AUTHOR=Brunzell Tom , Waters Lea , Stokes Helen TITLE=Teacher Perspectives When Learning Trauma-Informed Practice Pedagogies: Stories of Meaning Making at Work JOURNAL=Frontiers in Education VOLUME=7 YEAR=2022 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/education/articles/10.3389/feduc.2022.852228 DOI=10.3389/feduc.2022.852228 ISSN=2504-284X ABSTRACT=

This qualitative study focused upon ways teachers make meaning when working with students who are affected by trauma. An 11-month longitudinal design was used to explore teachers’ perspectives (N = 18 teachers) as they reflected upon the impacts of trauma within their classrooms and as they learned about trauma-informed practice strategies. Data from group interviews and participant journals were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Results emerged that suggested common pathways in the ways teacher perspectives evolved; and these pathways were then analyzed in light of the meaningful work literatures to further suggest how work became more meaningful to these teachers when learning trauma-informed practice strategies. Teachers fostered a greater sense of meaning at work via two pathways: first by increasing their own wellbeing via personal use of trauma-informed strategies; then second, by incorporating trauma-informed strategies into their pedagogy to more effectively engage their students with learning. Increasing meaningful work for teachers who are working with trauma-affected students has promising implications for teacher professional development and workforce sustainability in schools experiencing high rates of teacher turnover and burnout as a result of teacher exposure to adverse student behavior.