Awareness and Practices in the Implementation of the Child Protection Policy among Public Elementary School Teachers

This study examined the relationship between teachers' awareness of the Child Protection Policy and their practices in implementing it in public elementary schools in Caraga District, Division of Davao Oriental.A descriptive-correlational design used survey data from 125 teachers selected through simple random sampling.Overall awareness was very extensive and overall practices were also very extensive.Awareness and practices showed a moderate positive and significant relationship.Multiple regression indicated that awareness domains explained 33.6% of the variance in practices, with the legal and policy framework and behavioral management as significant predictors, while responsibilities of schools was not.Findings highlight the need for sustained policy-oriented capacity building, school-level support systems, and consistent monitoring to translate awareness into protective classroom practices.Targeted refreshers on reporting pathways and childfriendly routines can strengthen everyday implementation and sustain safe school climate.