Education Commons^™

Moving Beyond Trauma: Activating Resilience To Support Our Most Vulnerable Youth, Joanne Malloy, Sara Manisco Chapo, Kathryn Francoeur

International Journal of School Social Work

It is well-documented that exposure to toxic stress in childhood can contribute to impaired social, emotional, behavioral, and neuro-biological development that often results in learning difficulties, poor emotional regulation, an inability to develop healthy relationships, and impaired problem-solving skills. Further, youth who grow up in unsafe environments or are subjected to structural inequality are faced with challenges over which they have no control. Using a positive, future-oriented, and trauma-responsive perspective while intentionally building resilience can effectively engage and support youth to overcome feelings of hopelessness and achieve positive outcomes. This paper includes a qualitative study of protective factors as identified …

Social Justice And Trauma-Informed Care In Schools, Carrie E. Lorig, Aleksandra Krupina, Kris Varjas

International Journal of School Social Work

Current understandings of trauma and implementations of trauma-informed care (TIC; SAMSHA, 2014) in school environments can be limited because the conceptualization, assessment, and treatment of trauma tends to focus on specific, identified histories of abuse. This reflects the impact of the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) prevalence study among the adult American population (Felitti et al., 1998). However, addressing and preventing trauma in youth populations encourages recognition of the particular and disproportionate ways trauma affects marginalized groups, especially in schools. Some advocates for TIC view TIC as a crucial partner in social justice (Crosby et al., 2018; Rigard et al., 2015). …

The Importance Of Trauma-Informed Approaches In Education – The Impact Of Implementing A Brain-Based Approach To Supporting Learners Across A Scottish Local Authority, Lesley Taylor, Whitney Barrett

International Journal of School Social Work

Throughout the history of education, a series of fashions, fads and trends has come and gone – some resulting in widespread changes in approach, some creating barely a ripple in the "pedagogical pool". Currently, a wave is being created by the desire to develop approaches that are trauma-informed – a move that is being driven by a number of factors including the introduction of funding streams such as the Scottish Attainment Challenge (SAC) and the Pupil Equity Fund (PEF), alongside growing public awareness of the impact childhood trauma and adversity has across many areas of a child’s development.

However, we …

When Trauma Comes To School: Toward A Socially Just Trauma-Informed Praxis, Catriona O'Toole

International Journal of School Social Work

Given the prevalence and devastating consequences of childhood trauma, there has been a surge in initiatives to help schools become trauma-informed. However, despite the growing adoption of such initiatives, a number of concerns have been expressed. These include the lack of attention paid to issues of power and inequality including poverty, racism, and community violence as well as the power of adults to neglect, mistreat or abuse children. Contemporary approaches can also serve to inscribe deficit-based perceptions of children, reinforcing negative stereotypes and stigmas; and they tend to overlook the possibility that schools themselves can contribute to students’ distress, especially …

The Healing Power Of Teacher-Student Relationships In Repairing Childhood Abuse: Commonalities And Differences With Clinical Social Work Practice, Mehak Jamil

International Journal of School Social Work

Research indicates survivors of childhood abuse are able to form the same quality relationships with teachers as non-abused children (Armstrong, Hasket & Hawkins, 2017). However, there is little research indicating what factors within the teacher-student relationship help build this resiliency. This study looks to clinical social work practice as a basis for understanding what qualities of the therapeutic relationship can extend to or overlap with non-clinical relationships with students who have a trauma history, within the teaching field. To better understand experiences within these relationships, semi-structured interviews were conducted with both a clinical social worker who has teaching experience at …

Trauma-Informed Education Viewed Through A Social Justice Lens: Introduction To The Special Issue, Gary Walsh, Michael S. Kelly

International Journal of School Social Work

The purpose of this special issue is to apply a social justice lens to the question of how education practitioners operating within primary and secondary school contexts around the world are thinking about trauma-informed education and care. Papers explore what school social workers and other educators are doing to address these issues in schools and consider the broader implications of a global shift towards trauma-informed approaches in education. This special issue, the first one for IJSSW, features 10 papers from diverse fields (social work, psychology, education) that all reflect on how trauma-informed practices in schools can be enhanced and understood …

Comprehensive Trauma-Informed Care For The Whole Community: The Whole Child Initiative Model, Gregory J. Benner Ph.D.

