The Repository @ St. Cloud State

Open Access Knowledge and Scholarship

Date of Award

12-2022

Culminating Project Type

Dissertation

Styleguide

apa

Degree Name

Educational Administration and Leadership, K-12: Ed.D.

Department

Educational Administration and Higher Education

College

School of Education

First Advisor

David Lund

Second Advisor

John Eller

Third Advisor

Frances Kayona

Fourth Advisor

Trish Perry

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Keywords and Subject Headings

Trauma, Trauma-Informed, ACEs, Education

Abstract

Prior to the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic that began in 2020, children with traumatic or adverse childhood experiences were prevalent in P-12 education systems across the United States (National Survey of Children’s Health, 2012). Since the onset of the pandemic, the number of children exposed to trauma has risen significantly (Crosby et al., 2020). Trauma-informed practices in schools are increasingly needed to address the needs of trauma-affected students.

The effects of trauma can impact a child’s physical, emotional, and mental health as well as significantly affect a child’s ability to learn, develop, and grow (Carrion & Wong, 2011; Cole et al., 2009; Goodman et al., 2012; Illinois ACEs Response Collaborative, 2018; Izard, 2016). Even though schools across the United States are teeming with trauma-affected students, training on how to serve trauma-affected students is generally not a part of the standard curriculum in teacher preparation programs and pre-service teaching experiences (Thomas et al., 2019).

In response to the lack of education regarding trauma and trauma-informed practices, there has been a plethora of resources created to address the needs of students affected by trauma (Thomas et al., 2019). However, there is a lack of consistency in how educators are trained as well as how trauma-informed practices are implemented which makes the effectiveness of employing these practices as well as the observable and quantifiable benefits of trauma-informed practices difficult to measure (Thomas et al., 2019). There have been few studies published that have demonstrated the effects of these practices which make the touted benefits of trauma-informed practices hypothetical (McInerney & McKlindon, 2014). Additionally, there is a lack of education from within the field of education that supports the use of trauma-informed practices (Thomas, 2019).

The purpose of this study is to ascertain educator perspectives on the effectiveness of trauma-informed practices in schools as well as educator perspectives as to the perceived benefits and barriers associated with implementing these practices. Additionally, this study aims to determine the trauma-informed practices most frequently utilized by Minnesota K-12 educators. This study will add to the limited body of research currently available surrounding trauma-informed practices in schools.

Hoffman Bodin IRB Approval Letter.pdf (151 kB)
IRB Approval Letter

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