Social Studies School Based Assessment

School: Trinity College East

Center Number:

Topic: Child Abuse

Candidate Name/s:
Jeremiah Ameen Rostant

Miguel Sebastien Alsop

Elijah Murray
Table of Contents

Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………………3

Statement of Problem ……….………………………………………………………………………..4

Rationale……………………………………………………………………………………………………..5

Method of Investigation………………………………………………………………………………

Procedure of Data Collection.………………………………………………………………………

Introduction 
The impacts of child physical abuse extend further than what several
individuals anticipate. Exposure to this type of abuse can result in not only
physical injuries, but also behavioural emotional, and psychological effects. 
 Statement of Problem
Child Abuse is a very serious concern and does not have a specific place or time
when it occurs. It is a major problem in our community as there are many
victims of abuse who are silent on the issue because of fear. As a result, it is
difficult to contain as there are more cases of child abuse cases daily with a
very small percentage of persons coming forward and speaking out. These
cases arise through domestic issues which often leads to abuse of children by
adults who fail to realise the consequences and the effect it has on the child
victim. Apart from the crime itself, the pain of such abuse lasts in the minds of
the victims with the recovery period being very lengthy.

 
 
 Rationale

It is now obvious that child abuse is very prevalent in our community and has
emerged as the norm. As students at a prestigious college, we frequently
overheard our colleagues discussing the different kinds of child abuse and the
scolding they got from their parents and the effect it had on them. As a result,
our group’s research location was at Bishop Anstey and Trinity College East.
This topic was chosen due to the underlying factors surrounding child abuse
and the psychological and emotional impact it has on victims. The research
also represents one of the most harmful issues a child currently faces globally.

 
 Methods of Investigation

The group analysed the causes of child abuse and made certain
recommendations to help mitigate such problems. The method of investigation
that were used were in the form of a questionnaire for this analysis. A
questionnaire is a series of questions that must be answered to generate data.
It is an excellent method for collecting information because it takes less time to
complete and ensures the confidentiality of respondents. Furthermore, for the
questionnaire, the group created 12 close ended questions. This questionnaire
will be completed in strict confidentiality and will be relevant to the topic
mentioned. The procedure for the investigation were to interview students at
our school.

 
 TASK 4
Instruments used to collect data
 
A Google form was created by the group and shared through various forms of
social media such as WhatsApp and Instagram. The target audience were
individuals from Bishop Anstey and Trinity college East between the ages of 12
and 14. A letter to the student body was also submitted. The text forwarded to
participants read :

Dear Colleagues
This questionnaire is being carried out within the school to ascertain the
reasons for child abuse among families. The survey shall also serve as a means
to ascertain the various issues that exist, the age group which accounts for the
highest. This survey will be done anonymously and with strict confidentiality.
This survey is being conducted as part of the requirement for a Social Studies
School Based Assessment (SBA) that the members of the group are involved
with. We kindly ask that the questions be answered with sincere honesty by
placing a tick on the form where necessary or in the spaces provided for
answering the questions.
Respectfully
Miguel Alsop
Jeremiah Ameen Rostant
Elijah Murray
Students of Trinity College East
The following questions were used in our group’s questionnaire:

Questionnaire

1. Please state your age*

12 and under
13-15
16-17
18+

2. Have your peers experienced child abuse growing up? *

Yes
No

3. Have you observed cases of child abuse in your community as of recently? *

Yes
No

4. How do you think child abuse affects a child most? *

Mentally
Physically
Emotionally

5. What would you say are some ways to combat child abuse and/or the long lasting
effects?
Your answer

6. On a scale of 0-10 (0 being not at all and 10 being Heavily influences in the child’s
life), how much do you think child abuse affects children growing up?

7. Would you say child abuse leaves a lasting impression on children who have
experienced it?*
Yes
No

8. If you were witnessing a case of child abuse, what would be your method of
intervention?*
Ignore it
Contact local authorities (child protective services or police)
Talk to the parent
Other:

9. What do you think is a cause for child abuse?

Your answer

10. Do you think parents now are better equipped when it comes to parenting skills
rather than resorting to abuse or corporal punishment? *
Yes
No

11. What would you say is an effect of child abuse? *

Depression
Anger/Frustration
Fatigue
Academic decline
No change

12. Lastly, have you yourself experienced trauma from child abuse growing up? *
Yes
No
Rather not say

 
 
 
 
 

Procedures of Data collection

The instrument that was used was an online questionnaire via whatsapp and
instagram. The Questionnaire has 12 close ended questions. This was
distributed to both a community and a school for individuals between the ages
of 12 and 14, and consisted of 12 females and 12 males. The group collected
the data electronically as this was a group assignment with random sampling
being carried out. The data collection period was between the 15 th March to
21st March 2023. The questionnaire was shared on the 21st March, 2023. The
data was collected from students of Bishop Anstey High School and Trinity
College East.
This procedure was necessary because it guarantees precise data and was the
only method by which the group could access data that was both reliable and
accurate. Furthermore, some individuals were a bit reluctant to answer certain
questions out right and preferred anonymity.
 Conclusion and recommendation

It is stated that Child Abuse has become severe over the passing years, and it is
a MAJOR social issue worldwide. There are, however, certain steps that can be
put into place by the government to protect the citizens of the country. These
recommendations are: 

 Parents and other adults should be well educated on child abuse and its
effects through social networking sites or an awareness programme.
Although, this is about educating the entire public population, it should
be interesting and informative. This will help people learn more on the
topic and educating everyone is important as it helps them in
understanding this problem and ways it can be prevented.
 The Government should enforce strict laws with severe penalties for
criminals who are involved in this ruthless deed. There should be
frequent patrols done by the police force in all parts of the country. This
will help deter a great amount of child abusers in a country, let alone
community.
 To make recommendation 2 an actual process, it must be administrated
through the entire Government who will put the effective rules and
regulations to stop Child Abuse from being such an alarming issue. By
enforcing harsher penalties in the courts of Trinidad and Tobago, the
victims of Child Abuse will be given justice and freedom and it may also
discourage the abusers from ever committing such a crime again.  
 Presentation of Data

Figure 1: Pie chart showing how people think child abuse affects children most

Although not shown above, 5.3% of people surveyed reported that child abuse
affects the child physically the most. Most voters with 69.6% voted that child
abuse affects a child mentally. The remaining 26.1% opted for the emotional
option.