Educational Considerations

The Whole Child Initiative (WCI) is a decade-long blueprint for sustainable and comprehensive community-wide change. To be successful, community-wide sustainable change must embrace a common vision, language, and common experiences to bridge the contrasting community structures, environments, and scopes of work. The Whole Child Initiative uses data, shared goals, and aligned supports ensure that every youth is safe, supported, engaged, healthy, and challenged in the community-at-large. We make the case that a population health or public health approach is needed to sustainable change in communities and the WCI model is described. Among other important outcomes, researchers have found social and …

Author Chris Crutcher: Speaking Out On Teachers’ Role In Aiding Children Of Trauma, Lori Goodson

Educational Considerations

Nationally known young adult author Chris Crutcher shares his thoughts on how teachers can help students who are dealing with trauma in their lives.

Judgment Doesn't Heal The Hurting, Kara Lasater

Educational Considerations

Judgment interferes with the development of all relationships. For students and families who have experienced trauma, judgment can be particularly devastating as it may further damage the survivor’s already compromised sense of safety, trust, and belonging. As educators, we must develop non-judgmental attitudes toward students and families, yet sometimes our lack of self-awareness and problematic ideological positions lead us to judge. In this essay, I describe my personal journey with families and the ideological shift I experienced as I became more self-aware and attentive to others’ stories. It is my hope that my experiences will challenge other educators to engage …

Role-Clarity And Boundaries For Trauma-Informed Teachers, Alex Shevrin Venet

Educational Considerations

As they begin to implement trauma-informed practices in their classrooms, teachers should consider their role in the lives of students and how to maintain appropriate and safe boundaries with students. This essay explores the role of the teacher in supporting trauma-affected children and offers a frame of teacher as a facilitator of connection. It also offers ways to compassionately maintain boundaries with students while supporting their access to mental health care.

Time For Silence To End, F. Todd Goodson

Educational Considerations

This issue of Educational Considerations explores the complex territory where teachers meet children impacted by trauma. Human traumatic experience is a topic that has been underreported, unacknowledged, and misunderstood for too long by too many. As we confront trauma, we quickly come to the realization that all teachers at all levels need a better understanding of the scope and impact of trauma on their classrooms and pedagogical strategies grounded in our best available understanding of the needs of all students.

Forgotten And Overlooked: A Personal Reflection Of Foster Parenting And School, Seth J. Lickteig, Amanda Lickteig

Educational Considerations

The number of children in foster care has risen markedly in recent years, namely because of the opioid crisis currently plaguing the United States. Students placed in foster care experience higher dropout and lower graduation rates compared to their peers. School mobility has caused many foster care students to fall through the cracks. However, despite these concerns, teachers and school administrators have received little training regarding this population of students. Schools are ill-prepared for the unique emotional and social needs of children in foster care, often labeling them under the larger umbrella term of at-risk—which focuses primarily on their …

Mexican Origin Youth And The Gang Context: Social Identities And School Experiences, Leticia Villarreal Sosa

International Journal of School Social Work

Youth, gang involved or not, living in a community with a gang problem are impacted in various ways. This study draws from qualitative interviews over the transition to high school of thirty-two Mexican origin students in Chicago. The Extended Case Method (ECM) was employed for the analysis of the qualitative data. Using borderlands and social identity theory, results indicated that the school response to the youth gang problem directly impacted students’ educational experiences, how staff viewed them, and how they negotiated these social categorizations. Students reported unrecognized trauma due to the level of violence and marginalizing experiences in school. An …

Something To Talk About, Megan Saunders

Seek

Researcher emphasizes communication about past trauma is crucial to current relationships.