Exploring the Inclusion of Self-Care Curricula to Address Preservice Teachers’ Secondary Trauma in the Classroom

• In Event: Creating a Healthy Education System to Thrive In

Abstract

A teacher’s mental health directly impacts their students (Forst, 2020). Pellowski (2020) maintains the teacher is the most significant factor in shaping classroom experience. However, teacher preparation programs (TPPs) provide little instruction on the need to promote well-being to mitigate stress-related consequences of teaching (Miller & Flint-Stipp, 2019). This three-year, mixed-methods study provides empirical support for integrating a self-care unit in TPPs to address secondary trauma (Sutcher et al., 2019). Findings indicate a significant improvement in PSTs’ well-being after completing a self-care unit, suggesting its potential effectiveness in reducing burnout and attrition. Implications of this study are critical for teacher education policy and practice, advocating for self-care curricula to enhance teacher well-being and, by extension, student outcomes.

Authors

• Yvonne Franco, University of Tampa

• Heather Bailie Schock, University of Tampa