My first Magazine EDUCARE MAGAZINE SPECIAL NOVEMBER EDITION 2019 | Page 15

38 educaresuccess
educarelearning
SELF-INJURY IN
CHILDREN
PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES
C
atherine's elementary school teacher
noticed cuts on Catherine's arm and
asked what had happened.
Catherine responded that she had
fallen off her bike into some thorns. The
teacher did not think any more about it. But
later, she noted that Catherine always wore
long-sleeved shirts and long pants even when it
was hot outside. When Catherine's sleeve was
pulled up accidentally, her arm revealed severe
scars. Her teacher sought help by conferring
with the school counselor, who then met with
Catherine.
In a calm manner, the counselor
communicated understanding, empathy and
caring for Catherine, thus establishing trust.
The counselor asked questions to determine
that the cuts were not physical child abuse by an
older person, but self-inflicted. She avoided
shaming Catherine by stating that she was not
a bad person for hurting herself. When
Catherine was unable to describe her behavior,
the counselor asked if she could write down or
draw what she does to herself when she is upset.
The counselor's goal was to not criticize or
Educare November 2019
coerce her into stopping because intimidation
usually leads to increased self-hurting behavior,
but to find the help she needed.
Self-injury means deliberately hurting yourself
without the intent to commit suicide. Other
names for self-injury are cutting, self-harm,
and self-mutilation. Most self-injurers feel
ashamed of what they're doing and try to hide
it from adults and friends. Since self-harm is
done in private, it often goes undetected or is
explained as being accidental.
Though uncommon, children as young
as preschool age have intentionally hurt
themselves. Self-injurers come from a
broad spectrum of social, economic
and racial groups. They can range from
being perfectionists to school dropouts.
However, as young children, they
usually have experienced abuse, neglect,
violence, or trauma such as the death of
a loved one or involvement in a car
accident. They can be males or females,
although most are females in their teens
or older. A reason for this may be that
males tend to display their aggression
towards others or inanimate objects.
Girls, on the other hand, tend to turn
that hurt and pain inward toward
themselves.
Self-injurers often lack social skills
and may be victims of teasing or
bullying. In order to distract themselves
from painful emotions, they inflict
physical harm upon themselves. Self-
injurers may begin with only scratching
an insect bite or accidentally cutting
their skin, but due to the sense of relief
it brings, they continue to injure
themselves. Some researchers theorize
that the release of endorphins, the
body's natural painkillers, can
contribute to continued self-injury.
What young children have in common
with older children and adolescents
who hurt themselves is an inability to
verbally express their feelings and
needs.
coaching and training as they
implement this new approach.
The government of Edo state claims
that since this transfor mation
programme began, 20,000 extra
children have returned to their public
primary schools.
Nigeria has among the world's worst
out-of-school numbers. Official
estimates estimate that 11 million
Nigerian boys and girls are not in
school. Its education crisis is partly an
issue of access, but it is also one of
quality. Transformation at scale has
previously seemed beyond reach.
The impact on children's learning has
already been significant, even over a
period of only three months. An initial
study, commissioned by the state
government in the first term of the
programme, showed learning gains
were positive. Pupils learned more,
spent more time learning, worked
harder and experienced a more positive
classroom environment. Girls in
EdoBEST schools outperformed all
other pupils.
The initial analysis of boys and girls
suggests that being in an EdoBEST
school equates to nearly three-quarters
of a year more maths instruction and
nearly two-thirds of a year more literacy
instruction compared to a normal Edo
primary school. To put it another way,
children are learning in one term what
they would normally learn in one year.
The approach being used by Edo's
technical partner, Bridge, has been seen
to improve learning gains elsewhere in
Nigeria. A study by the UK's
Department for International
Development (DFID) found equity of
learning in Lagos schools, regardless of
socioeconomic background. The newly
released federal common entrance
exam results have seen children from
some of the most impoverished
communities in Lagos excel, placing
them among the country's top
performers.
Over the past 18 months, there has
been an increasing shift towards using
the private sector in the education space
to support the delivery of public sector
transformation. The World Bank,
DFID and the United States Agency for
International Development (USAID)
have all published new frameworks and
strategies advocating this approach.
But it's not only policymakers and
15
government officials advocating non-
state engagement. New US public
attitude research shows eight out of 10
Americans think there should be more
educational public-private partnerships
in countries where the local
government struggles to provide quality
education for all. Edo is one of the first
places in the world delivering it at a
state-wide level.
The governor deserves the praise and
attention he is receiving for his
leadership and his determination to
tackle intergenerational poverty and
poor learning outcomes. Teachers are
rightly delighted that their vocation is
the central pillar of the governor's
transformation efforts.
The children of Edo are flocking back
to the classroom because they and their
parents know something of real value
has arrived in their schools - learning.
Other African leaders are watching with
interest. EdoBEST could be a
programme that not only changes the
future for the children of Edo, but for
children throughout Africa.
Written by Adesuwa Ifedi, Vice president,
policy and partnerships for Africa, Bridge
International Academies
www.sonagroupnig.com
Individuals inf lict pain upon
Educare November 2019