Child abuse and it's implication for the educational sector in Nigeria. Ogirisi; Journal of African Studies. Vol 7(1)