Building Peace through Trauma-Sensitive Teacher–Child Interactions

• In Event: Peacebuilding, Philosophy, and Nature-Based Play

Proposal

In societies marked by inequality, violence, and adversity, early childhood education represents a critical setting for building resilience and fostering peace. Research in developmental neuroscience has demonstrated that exposure to toxic stress and trauma in the early years disrupts brain architecture, affecting the hippocampus, amygdala, and prefrontal cortex—structures central to memory, executive functions, and emotional regulation (Teicher & Samson, 2016; McLaughlin et al., 2014; Hanson et al., 2010). Chronic exposure to stress hormones such as cortisol and catecholamines reshapes physiological responses, with long-term effects on cognition, mental health, and social relationships (Lupien et al., 2009; McEwen, 2008). While early adversity can have profound negative impacts, contextual protective factors—especially sensitive, predictable, and secure interactions with adults—can buffer these risks, activating parasympathetic pathways of safety and strengthening resilience (Porges, 2018; Dana, 2018).

Schools, and particularly preschool classrooms, are one of the most consistent contexts where children spend daily time outside their families. Teachers, therefore, have a unique opportunity to create safe and supportive environments. Theories of attachment (Bowlby, 1969; Ainsworth, 1973) and the Teaching Through Interactions framework (Pianta, Hamre & Stuhlman, 2003) highlight the importance of teacher–child interactions in establishing climates of security and emotional attunement. Such relationships not only promote social and emotional wellbeing but can mitigate the effects of early adversity by fostering children’s ability to regulate emotions, trust others, and engage in learning (Ansari & Pianta, 2018; Rancher & Moreland, 2023). Trauma-sensitive education, then, is not only a pedagogical strategy but also a peacebuilding practice: classrooms can become microcosms where resilience and prosocial capacities are cultivated, counteracting cycles of violence and division.

This study contributes empirical evidence to this discussion through a sample of 59 preschool teachers and 318 children aged 3 to 6 years in Girardot and Bogotá, Colombia. Teachers were on average 42.9 years old (range 26–64), reflecting diverse professional trajectories. Classrooms averaged 19.7 children (range 5–44), with child–teacher ratios varying widely (5–27), underscoring the heterogeneity of educational contexts. Teacher–child interactions were observed using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS Pre-K), which evaluates three domains: emotional support, classroom organization, and instructional support. Child development was assessed with the Denver II screening tool, covering personal-social, fine motor, gross motor, and language areas.

Findings revealed notable contrasts across interaction domains. In the emotional domain, most teachers scored in medium (61%) or high (39%) ranges, indicating generally positive climates. Still, observations recorded occasional negative interactions (M=1.3; maximum 2.8), including moments of frustration or disapproval, which—even if infrequent—represent risks for children’s socio-emotional security. In the classroom organization domain, 59.3% of teachers scored medium, 33.9% high, and 6.8% low. While productivity and behavior management were strong in many classrooms, qualitative field notes indicated that order often relied on coercive strategies such as threats or shouting. These practices, while effective in maintaining discipline, risk undermining positive relational climates and children’s autonomy. In the instructional support domain, results were markedly weak: 74.6% of teachers scored low, 25.4% medium, and none high. Opportunities for concept development, feedback, and language modeling were scarce, mirroring children’s performance on Denver II, where language and conceptual development showed the highest rates of delay or risk.

Multilevel models were estimated to examine whether teacher–child interactions moderated associations between adversity and development. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) revealed that up to 19% of variance in gross motor development could be attributed to the classroom/teacher level, while personal-social development showed an ICC of .09 and language .05. These results underscore the contextual influence of teachers, particularly for socio-emotional and motor development. Importantly, teacher emotional support significantly predicted children’s personal-social development (β = -0.16, p = .02, CI95% [-0.29, -0.03]), indicating that emotionally attuned classrooms protect against risk of delays in social competence. Emotional support also showed a marginal effect on fine motor development (β = -0.11, p = .05). By contrast, classroom organization and instructional support did not show significant predictive effects on any Denver II domain.

These findings have three implications. First, they provide empirical evidence that emotional support is a protective factor in early childhood classrooms, directly linked to children’s socio-personal development. This reinforces global research showing that warm, sensitive, and secure relationships with non-parental adults—such as teachers—can buffer the effects of early adversity (Pianta, Hamre & Stuhlman, 2003; Lecannelier, 2018). Second, the striking weakness of instructional support raises concerns about missed opportunities to stimulate language and higher-order thinking in young children. In contexts where children already face adversity, this gap exacerbates risks for learning inequities. Third, the reliance on coercive discipline highlights the tension between short-term classroom order and long-term child wellbeing, calling for teacher professional development in trauma-sensitive strategies that regulate behavior while fostering positive climates.

In a country like Colombia, where children are disproportionately exposed to violence and adversity (FORENSIS, 2020; EVCNNA, 2018), these results highlight the urgency of strengthening preschool as a protective setting. While macro-level peacebuilding processes remain fragile, micro-level relational dynamics in classrooms represent an underexplored but crucial pathway for fostering social cohesion. Teachers trained to recognize the impact of trauma, respond with sensitivity, and create emotionally secure environments can transform classrooms into sites of resilience and peacebuilding.

By situating early childhood education within the broader agenda of peace in divided societies, this study advances CIES’s 2026 theme of “Re-examining Education and Peace in a Divided World.” It demonstrates that peace is not only the outcome of institutional reforms or international agreements but also emerges in daily, moment-to-moment interactions between teachers and children. Investing in trauma-sensitive pedagogy is, therefore, an investment in long-term social cohesion.

Ultimately, this paper calls for integrating trauma-sensitive approaches into teacher training and policy frameworks in early childhood education. It argues that ensuring equitable adult–child ratios, embedding social-emotional learning, and providing teachers with tools for positive discipline and instructional support are not only strategies for academic success but also pathways toward resilience and peace. By reimagining preschools as safe, responsive, and healing environments, we can counteract the cycles of adversity that perpetuate violence and inequality, and instead cultivate the next generation’s capacity for connection, empathy, and peace.

Author

• MONICA TATIANA MORENO, LOS ANDES UNIVERISTY