Introduction to the development of the ISPCAN child abuse screening tools

The World Report on Children and Violence, (Pinheiro, 2006) was produced at the request of the UN Secretary General and the UN General Assembly. This report recommended improvement in research on child abuse. ISPCAN representatives took this charge and developed 3 new instruments. We describe this background and introduce three new measures designed to assess the incidence and prevalence of child abuse and neglect.     

The Green Paper and Beyond: How primary headteachers see their deputies

This article reports the findings from interviews with ten primary headteachers on the roles, responsibilities and relationships of the heads and their deputies, particularly in the light of the 1998 Green Paper 'teachers meeting the challenge of change'. These heads were selected because their schools had figured well in the 'Performance Tables 1999: Key Stage 2 Test Results' and so should exemplify good practice. The findings suggest the following key characteristics for an ideal partnership between a head and a deputy: shared values and vision; close personal and professional relationships; clarity about boundaries; provision of non-contact time. Moreover, the article proposes a distinctive role for the deputy in an era of performativity: the 'leading professional' within the school.     

INDICATORS OF PERFORMANCE: SOME PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS

Universities are coming under increasing pressure to develop and implement Indicators of Performance in order to demonstrate their efficiency and to facilitate institutional planning. In this paper a number of possible indicators for monitoring individual and departmental performance in teaching and research are explored. Preliminary studies indicate that while it is possible to identify both ‘excellence’ and relatively poor performance, it is very difficult, at least in the present circumstances, to effect positive changes in the latter. A sensitive yet economical system of Indicators of Performance could ensure that the professional development of individual academics, as well as departmental and institutional planning, could proceed on a more realistic and rational basis.     

Maltreatment's wake: the relationship of maltreatment dimensions to child outcomes

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this exploratory study was to examine the extent to which, in combination, the best constructions of basic dimensions of maltreatment, identified in other papers from LONGSCAN, predict child outcomes. METHOD: Maltreatment records of a sample of 203 children were used to define dimensions of maltreatment related to Type, Severity, Chronicity, and Age at First Report. The definitions were based upon findings presented in other papers in this special issue. Children's behavioral and emotional functioning was examined at age 8 using standardized measures of problem behaviors, socialization and adaptation, and trauma symptomatology. Backward elimination regression was used to screen for interactions among the dimensions; regression models including dimensions and significant interactions were then run for each child outcome. Stratified partial correlations were utilized to explicate significant interactions. RESULTS: Individual maltreatment dimensions were found to have distinct effects on child functioning. Additionally, dimensions of maltreatment were interrelated and interacted in determining outcomes. Type of maltreatment (as indicated by the maximum severity rating of each type) was the most consistent predictor across outcomes, albeit different types predicted different outcomes. Various dimensional interactions were significant predictors of different outcomes. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that a comprehensive assessment of a child's maltreatment experience, including type and severity, when the maltreatment began and the pattern of maltreatment across the life span, is important to understanding the effects of maltreatment on children's growth and development.