Format

Individual Presentation

First Presenter's Institution

Edinboro University of Pennsylvania

First Presenter’s Email Address

asteele@edinboro.edu

First Presenter's Brief Biography

After teaching in public schools for 14 years, I moved on to higher education to educate future students in supporting students affected by trauma.

Location

Session Eight Breakouts

Strand #1

Health: Mental & Physical Health

Strand #2

Heart: Social & Emotional Skills

Relevance

Research suggests that half of the children within the United States experience at least one traumatic event before the age of 17. Each day, these students carry their personal trauma histories into their classrooms; however, our understanding of teachers’ knowledge and confidences in supporting this group of students is limited. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of incorporating an intervention program into teacher preparation programs to identify the challenges that student mental health issues present in the classroom, particularly with students experiencing child traumatic stress. A review of literature shows the need for educator preparation programs to address the needs of the growing population of students affected by adolescent trauma. The current study aimed to examine novice teachers’ need for trauma intervention in the classroom and their roles in providing support to students experiencing child traumatic stress. Second, this study examined the effects of trauma training on novice teachers to identify the changes in teachers’ perceived “preparedness” regarding delivery of trauma-informed care for their future students. Participants are student teachers from two rural, public universities in Pennsylvania. The trauma-informed education of all participants was evaluated. The study suggests that there is perceived inadequate trauma-informed education training of all novice teachers, thus suggesting that university education programs and public schools need to develop methods and opportunities for training novice teachers to address such mental health challenges. Implications for implementing novice teacher trauma training are discussed.

Brief Program Description

While educational systems and communities have advanced in accommodating individuals with physical, cognitive and emotional challenges, teacher training is still underdeveloped in support for a growing population of youth that experiences adolescent trauma. In the United States, 26% of children will witness or experience a traumatic event before they turn four, and 60% of adults report experiencing abuse or other difficult family circumstances during childhood (National Center for Mental Health, 2012). As defined by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA, 2012), trauma “results from an event, series of events, or set of circumstances that is experienced by an individual as physically or emotionally harmful or threatening, and that has lasting, adverse effects on the individual’s functioning and physical, social, emotional or spiritual well-being.” The traumatic experiences of abuse and/or neglect impact normal development by increasing the risk for emotional, behavioral, academic, social and physical problems (Cook et al., 2005). Traumatic childhood experiences result and are manifested to self-harming behavior, dating violence, delinquency and perpetration of violence, low educational attainment, homelessness, early parenting, working poverty, unemployment dependence on public assistance, relationship difficulties and limited access to reliable transportation (West, Day, Somers & Baroni, 2014). More and more children come into classrooms with physical, mental and emotional needs that exceeded the standard for educational training (ASCD, 2017), and there is limited research existing regarding the inclusion of Trauma-Informed Care (TIC) practices in pre-service teachers’ programs (Overstreet & Chafouleas, 2016); therefore, this study aims to add to the nascent literature for university teacher education reform effort.

Summary

Within recent years, the federal government has been calling for increased trauma-informed care practices in schools. Since, states across the United States have adopted bills requiring educational entities to provide training for classified and certified staff. Schools have also been tasked to find Trauma-Informed Care pilot programs to implement by using the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) model for trauma-informed approaches (House Bill 4002, 2016). The bill acknowledges the trauma faced by students, their families, and trauma faced by school employees. This bill encourages school leaders to incorporate Trauma-Informed Care (TIC) into school policies and procedures (House Bill 4002, 2016). Washington panelists, consisting of government officials and educators, agreed that teachers are not prepared to support their students affected by trauma (Mader, 2015). Currently, eleven states require or encourage trauma-informed practices through state policy (Kline, 2019). However, a standard guide of best practices has yet to be researched and adopted.

The purpose of this study was to determine novice teachers’ need for trauma intervention in the classroom and their roles in providing support to students experiencing child traumatic stress. Second, this study examined the effects of trauma training on novice teachers, identifying the changes in teachers perceived “preparedness” regarding delivery of trauma-informed care for their future students. Participants were student teachers from two rural, public universities in Pennsylvania. The trauma-informed education of all participants was evaluated. The study concludes that there is inadequate trauma-informed education training of participating novice teachers; thus, suggesting that university education programs and public schools need to develop methods and opportunities for training novice teachers to address such mental health challenges.

