Files
Abstract
Trauma-informed care (TIC) has been the subject of numerous scholarly studies in various contexts for nearly four decades. Thus, TIC practices have been shown to reduce educators' stress (Jaycox et al., 2019), increase teacher awareness of student trauma experiences (Kuhn et al., 2019; McIntyre et al., 2019), and improve teachers' self-confidence in engaging with and helping students with trauma (Gruman et al., 2013). However, while research has focused on how school personnel can implement trauma-informed practices, no research has examined the experiences of K-12 trauma-trained teachers who implement TIC intervention strategies in their classrooms. This study aimed to explore the experiences of trauma-trained K-12 teachers who have incorporated TIC intervention strategies within their classrooms to help understand their perceptions of the impact of trauma training and the use of TIC intervention strategies. The researcher used a purposive sampling and semi-structured interview format to investigate the experiences of six trauma-trained K-12 teachers using TIC intervention approaches in their classrooms. Following Moustakas's phenomenological analysis and coding using NVivo analysis software, the interviews generated four major themes: The Impact of Training, Implemented TIC Strategies and Practices, Factors and Practices Contributing to Trauma-Informed Education, and Challenges. All the themes were fundamental to answering the research question related to trauma-trained teachers' experiences and perceptions. In an endeavor to address ACE among K–12 students, this study provides implications and recommendations for future research that may improve the efficacy of TIC intervention strategies among teachers.