Intrafamilial violence: Supporting educators to promote children's development and wellbeing.

Research confirms the widespread prevalence of intrafamilial violence with alarming statistics indicating one in three Australian women are victim-survivors of intrafamilial violence (Australian Bureau of Statistics [ABS], 2023a), with at least one woman killed every four days (Albanese, 2024), and one child killed every two weeks (Lang, 2020). Increases in all forms of intrafamilial violence mean that victim-survivors, particularly children, endure unprecedented physical, psychological, emotional, and social consequences of exposure directly or also indirectly.

Most children currently attend some form of early childhood education and care (ABS, 2023b; Australian Government Department of Education [AGDE], 2023a), reflecting Australian government priorities to increase early childhood education and care participation (ADGE, 2023b). Given the high percentage of children exposed to intrafamilial violence it is highly possible that early childhood teachers and other educators will interact with children who experience intrafamilial violence. As children who live with intrafamilial violence bring the trauma they experience to their early childhood education and care service, early childhood educators are in a sense first responders. They must quickly recognise the signs of intrafamilial violence and be ready to nurture and support children as they begin their educational journey. The need for a rich, responsive early learning environment points to the urgency for educators with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to support children experiencing the trauma of intrafamilial violence.

This qualitative research had five main phases: first, to explore early childhood educators’ knowledge and understanding of intrafamilial violence and its impact on children; second, to draw upon the expertise of a Reference Group of experts who had specialist knowledge of intrafamilial violence and its impact on young children’s development and learning so as to inform the development of a professional learning program to support educators in early childhood education and care services; third, to design and develop a professional learning program framework; fourth, to fully develop two professional learning program modules; and finally trial two fully developed professional learning program modules which will be expanded upon in Phase 5 in Section 3.9. In Phases 1 and 2 also described in Section 3.9, two cohorts of participants, viz., 12 early childhood educators and seven experts in intrafamilial violence and early childhood development and education, were interviewed about their knowledge and understanding of intrafamilial violence, its impact on the developing child, ways to support children experiencing intrafamilial violence, and any previous learning they had about intrafamilial violence in initial teacher education or other courses. Responses from the interviews were transcribed and these data were then analysed using Braun and Clarke’s (2022) six phases of reflective thematic analysis.

Findings from the interviews with the 12 educators explicated their limited understandings of intrafamilial violence and its adverse effects on children. Findings from the interviews with the seven experts highlighted their experiences of educators’ limited awareness of intrafamilial violence and its impact on children, and what they believed was essential for educators to know and to do to support children who had experienced family violence and who were attending early childhood education and care services.

In Phase 3 of the study, I drew on the responses from both educators and experts about what is needed to support children impacted by intrafamilial violence. This, together with key information from the literature review outlined in Chapter 2 and my many professional experiences in early childhood education and care contexts, informed the design of the online professional learning program framework to identify, respond to, and support children who have experienced intrafamilial violence. The two modules developed were trialled by a module development review group of six early childhood academics and key stakeholders. This was an extensive, iterative process to ensure refinement of content and the pedagogical approach to be implemented. Any suggestions for module enhancements were incorporated as the modules were being developed and were included in the final versions of the two fully developed modules in the Professional Learning Program described in Phase 4. Phase 4 involved fully developing two of the four modules, viz., Module 1: What is intrafamilial violence? and Module 3: Responding to a child impacted by intrafamilial violence. The content of the four modules, which also includes topics such as the impacts of exposure to intrafamilial violence on children, and reflection on self and an early childhood services’ responses and actions, is presented using text, a range of multimedia, and several case studies.

Phase 5 of the research involved trialling the two fully developed modules with a pilot review panel consisting of participants from Phases 1 and 2, i.e., four practising early childhood educators and two experts in intrafamilial violence and early childhood development. The purpose of the trialling was to ensure that the modules’ content and delivery reflected the knowledge, understanding, and skills, required by educators to assist them to support children experiencing intrafamilial violence. These modules are accessible at: https://link.edapp.com/SvFnzhNciub.

Informed by the findings from the research, and particularly evidence of early childhood educators’ limited awareness of the adverse impacts of intrafamilial violence on children and ways to best respond pedagogically, a number of key recommendations have been suggested. Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory (1981) provided the framework for presenting these recommendations that included a focus on what should occur nationally, within the macrosystem and microsystem that exist in early childhood education and care services. The latter included foci on mandatory reporting policy, initial teacher education curriculum, and professional learning for practising teachers, with the view to improve sector wide professional learning on intrafamilial violence, particularly understanding its issues and impact, and improving ways to respond to and support child victim-survivors. While this research was situated within regional Victoria, its findings and recommendations have wider applications.

As an early childhood teacher, community member, parent, and emerging researcher, my journey through the four years of this study, including the challenging Covid-19 years, has been intense, emotional, yet rewarding. Intrafamilial violence is a confronting topic and a scourge on society. Nowhere is this truer than for children. If my research can contribute to an enriched understanding of the difficulties and challenges faced by children exposed to intrafamilial violence, and if its findings can positively influence the practice of early childhood educators, we can help mitigate the effects of the intrafamilial violence epidemic on our youngest members of society.