Trauma-Aware Professional Development and the Impact on Middle School Teachers' Perception of Student Behaviors

The topic of trauma and the effect it has on an individual has recently been in the forefront of educational research. It is indicated that students who have experienced some form of trauma in their lives will have repercussions that may express themselves in their academic achievement (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2021). This study has looked at the interpretation of student behavior by middle school teachers after participating in trauma-aware professional development opportunities. To fully understand this relationship, this researcher created and distributed a survey to 66 middle school teachers. In addition, individual interviews and focus groups were conducted, with additional in-depth questions which are attached within the appendices. These methods were key features of a phenomenological study, which was the basis of this research. Questions in the survey focused on the level of involvement that the teachers had in their district's trauma awareness professional development plan and how they viewed and responded to student behavior. The theoretical framework of Trauma Theory, founded in the work of Sandor Ferenczi, guided this research study (Gondar, 2016). Ferenczi stated that "it is difficult to undo the effects of trauma because the victim now lives in a world where she no longer assumes she is safe" (1932, p. 7; 1933, p. 165). The findings of this research study were that there was an expressed need for increased professional development in this area and that the perceptions of student behaviors by educators does impact the classroom climate. Additionally, three other findings that emerged were that educators voiced a need for means to create increased school safety measures, that there is interest in the area of the science behind trauma implications on brain development, and the idea that there may be an addition to the ACEs study considering the affect the Covid-19 pandemic had on children. The potential implications for social change as a result of this research are that more professional development of this type may be supported within districts and therefore more students will have the opportunity to attain greater academic success. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]