Becoming Trauma-Informed: How Teachers Make and Lead Change in Urban Early Care and Education Settings

• In Event: 66.086 - MTCC Roundtable Session 29
  In Roundtable Session: 66.086-8 - Fostering Young Children's Social-Emotional Development

Abstract

Early care and education (ECE) programs are uniquely positioned to support children and families exposed to trauma, yet need access to resources and supports that can enhance their capacity to deliver trauma-informed care. This multiple case study investigated how urban ECE programs became more trauma-informed through their participation in a Breakthrough Series Collaborative (BSC) on Trauma Informed Care. The BSC model elevates teacher leadership. This study investigated how teachers changed and led change to improve trauma-informed practices. Results showed that teachers became empowered to see themselves as leaders, spread new practices across their programs, partnered with program administrators and parents to implement change, improved self-care, and adopted new mindsets about challenging behaviors that supported changes in practice.

Authors

• Anne Douglass, University of Massachusetts - Boston

• Rachel Chickerella, University of Massachusetts - Boston