Tugging at Heartstrings: A Mixed-Method Study of Secondary Trauma and School Leadership in the Borderland

• In Event: 69.014 - Leadership Focused on Students' Academic and Affective Needs

Abstract

According to the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (2011), more than 10 million children endure trauma, abuse, violence, and adverse events that can give rise to significant social and behavioral problems. Researchers in educational leadership have failed to explore how secondary trauma – the emotional duress that results when an individual hears about the firsthand trauma of another - affects principals. This study uses an explanatory sequential mixed method design. In the first, quantitative phase of the study, survey data was collected from a sample of principals within one large urban school district along the U.S.-Mexico border. In this exploratory follow-up, we explored secondary trauma with principals to identify cases where student trauma affected principal emotions.

Authors

• David Edward DeMatthews, The University of Texas - El Paso

• Elena Izquierdo, The University of Texas - El Paso

• Paul A Carrola, UT El Paso