Childhood Adversity and Education: Integrating Trauma-Informed Practice Within School Wellbeing and Health Promotion Frameworks

O'Toole, Catriona

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-95205-1_7

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…The results in relation to compassion satisfaction are generally positive and in line with previous findings demonstrating that an ethic of care and a desire to sustain positive interpersonal relationships are central drivers in teachers’ practices (O’Toole & Simovska, 2021 ). However, the ARTIC results recorded in this study were lower overall compared to those involving other research participants and in other jurisdictions, including frontline health and social care professionals in Ireland (O’Toole & Dobutowitsch, 2020 ), educators in the United States (Kim et al, 2021 ), residential care professionals in Australia (Galvin et al, 2020 ), and student teachers in Canada (Rodger et al, 2020 ). All of these studies reported average or median ARTIC scores between 5.08 and 6.10.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 62%

The Courage to Care: Teacher Compassion Predicts More Positive Attitudes Toward Trauma-Informed Practice

O'Toole

Dobutowitsch²

2022

Journ Child Adol Trauma

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Purpose With greater awareness of the prevalence and impact of childhood trauma and adversity, teachers are now assuming a more active role in creating emotionally healthy environments and responding to student distress. However, supporting trauma-affected students can be a source of amplified teacher stress. Compassion has been identified as a promising construct for frontline professionals in terms of promoting psychological wellbeing, and increasing the sensitivity to detect, tolerate and respond to distress in others. It has also been identified as an important aspect of trauma-informed practice. Nevertheless, the role of compassion in teachers’ attitudes towards, and readiness for implementing trauma-informed practices has not yet been explored. This study aimed to address this gap. Methods A sample of 377 primary and post-primary teachers in Ireland completed the Attitudes Related to Trauma-Informed Care Scale, the Professional Quality of Life Scale, the Self-Compassion Scale, and a socio-demographic survey. Results Teachers were found to hold generally positive attitudes toward trauma-informed care. They exhibited low to moderate levels of secondary traumatic stress and burnout, and notably high levels of compassion satisfaction, indicating that they tend to embrace their caring role and find meaning and purpose in their work. Regression analyses showed that compassion satisfaction was the strongest predictor of positive attitudes toward trauma-informed care, followed by self-compassion. Older teachers were more likely to display positive attitudes toward trauma-informed care, whilst teachers in single-sex boys’ schools held attitudes that were less favorable. Conclusion This study suggests potential benefits for both teachers and students of positioning compassion at the center of educational policy and practice. The results are contextualized within the Irish and international educational landscape.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 62%

The Courage to Care: Teacher Compassion Predicts More Positive Attitudes Toward Trauma-Informed Practice

O'Toole

Dobutowitsch²

2022

Journ Child Adol Trauma

Self Cite

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“…While some research has suggested that adopting a trauma-aware approach can impact positively on the health and well-being of all members of the school community (Hobbs et al, 2019;O'Toole, 2022), working with young people who have experienced trauma remains a challenging task, one that can be felt deeply by teachers, both physically and emotionally. Moreover, these feelings may be particularly intense for pre-service teachers, who as discussed, are only in schools for a relatively short period of time and who have to deal with some of the same pressures as in-service teachers, but with the added challenges that come with being a learner teacher (Gray et al, 2023).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Working with trauma-affected young people in secondary schools: Exploring ‘self-care’ with pre-service physical education teachers

Quarmby,

Sandford,

Gray

et al. 2023

European Physical Education Review

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Working with trauma-affected youth in physical education (PE) can be a challenging and, at times, stressful and emotionally demanding process. Whilst little is known about how student trauma affects in-service teachers, even less is known about how it might impact pre-service PE teachers. The aims of this paper are therefore to (1) explore pre-service PE teachers’ experiences of working with students affected by trauma, and (2) consider the potential implications of this for their well-being. Through an online professional learning programme, we worked with three distinct groups of pre-service PE teachers ( n = 22). The workshops generated data through individual activities and group tasks that allowed participants to reflect on their experiences. Findings revealed that pre-service teachers had several encounters during their school-based placements with young people who may have experienced trauma. These experiences were felt by the pre-service PE teachers – both emotionally and physically. Pre-service PE teachers were encouraged to develop self-care strategies; however, our participants indicated that this was not always easy to do. That said, pre-service PE teachers were able to describe some of the strategies they engaged with to take care of themselves and safeguard their own well-being. Many of these strategies were relational and involved spending time with others – such as school colleagues (teachers and/or mentors) – who were available to offer both practical and emotional guidance and support. Thus, our findings reinforce the importance of pre-service teachers learning about self-care and emotional regulation as part of initial teacher education courses.

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Childhood Adversity and Education: Integrating Trauma-Informed Practice Within School Wellbeing and Health Promotion Frameworks

Cited by 2 publications

References 39 publications

The Courage to Care: Teacher Compassion Predicts More Positive Attitudes Toward Trauma-Informed Practice

The Courage to Care: Teacher Compassion Predicts More Positive Attitudes Toward Trauma-Informed Practice

Working with trauma-affected young people in secondary schools: Exploring ‘self-care’ with pre-service physical education teachers

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