Seeing Race in the Education Research Literature on Trauma

• In Event: Moscone Center North Roundtable Session 1
  In Roundtable Session: Race, Misformed Practices of Emotions, and the Politics of Tracking

Abstract

This paper explores one of the most under-examined issues in education: trauma. The author argues that because trauma has been constructed within a racialized society, it is critical to approach trauma as a site of racial inequity. By situating this review of 57 articles in a framework of race-consciousness, this paper illustrates a) the racialization of trauma research across disciplines, b) potential sources to explain the disparities in trauma exposure by race and c) micro- and macro-level school approaches to address trauma. The author concludes that too little attention is focused on naming and disrupting a racialized social system, perhaps the greatest driver of trauma exposure and systemically inadequate trauma prevention.

Author

• Adan Alvarez, Rowan University