The Intersection of Classroom Management, Student Trauma, and Self-Care: The Experiences of Preservice Teachers

• In Event: 79.039 - Preservice Teachers Training: Developing Competence and Perceptions of Classroom Management in Preservice Teachers

Abstract

This study explored preservice teachers’ experiences with classroom management, student trauma and self-care during one of their first clinical cycles in Title I schools. The coursework of 25 elementary education majors was thematically analyzed to determine ways in which trauma impacted their clinical placements and their cooperating teachers’ classroom management strategies. Findings suggest that two types of student trauma impacted their classrooms and preservice teachers believed these students needed a classroom driven by teacher control and structure to be successful. Preservice teachers also reported secondary trauma by learning about the trauma in students’ lives and not having the self-care supports to process their relationships with these students. Implications for teacher education and trauma-informed practices will be discussed.

Author

• Kyle Elizabeth Miller, Illinois State University