Elementary Portuguese Teachers’ Knowledge about Adoption: What do they know and how do they deal with it in the classroom?

The school represents one of the primary developmental contexts for children. Therefore, teachers are in a privileged position to enable their well-being, satisfaction and integration in school. Regarding adopted children, the teacher’s role becomes even more crucial in overcoming the specific challenges they may encounter in the school context due to their past adversity. Thus, it is fundamental for teachers to be well informed about adoption in order to sensibly attend to adopted children’s needs and support their academic achievement, social integration and individual development. The present study aims to address the research gap in teachers’ adoption awareness by exploring their knowledge about adoption and their usage of specific procedures when there are adopted children in their classrooms. Five hundred and thirty-seven elementary teachers participated in this study, of which 42.7% had had an adopted child as a student. Data were collected using the Scale of Ideas about Adoption and Adopted Children – Teachers’ version (EIACA-T). The results showed a lack of knowledge on behalf of the teachers about adoption, including legal and procedural issues. Teachers reported low usage of specific procedures when they had adopted children in their classrooms. These findings highlight the urgent need to provide teachers with comprehensive and evidence-based education about adoption and all it implies. This investment in teachers’ training will, in turn, improve their sensibility and ability to attend better to adopted children’s and their families’ needs.