The Need for Trauma-Informed Approaches in Bilingual Teacher Preparation

• In Event: AERA Poster Session Friday 7:45 am
  In Poster Session: Innovating Curricular Designs for Bilingual Teacher Education in the US: Programs, Policies and Partnerships

Abstract

Objectives: This work advocates for trauma-informed practices (TIP) to be reimagined as an essential curricular component of bilingual teacher education, rather than as a supplementary topic. We propose a justice-oriented framework that prepares bilingual teachers to recognize and respond to the layered trauma experienced by many emergent bilinguals, particularly trauma linked to migration, displacement, systemic racism, and linguistic marginalization. Our goal is to advance a more integrated, equity-driven vision for TIP in bilingual teacher education that supports the holistic development and well-being of bilingual students.
Theoretical Framing: We draw on raciolinguistic perspectives (Flores & Rosa, 2015) and culturally sustaining pedagogy (Paris & Alim, 2017) to anchor our approach. We also engage literature on linguistic and immigration-related trauma (e.g., Davila et al., 2020), reframing trauma not as an individual problem but as a consequence of systemic inequities that require structural and pedagogical transformation. Central to our framework is a call for critical consciousness (Freire, 1970) among bilingual educators who must be equipped to teach and advocate in trauma-impacted contexts.
Methods: This conceptual poster integrates theoretical analysis, literature synthesis, and practitioner reflection. As former bilingual educators and current teacher educators, the authors draw from their own programmatic experiences and practice-based knowledge, as well as current research, to identify current gaps in bilingual teacher preparation and articulate possibilities for transformation. Sources include interdisciplinary TIP literature and curriculum artifacts from bilingual education programs. We also draw on anecdotal narratives and composite student cases (e.g., “Jasmin,” a student navigating family separation and migration trauma) to illustrate how trauma manifests in bilingual classrooms and how teachers can respond.
Findings: We identify three essential areas for TIP integration in bilingual teacher education:1) Expanding conceptual understandings of trauma to include language loss, exclusionary policies, and raciolinguistic hierarchies; 2) Preparing teachers to recognize trauma responses and apply trauma-informed pedagogy that is culturally and linguistically affirming; 3) Explicitly embedding TIP into teacher preparation coursework. We argue that trauma-informed bilingual teaching must center student agency, safety, and belonging in ways that align with broader social justice commitments.
Significance: This work bridges the fields of bilingual education and trauma-informed schooling, both of which have historically remained siloed. We thus invite bilingual teacher educators to rethink curriculum, pedagogy, and partnerships through a trauma-informed lens. The chapter offers a foundational framework that can inform course development, professional learning, and cross-disciplinary collaboration with mental health professionals and community organizations. By naming and addressing the trauma that many emergent bilinguals experience, bilingual educators can more effectively cultivate classrooms that foster healing, affirmation, and collective resistance.

Authors

• Vanessa Santiago Schwarz, University of Colorado - Boulder

• Ofelia Castro Schepers, Purdue University