“It Starts at Home”: Understanding School Staff Perspectives on Family Engagement in Trauma-Informed Practices

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Thursday 7:45 am
  In Roundtable Session: Promoting family-school engagement

Abstract

Trauma-informed frameworks stress the importance of understanding communities and context for the effective implementation of trauma-informed practices (TIPs). However, little research examines the connections between TIPs and family engagement, especially in the school context. This study examines how teachers new to TIPs and Well-Being Specialists driving the implementation of trauma-informed care make sense of TIPs and families. Despite recognizing the importance of family engagement in TIPs, new teachers often held deficit-based beliefs of families and failed to extend trauma-informed frameworks beyond students. One exemplary school developed authentic relationships with families and included families in decision-making about their students, facilitating the effective implementation of TIPs. Schools using TIPS should extend trauma-informed care beyond students to include families, communities, and schools.

Authors

• Megumi Grace Hine, Washington University in St. Louis

• Margaret K. Powers, Washington University in St. Louis

• Erica Ellsworth Miller, Washington University in St. Louis

• Sophie C. Song, Washington University in St. Louis