Trauma-Informed Teaching: Guiding Whole School Shifts in Thinking and Practices Through a Professional Development Intervention

• In Event: Creating a Culture of Care: The Importance of Student-Teacher Relationships

Abstract

Introduction: Half of all students experience a potentially traumatic event by the age of 17 (Bethell et al., 2017), which can have long-term impacts on attention, memory, language, and emotional and behavioral regulation (Hamoudi et al., 2016). Despite growing interest and legislative support for trauma-informed school interventions (Harper & Temkin, 2019), few professional development curricula on trauma-informed teaching exist. In our current context of a global pandemic, schools have an increasing need and responsibility to provide trauma-informed teaching. This study examines shifts in educators’ thinking and teaching practices at one elementary school implemented a trauma-informed teaching curriculum.
Methods: A year-long Tier I trauma-informed teaching curriculum included (1) three after-school trainings for teachers, paraprofessionals, and administrators (85% of school staff: n=61; demographics in. Table 1), (2) bi-weekly coaching sessions for a subset of teachers (n=3), and (3) monthly administrator meetings regarding policies and procedures using a trauma-sensitive lens. Three 45-minute trainings were delivered during staff meetings: (1) Secondary Traumatic Stress and Self-Care, (2) Supporting Students who have Experienced Trauma, and (3) Understanding Educational Consequences for Children of Substance Using Parents. Attitudes Related to Trauma-Informed Care (ARTIC; Baker et al., 2016) were measured pre- and post-intervention (paired sample n=21). Post-intervention, participants (n=22) reported the extent to which they felt that the trainings influenced their thinking, teaching practices, interactions with parents/caregivers, and processing of the COVID-19 pandemic. Descriptive statistics describe survey results, in addition to qualitative examples of reported changes. Interviews with administrators (n=2) and a subset of staff (n=6) further explored shifts in thinking and practices generated by the training curriculum. Thematic analysis was used to analyze educators’ reports of these shifts attributed to trainings.
Results: While the COVID-19 pandemic impacted survey response rates, results support shifts in thinking and practices were influenced by trainings. A paired sample t-test demonstrated significant gains in ARTIC scores over the course of the intervention (5.62 vs. 6.00, t=-2.545, p=.019). Figure 1 depicts the reported influence of trainings on educator thinking, practices, interactions with parents, and processing of the COVID-19 pandemic. Respondents overwhelmingly reported shifts, most substantially in their thinking. Preliminary qualitative analysis suggests that educators increased in empathy and patience with students, understanding of the neurobiological consequences of trauma on learning, collaboration and use of teaching strategies to support students, and understanding of secondary traumatic stress on educators. Administrators reported fewer office referrals, improved attitudes towards professional development, and greater collaboration around trauma-informed teaching practices.

Conclusion: Given the widespread prevalence of traumatic events amongst students, which may be caused or compounded by the current global pandemic, educators need to be trained in trauma-informed teaching practices. Those with preexisting trauma have increased vulnerability to mental health symptomology after a disaster (Fernandez et al., 2020). Initial data suggest that this professional development curriculum may shift educator thinking and attitudes towards trauma-informed teaching practices. As schools consider ongoing remote learning, hybrid models, and/or in-person instruction, trauma-informed teaching practices, as promoted through this curriculum, will be critical to meeting the academic, social, and emotional needs of students.

Authors

• Jessica Koslouski, University of Connecticut - Storrs

• Kesha Perkins, Boston University

• Michelle V. Porche, University of California - San Francisco