Transformative Teacher Education: Centering Equity in Trauma-Informed Practices for Future Educators

• In Event: What’s Missing in Trauma-Informed Practice? An Interdisciplinary Exploration of Equity-Driven Student and Teacher Perspectives

Abstract

Background: Though schools and teachers are often included in discussions of trauma-informed systems of care (Chafouleas et al., 2021), the teacher preparation programs that prepare educators may not be (Brown et al., 2022). Teacher preparation first shapes novice teachers’ understanding of how to build healthy, equitable school environments. Thus, teacher education programs should be routinely included in trauma-informed systems of care that reflect and contribute to larger understandings and directions for trauma-informed practices and contribute toward a more socially just conception of those practices.

Objectives: We describe an exploratory study of an Equity-Centered, trauma-informed teacher education curriculum model (ECTITE) that sought to elevate the experiences of BIPOC teacher candidates and infused differentiated content on racial trauma for BIPOC-identifying and white-identifying teacher candidates.

Theoretical Framework: The instructional approaches utilized in the curriculum and the self-study design are grounded in the sociocultural emphases of language, learning, and the co-construction of knowledge (John-Steiner & Mahn, 1996) and critical trauma theory (Stevens, 2009; Nelson, 2021). This perspective underscores the importance of considering cultural and social factors in educational practices and recognizes the diversity of effective approaches. Critical trauma theory encourages an examination of the diverse positionalities of teacher candidates as they navigate the dual processes of learning to teach and becoming trauma-informed educators.

Stevens (2009) cautions against the tendency in European and American contexts to impose a uniform understanding of trauma that disregards local knowledge and experiences. In response, Nelson (2021) advocates for practicing cultural humility through ongoing, intentional self-reflection and actively incorporating feedback from the teacher candidates. This approach emphasizes recognizing and valuing unique experiences and insights.

Methods: Our research question explored how the perceptions of teacher candidates exposed to an equity-centered, trauma-informed curriculum changed over time. We used a mixed method, self-study research protocol to investigate questions around how the teacher candidates understood and processed the content in modules. Data included surveys, open-ended reflections, and focus group responses.

Results: Participants felt more prepared to respond to students’ needs because of shifts in their thinking and access to effective strategies and tools to support learners as members of classroom and school communities. Participants also sought participation in school-wide equity efforts, sharing their insights and perspectives. Instructional decisions reflected participants’ whole-person perspectives in terms of content and pedagogical choices. BIPOC candidates increased their skills and confidence, and the model equipped white teachers with the tools needed to be effective racial advocates for their colleagues and students. Discussions of self-care became normalized, but it remains unclear how consistent participants were with their plans.

Significance: Racism-based traumatic stress (Alvarez, 2020) should be included across spaces where discussion and dissemination of trauma-informed practices occur. Those spaces must center equity and consider the whole person (Venet, 2021). Differentiating the content on racial trauma holds possibilities for BIPOC-identifying and white-identifying teacher candidates. The ECTITE model provides a framework that specifically attempts to reduce the impact of trauma and racial trauma and elevate the experiences of BIPOC teachers and students, prioritizing equity, critical self-reflection, and taking a “whole” person perspective.

Authors

• M. Shelley Thomas, University of Louisville

• Shantel Crosby, University of Louisville