Trauma-Informed Child Care and Education in Emergencies: Models for Malawi

• In Event: Pritioizing the well-being of learners and educators during crises: insights from social and emotional learning (SEL) programing

Proposal

The impact of trauma on human beings is a growing concern around the world and a priority among many researchers and a fast-growing topic in the education sector. Children who have undergone traumatic experiences have difficulties in learning; however, most people in the education sector especially teachers are not well equipped on how best to assist learners that have experienced trauma (Mullen, 2019). According to Virtual Lab Schools, an estimated one out of four children have been exposed to some form of trauma: with most likely teachers and families as well. Trauma presents significant concerns for children during crucial developmental stages and can have an impact on their cognitive, social, physical, and emotional development (Virtual Lab Schools, Par. 1).

Malawi experiences a few natural disasters each year, which affect children’s learning experiences. Therefore, it is imperative to have readily available information to ensure safe and quality education during and after these disasters. Climate change and its associated impacts continue to affect the country in many ways, exacerbating poverty. These issues continue to raise doubts over the ability of the country to attain the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 (Mountain Research Initiative, 2018). Many countries, including Malawi, have lost income, lives, and mass migration due to people moving to safer spaces. Malawi is one of the countries that has experienced severe floods affecting approximately a million people and claiming 56 lives. Reports show that floods accounted for 48% of major disasters between 1946 and 2013, with their frequency and severity increasing over the years (Conservation, 2019). Floods have occurred in 16 of the country's 28 districts, in rural and urban areas (Conservation, 2019). These cases and scenarios have had some psychological impact, resulting in trauma for many children and adults. Research has shown that children who have experienced natural or human-made disasters suffer from multiple traumas which affect their performance in school including their quality of life (Washington Post, 2017). The Universal Declaration on Human Rights (1948), states that education is a basic human right for every person including children; and yet many children who are prone to disasters are delayed or denied of this right. Also, teachers, communities, organizations, and governments are often less equipped and therefore unable to attend to the psychology needs of their learners during natural disasters.


Through designing a workshop to equip teachers on how effectively to support children experiencing trauma in Malawi, this paper explores alternatives to trauma-informed childcare in emergency education. Additionally, it discusses strategies teachers can use in their classrooms to support children within the Malawian context who have gone through traumatic experiences. The Malawian education system does not provide much training for teachers about trauma and its effects. Therefore, it is important that they gain knowledge about this topic so that they can effectively teach young learners. This paper provides a training program for teachers on teaching, preparedness and dealing with emergencies and disasters. This two-day workshop is focused on these four concepts: introduction and overview, classroom interaction: strategies, trauma informed childcare resources workshop, and conclusion: workshop and self-evaluation. In order to assure the success of this project, not only will academic institutions and other organizations that are focused on education be involved. However, representatives from various schools will attend the workshops twice every academic year. This workshop is essential for schools and other organizations that deal with children and trauma to understand some of the challenges that children struggle through when emergencies arise.

Theoretically, this paper is informed by Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and Piaget's Cognitive Development Theories. These two theories display how one's environment and behavior or lack of some basic needs affect one's possibilities of learning. In support of these theories, this paper is focusing on trauma-informed childcare and education in emergencies, and this guides on how this paper aligns with the design of the workshop based on learning pedagogies that are effective for trauma-informed childcare for education in emergencies. According to Bormanaki and Khoshhal (2017), theories of development provide a framework for thinking about human growth, development, and learning. Understanding these theories can provide useful insight into both the individual and societal influences on early development.

This paper highlights different strategies that can assist children with focusing while in class, being confident, and improving their self-esteem. These strategies would also serve as stabilizers for children who have been exposed to various triggers. In addition to teaching children how to control their emotions, these strategies will also teach them how to tolerate and empathize with others. This would teach the entire class the importance of watching over one another, and those gestures can be extended to their homes as well. When dealing with children undergoing trauma or those who have experienced trauma, a teacher might face anger management, bullying, and violent behaviors. For this reason, educators should not only be prepared, but also equipped with the knowledge that will enable them to be innovative to accommodate these events in their classrooms.

Every child deserves an opportunity to good education and a safer space too. Children in emergencies just like any other children should be given an opportunity to learn and attend education. Teachers need to be equipped with the right skills and training to help them be able to assist their learners that might be going through trauma and facing difficulties in learning Unfortunately, there is not much information available in Malawi on trauma-informed childcare in emergencies, therefore this paper will provide alternative interventions that schools and other childcare agencies can use or adopt in emergency situations.

Additionally, this paper adds to the body of knowledge since there has been little documentation on how natural disasters affect school-aged children psychologically and negatively impact their learning in Malawi. This paper seeks to bridge the gap between emergency situations in the classroom and their psychological impacts. This paper also focuses on trauma and how teachers can best support traumatized students.

Author

• Esnart Mfune, University of Cincinnati