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Trauma-Informed Schools pp 79–91Cite as

Maltreatment as a Wicked Problem: Implications for Educational Settings

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Part of the book series: Child Maltreatment Solutions Network ((CMSN))

Abstract

This chapter draws on the concept of a “wicked problem” to frame the social problem of child maltreatment and ultimately to consider roles of schools and other child-serving systems of care in responding to it. The scholarship compiled suggests that the problem of maltreatment is unlikely to be “solved” by a specific set of programs or policies. Rather, more fruitful steps forward would emphasize a common framing of maltreatment as a wicked problem; renewed efforts to distill the specific aspects of wickedness related to maltreatment into areas of complexity, diversity, and uncertainty; and heightened attention, at a minimum, to the well-documented and multilevel problems of coordination and collaboration related to maltreated children, particularly in the context of educational settings. Such steps would likely be enhanced if they directly involved maltreated children and their caregivers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Social Welfare, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA

    Susan Stone

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  1. Susan Stone
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Correspondence to Susan Stone .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA

    Carlomagno C. Panlilio

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Stone, S. (2019). Maltreatment as a Wicked Problem: Implications for Educational Settings. In: Panlilio, C.C. (eds) Trauma-Informed Schools. Child Maltreatment Solutions Network. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-12811-1_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-12811-1_5

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-12810-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-12811-1

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