Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Experiences Of Staff Working With Immigrant Students Who Have Experienced Trauma, Paula Hernandez, Jessica Mccaffrey, Gabby Poulin

Thinking Matters Symposium

There is ample research about immigrant students’ experiences in the school system (Womach, 2020), as well as the impact of trauma on learning (Gerrish, 2020), however there is limited research that reports on the experiences of school staff and what their needs are in order to best support immigrant students. The present study utilizes qualitative research methods to explore the experiences of school staff who engage with immigrant students who have experienced trauma. Researchers recruited public school employees from Lewiston and Portland school districts in Maine for participation in the study. The roles of the employees included teachers, social workers, …