Just as the research on this study was ending, new legislation in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania was passed. H.B. 1415 and S.B. 200, was introduced by state representatives. The Bill recommends the implementation of Trauma-Informed School Practices (TIPS) to student learning that recognizes the signs and symptoms of trauma and integrates that knowledge into education-based policies, learning, procedures and practices (Sappy, 2019). Additionally, the law will require individuals pursuing a degree in education to take courses on trauma-informed approaches to create a more promising future for children of all ages and backgrounds in Pennsylvania (Sappy, 2019). This study suggests that the implementation of the developed Trauma-Informed Learning Module can dramatically improve the trauma-informed practices of per-service student teachers. The researcher hopes that universities in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania will look at this study and recognize the true value of implementing trauma-informed coursework into every education curriculum sequence.

Evidence

Educators receive little professional development on how trauma impacts students and how to support the education of these students (Ko et al., 2008). To compound this, unaddressed student trauma is a major factor to teacher frustration, low job satisfaction, and burnout (Blodgett, 2016). The educational needs of these youth are complex, and many young people who have lived with chronic abuse and neglect often have not developed the strength of discipline to learn logical and methodical thinking patterns (Kennedy & McCarthy, 1998). Instead, these students develop hypervigilant, easily distracted cognitive approach to intellectualizing that affect their ability to problem-solve and form trusting relationships (Kennedy & McCarthy, 1998). These issues have become so entangled within schools that it is often hard for educators and child advocates to identify classroom issues that are a result of traumatic stress from neglect and abuse, or for school personnel to identify when a young person needs assistance in coping with trauma (Kennedy & McCarthy, 1998).

Educators are often tasked with closing the achievement gap to promote student success and academic achievement regardless of racial or ethnic background (Ukpokodu, 2007), disability, economic status, or English proficiency (Futrell, Gomez & Bedden, 2003). However, there is a gap in the academic achievement between traumatized students and their peers (Wong, 2008). This impact of adverse effects of trauma may show why economically disadvantaged students and minorities, at least in part, continue to underperform even after decades of intervention to close the achievement gap (Wong, 2008). Teaching preservice teachers’ trauma-informed practices has the potential to improve student capabilities in addition to addressing achievement gap problems (Craig, 2016).

Results indicate that pre-service teachers are lacking in the amount of trauma-specific training that they have received prior to the learning module. The researcher was interested in pre-service teachers indicated need for additional training. The perceived results of the study confirm that the three trauma informed subscales: pre-service teachers roll, pre-service teachers’ knowledge, and pre-service teachers’ confidence, all showed significant gains from the learning module. In addition, the qualitative data collected revealed the effectiveness of the module and the use of the trauma-informed learning in their own classrooms.

Learning Objective 1

Understand trauma in a broad and inclusive way.

Learning Objective 2

Recognize the effects of trauma on students, families, school administrators and staff, and communities.

Learning Objective 3

Learn a process for implementing a schoolwide trauma-sensitive approach; and, Integrate trauma-sensitive practices into their daily operations.

Keyword Descriptors

adolescent trauma, adolescent mental health, novice teacher training, teacher preparation programs, schools

Presentation Year

2022

Start Date

3-9-2022 9:45 AM

End Date

3-9-2022 11:00 AM

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Mar 9th, 9:45 AM Mar 9th, 11:00 AM

Traumatization of Youth and Adolescents in the Classroom: Preparing Novice Teachers to Address the Academic and Social-Emotional Needs of Students Affected by Trauma

Session Eight Breakouts

While educational systems and communities have advanced in accommodating individuals with physical, cognitive and emotional challenges, teacher training is still underdeveloped in support for a growing population of youth that experiences adolescent trauma. In the United States, 26% of children will witness or experience a traumatic event before they turn four, and 60% of adults report experiencing abuse or other difficult family circumstances during childhood (National Center for Mental Health, 2012). As defined by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA, 2012), trauma “results from an event, series of events, or set of circumstances that is experienced by an individual as physically or emotionally harmful or threatening, and that has lasting, adverse effects on the individual’s functioning and physical, social, emotional or spiritual well-being.” The traumatic experiences of abuse and/or neglect impact normal development by increasing the risk for emotional, behavioral, academic, social and physical problems (Cook et al., 2005). Traumatic childhood experiences result and are manifested to self-harming behavior, dating violence, delinquency and perpetration of violence, low educational attainment, homelessness, early parenting, working poverty, unemployment dependence on public assistance, relationship difficulties and limited access to reliable transportation (West, Day, Somers & Baroni, 2014). More and more children come into classrooms with physical, mental and emotional needs that exceeded the standard for educational training (ASCD, 2017), and there is limited research existing regarding the inclusion of Trauma-Informed Care (TIC) practices in pre-service teachers’ programs (Overstreet & Chafouleas, 2016); therefore, this study aims to add to the nascent literature for university teacher education reform effort.