Educational professionals’ understanding of childhood traumatic brain injury

Abstract

1Published reference: Linden, M.A., Braiden, HJ., and Miller, S. (2013). Educational professionals understanding of childhood traumatic brain injury. Brain injury, 27(1): [92][93][94][95][96][97][98][99][100][101][102] Educational professionals' understanding of childhood traumatic brain injury. AbstractPrimary objectives: To determine the understanding of educational professionals around the topic of childhood brain injury, and explore the factor structure of the Common Misconceptions about Traumatic Brain Injury Questionnaire (CM-TBI).Research design: Cross sectional postal survey. Methods and procedures:The CM-TBI was posted to all educational establishments in one region of the United Kingdom. One representative from each school was asked to complete and return the questionnaire (N = 388). Main outcomes and results:Differences were demonstrated between those participants who knew someone with a brain injury and those who did not, with a similar pattern being shown for those educators who had taught a child with brain injury. Participants who had taught a child with brain injury demonstrated greater knowledge in areas such as seatbelts/prevention, brain damage, brain injury sequelae, amnesia, recovery, and rehabilitation. Principal components analysis suggested the existence of four factors and the discarding of half the original items of the questionnaire. Conclusions:In the first European study to explore this issue, we highlight that teachers are ill prepared to cope with children who have sustained a brain injury. Given the importance of 2 a supportive school environment in return to life following hospitalisation, the lack of understanding demonstrated by teachers in this research may significantly impact on a successful return to school.

Misconceptions about traumatic brain injury among probation services

“…Despite this, 73.8% of the sample incorrectly endorsed the statement "People who have survived a brain injury usually show a good understanding of their problems because they experience them every day". This supports the findings of Linden and colleagues (32) who showed that 61.4% of their sample of educational professionals also incorrectly responded to this statement. Likewise, while 40% of our sample responded incorrectly to the statement "Asking people who were brain injured about their progress is the most accurate, informative way to find out how they have progressed", 44.6% of participants in the Linden and colleagues study (32) reported not knowing, incorrectly agreed, or strongly agreed with this statement.…”

An international perspective on educators’ perceptions of children with Traumatic Brain Injury

“…Our findings suggest that self-efficacy is culturally couched, which speaks to the need to understand the complex ways that culture influences teaching practices. This adds another dimension to previous research findings that personal experience with brain injury is related to greater knowledge and understanding (Linden et al, 2013;O'Rourke, Linden, & Lohan, 2017). Consistent with this area of research, our participants who described experiences with TBI (both their own and that of close friends and family) displayed increased self-efficacy and greater positive outcome expectations for student success in their classrooms.…”

“…Recent studies have shown that educators continue to have limited training in TBI (Davies et al, 2013) and a poor understanding of effective instructional and behavioral support strategies (Ettel, Glang, Todis, & Davies, 2016;Linden, Braiden, & Miller, 2013;Mohr & Bullock, 2005). General and special education teachers both demonstrate a lack of knowledge about TBI and significant uncertainty about TBI in school settings, including recovery, service provision, and the socio-emotional effects of TBI (Ernst et al, 2016).…”

“…General and special education teachers both demonstrate a lack of knowledge about TBI and significant uncertainty about TBI in school settings, including recovery, service provision, and the socio-emotional effects of TBI (Ernst et al, 2016). A survey of teachers in the United Kingdom found a lack of training in TBI and many misconceptions about the population, which the researchers thought could adversely affect the school experiences of children with TBI (Linden et al, 2013). A recent survey of state directors of special education in the United States provided more evidence for this persistent lack of teacher awareness of TBI .…”

A systematic review and meta-analysis of educational interventions for children and adolescents with acquired brain injury

“…As such, a successful educational intervention must adapt to the changing needs of the child whilst also taking into consideration the training deficit which is often present among school teachers (Linden, Braiden, & Miller, 2013). Interventions should focus on functional skills and be responsive to the need for context sensitivity (Ylvisaker et al, 2005).…”