Initial teacher education and trauma and violence informed care in the classroom: Preliminary results from an online teacher education course

Authors

Susan Rodger srodger2@uwo.ca, The University of Western Ontario
Richelle Bird, The University of Western Ontario
Kathryn Hibbert, The University of Western OntarioFollow
Andrew M. Johnson, The University of Western Ontario
Jacqueline Specht, The University of Western Ontario
C. Nadine Wathen, The University of Western Ontario

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

12-1-2020

Journal

Psychology in the Schools

Volume

57

Issue

12

First Page

1798

Last Page

1814

URL with Digital Object Identifier

10.1002/pits.22373

Abstract

© 2020 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. A trauma-and-violence-informed-care (TVIC) system within an educational setting provides a framework of practice that enables schools to become safe and inclusive places for some of the most vulnerable students. Initial teacher education may provide the opportunity to prepare teachers to create classrooms and learning experiences that are safe, equitable, and meet students' needs. A mandatory mental health literacy course for second year teacher candidates in a Bachelor of Education program (n = 287) at a large Canadian university introduced TVIC concepts. A case study approach was used to illustrate both the challenges that students exposed to trauma and/or violence can experience, as well as strategies and knowledge that teachers can use to support these students. This program evaluation used a repeated measures design to survey both attitudes toward trauma informed care for teachers and self-efficacy for teaching using inclusive practices before and after the course. A significant effect of time on both measures revealed an increase in both participants' attitudes toward TVIC and their self-efficacy in using inclusive teaching practices. These findings provide support for the inclusion of these important topics for all teacher candidates. Implications for practice and policy are discussed.