Essential and Uniquely Challenging: Trauma-Focused Professional Development and the Affective Experiences of Early Childhood Educators During COVID-19

• In Event: Educator Well-being During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Trauma-focused professional development (PD) for early care and education (ECE) teachers is an “essential priority" (Meek et al., 2020, p.13). While trauma-focused PD programming has proliferated in recent years, effectiveness remains mixed (Overstreet et al., 2016). One factor potentially undermining trauma-focused PD effectiveness is the emotional weight, and often, personal resonance, of the material, and the absence of adequate social-emotional support. This phenomenon is well-documented in trauma-focused coursework in higher education (e.g., Black, 2006; Newman, 2011). Intentional and trauma-responsive instruction, especially when learning about trauma, is an ethical and educational imperative (Cless 2018). ECE teachers have been proximal to trauma exposure since before the onset of COVID-19. Since 2020, their mental health and wellbeing have been further undermined (Rodriguez et al., 2022). Research is needed to inform more responsive trauma-focused PD for this population. An understanding of ECE teachers' perspectives and affective experiences may not only increase outcomes of effectiveness (e.g., knowledge, self-efficacy) but also help mitigate the risk of unintentional harm (e.g., re-traumatization). This descriptive study investigated: 1) the reported impacts of COVID-19 on ECE teachers' personal and professional lives, and 2) how they experienced participating in a trauma-focused PD series during the first six months of COVID-19. Data came from a broader mixed-methods program evaluation of a four-part PD series for ECE teachers in the Mid-Atlantic United States in the fall of 2020. Teachers were invited to complete a mixed-methods survey in Qualtrics following each session. Data were drawn from surveys completed after the first and final sessions. 157 ECE teachers consented to use their responses for research purposes. RStudio version 4.1.2 (RStudio Team, 2022) was used to run descriptive statistics. Qualitative descriptive coding techniques (Saldaña, 2013) were used to capture positive and negative affective experiences in feedback, and memos were written related to themes. Quantitative and qualitative findings were integrated using a thread approach (e.g., O’Cathain et al., 2010). ECE teachers reported that COVID-19 made the following worse: anxiety (90%); general mood, sense of hope, exercise, eating/nutrition, and sleep quality (75%); workload (73%), access to resources (62%), workplace communication and relationships (61%), and their ability to support children (70%). The majority (84%) of ECE teachers reported engaging in self-care practices (see examples below) between 0-5 times per week. 14% engaged in self-care practices 6-8 times per week and ~2% engaged 9 or more times per week. ECE teachers reported both positive and negative affective experiences during trauma-focused PD's. Positive affective experiences included engagement, validation, and appreciation. Negative affective experiences included psychological triggering, discomfort, frustration, and decreased self-efficacy. While trauma-focused learning is important for ECE teachers' professional practice and wellbeing, the context of ongoing global crises makes this content more relatable and potentially challenging to engage with in healthy ways. PD designers and facilitators must employ a critical feminist, trauma-responsive and antiracist approach to teaching about trauma (DeVlieger, 2020). Additionally, PD sessions may be differentiated or tailored (e.g., by racial affinity, baseline trauma knowledge, coworker alliance) to best address varied needs.

Author

• Shana E DeVlieger, New York University School of Medicine
  Presenting Author