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The Role of Trauma-Informed Training in Helping Los Angeles Teachers Manage the Effects of Student Exposure to Violence and Trauma

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Abstract

Exposure to trauma, such as community violence, has far-reaching effects on childrens’ learning and behavior. While schools are a critical place to provide positive and safe spaces for students, teachers have self-reported a lack of knowledge on how to work effectively with traumatized students. In response to this, there has been an increase in teacher training on trauma-related topics. However, it is unclear how training impacts teachers’ trauma knowledge and difficulty responding to traumatized students in the classroom. As such, this exploratory study used a survey (N = 94) with Los Angeles teachers to assess whether training on violence and trauma is related to trauma knowledge and reported difficulty responding to traumatized students. Regression analyses indicate that total training increased teachers’ trauma knowledge, which was found to mediate teachers’ difficulty responding to traumatized students. Findings from this study support the need for a focus on trauma-informed training within the education context.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of California, 3250 Public Affairs Building, Box 951656, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA

    Melanie Sonsteng-Person

  2. College of Social Work, University of Utah, 395 South 1500 East #111, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112, USA

    Alysse M. Loomis

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  1. Melanie Sonsteng-Person
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  2. Alysse M. Loomis
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Correspondence to Melanie Sonsteng-Person.

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Sonsteng-Person, M., Loomis, A.M. The Role of Trauma-Informed Training in Helping Los Angeles Teachers Manage the Effects of Student Exposure to Violence and Trauma. Journ Child Adol Trauma 14, 189–199 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40653-021-00340-6

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