Beyond the Behavior: Teachers' Trauma-Informed Attitudes Mitigate Expulsion Risk Among Uninhibited Preschoolers

• In Event: Exclusionary Policies and Practices in Early Childhood Education Settings

Abstract

Exposure to trauma and adversity have behavioral consequences that increase a child’s risk of expulsion from early childhood settings but it is unclear whether and how trauma-informed (TI) approaches may prevent expulsion. The current study uses data from 22 preschool teachers and 88 children recruited from Head Start programs to examine whether teachers’ TI attitudes, a mechanism of interest in evaluating TI approaches, moderate the relationship between children’s behavioral inhibition and expulsion risk. Findings indicate a significant interaction between child inhibitory control and teacher TI attitudes; stronger TI attitudes were protective for children with low inhibition. This study provides preliminary support for the potential for TI approaches in schools in reducing expulsion risk through teacher attitudes.

Authors

• Alysse Loomis, University of Utah

• Timothy W. Curby, George Mason University

• Kate Zinsser, University of Illinois at Chicago