Presentation Type
Poster
Keywords
Pandemic; COVID-19; trauma; Trauma-Informed Approach; social-emotional learning; home-school partnership; community building; trauma intervention; opportunity gaps
Department
Education
Major
Screen Arts
Abstract
The onset of the COVID-19 health crisis significantly altered the physical and pedagogical structure of schools across the globe. The impact of this drastic shift disproportionately affected economically-challenged and trauma-impacted individuals and communities. The present qualitative study relied on interview and questionnaire data taken from 14 educators at a Title 1 elementary school in order to 1) identify the physical, academic, and social losses experienced by students and families, and 2) examine how the focal school’s Trauma-Informed Approach (TIA) served to support students during the pandemic. Several themes emerged from a content analysis of the data that pointed to common challenges faced by students and families, as well as the effectiveness of the focal school’s TIA in addressing the adverse effects of the pandemic. Educators at the focal school indicated that problems related to physically accessing learning, diminished readiness for grade-level work, and a lack of socialization all affected student engagement with and performance in school. In order to address this shared trauma, the school placed an emphasis on fostering schoolwide relationships, maintaining structure and stability, providing opportunities for shared control and self-regulation, and prioritizing social-emotional learning. The findings from this study suggest that the implementation of a TIA lends itself to the formation of a learning environment that is attuned to the larger community by remaining attentive to the needs of students and families and committing itself to building resilience and promoting recovery.
Faculty Mentor
Carrie Giboney Wall, Ph.D.
Funding Source or Research Program
Academic Year Undergraduate Research Initiative
Location
Waves Cafeteria
Start Date
25-3-2022 2:00 PM
End Date
25-3-2022 3:00 PM
Included in
Curriculum and Instruction Commons, Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons, Educational Methods Commons, Elementary Education Commons, Online and Distance Education Commons
Pandemic Pain, Holistic Help: How One School’s Trauma-Informed Approach (TIA) Provided Support and Expanded Opportunity
Waves Cafeteria
The onset of the COVID-19 health crisis significantly altered the physical and pedagogical structure of schools across the globe. The impact of this drastic shift disproportionately affected economically-challenged and trauma-impacted individuals and communities. The present qualitative study relied on interview and questionnaire data taken from 14 educators at a Title 1 elementary school in order to 1) identify the physical, academic, and social losses experienced by students and families, and 2) examine how the focal school’s Trauma-Informed Approach (TIA) served to support students during the pandemic. Several themes emerged from a content analysis of the data that pointed to common challenges faced by students and families, as well as the effectiveness of the focal school’s TIA in addressing the adverse effects of the pandemic. Educators at the focal school indicated that problems related to physically accessing learning, diminished readiness for grade-level work, and a lack of socialization all affected student engagement with and performance in school. In order to address this shared trauma, the school placed an emphasis on fostering schoolwide relationships, maintaining structure and stability, providing opportunities for shared control and self-regulation, and prioritizing social-emotional learning. The findings from this study suggest that the implementation of a TIA lends itself to the formation of a learning environment that is attuned to the larger community by remaining attentive to the needs of students and families and committing itself to building resilience and promoting recovery.