Professor's Resource Guide

teaching about woman abuse and its effects on children

by Linda Baker & Alison Cunningham (2005)
A teaching aid for the professor planning a lecture or workshop on how woman abuse affects infants, toddlers, children and teenagers. Background resource material is provided to aid your preparation, including: important points to emphasize; teaching tips; preparation for questions you may hear from students; suggestions for further reading and topics of discussion; and suggestions for student handouts. Also covered are sources of official statistics, quick overview of research, and a summary of how a child may think and feel about violence in his or her home. This guide is also available in French and was developed with funding from the Ontario Women's Directorate.

Download a copy

Professor's Resource Guide to Teaching About Woman Abuse and its Effects on Children (300 KB)

This document may be ordered (see below) and is also included on a CD called Through a New Lens, a resource package for Early Childhood Education programs.

Contents

• Teaching methodology

• A note on terminology

• Why learn about woman abuse?

• Woman abuse

  • power and control

  • equality

  • woman abuse and marital conflict: clarifying definitions

• Statistics

  • police data

  • General Social Survey

  • Homicide Survey

  • Qualitative information

• Decisions to leave or stay

• Impact of power & control tactics on mothers

• How are children "exposed"?

• Coping and survival

• Protective factors

  • individual strengths

  • coping beliefs and strategies

  • support systems

• Research on children

  • aggregate characteristics

  • individual differences

• What do we know?

  • adversity package

  • dose response

  • correlation vs. cause

• Impact on children

  • what children may feel and think

  • lessons learned from living with violence

  • post-trauma stress

• Involving the Children's Aid Society

• Allied agencies: You are Not Alone

• Vicarious trauma

• Additional resources

• References cited

Corollary resources

Through a New Lens: Seeing Woman Abuse in the Life of a Young Child -- A Learning Module for Early Childhood Education Programs (2005)

In 25 pages, the professor gets everything needed to plan a two-hour lecture -- or a workshop session. The module document outlines learning objectives, recommended learning resources (all available on-line), suggested videos/DVDs, supplementary learning activities for students, case studies for discussion, a list of optional class handouts, some background statistics and research, and a test bank of multiple choice and short answer questions. Professors can explain why students need to learn about woman abuse, how children might be affected, and what signs of distress might be seen in infants and young children. They will be able to suggest strategies for the child care setting to support child adjustment and to respond to challenging behaviours. Special contingencies when families are in shelters can also be addressed. This document is part of a resource package distributed on CD-ROM that also includes a complete lecture as PowerPoint slides. Tailor the slide show to suit the length and focus of your lecture by adding the course title, and deleting or adding slides.

Learning to Listen, Learning to Help: Understanding Woman Abuse and its Effects on Children (2005)

A concise handbook for students and volunteers entering the helping professions, to prepare them to recognize and respond to families in which there is or was violence at home. Topics include background material on the dynamics of woman abuse, the concept of power and control, facts and figures, how to support women and help them find appropriate resources, how children are affected by violence, how children cope with violence at home, how to respond to child disclosure of abuse and neglect, standards of professional conduct, taking stock of your own attitudes, and suggestions for how you can make a difference to end violence. In one place, students will find all the relevant and up-to-date information and are directed to easily accessible resources for further study. Students can download the resource without cost.

Understanding the Effects of Domestic Violence: A Handbook for Early Childhood Educators (2001)

An 18-page handbook designed for Early Childhood Education students. In one user-friendly source, ECE students learn the most relevant information required to identify and assist children who have been exposed to adult domestic violence. Topics addressed include implications for the childcare setting, responding to child disclosures, safety planning, strategies for handling challenging, behaviours, reporting to the Children's Aid Society, and accessing community support. Students can download the resource without cost.

Links to Resources Mentioned

Quickly access the on-line documents mentioned in the resource guide here.

Ordering Information

This resource can be ordered for the cost of $20.00 plus shipping and handling. See our Publication Order Form for more information.

This resource is one of six resources on the CD called:

Through a New Lens / Seeing Women Abuse in the Life of a Young Child: A Resource Package for Teachers of Early Childhood Education. This CD can be ordered for $15.00 plus shipping and handling. Please note that all resources on the CD are available on this web site except the test bank of exam questions and the PowerPoint lecture.

En français

Cette ressource ici est disponible en français: Guide de ressources du professeur : Enseigner en quoi consiste la violence faite aux femmes et ses effets sur les enfants.