Citation

Berger E, Carroll M, Maybery D, Harrison D. J. Child Adolesc. Trauma 2018; 11(4): 521-530.

Affiliation

1Faculty of Education, Monash University, 19 Ancora Imparo Way, Clayton, Victoria Australia.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s40653-018-0228-6

PMID

32318173

PMCID

PMC7163851

Abstract

Children from disadvantaged backgrounds often experience high levels of traumatic stress, however, little is known about their experiences and the responses of their teachers following disasters. The aim of this study was to examine, from the perspective of teachers, the impact of a critical community-wide traumatic event on student and staff wellbeing, and student learning and teaching practices at a specialist school for disadvantaged and displaced youth in Australia. Eight school staff were interviewed, including administrative, teaching, and support personnel, with their responses interpreted using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis.

RESULTS focused largely on the impact of the event and the resultant relocation of the school on staff and student health, reduced opportunities for learning, changes to teaching and student engagement, and the strengths and limitations of the trauma-informed approach of the school. Implications for teacher education and school trauma-informed models are discussed.

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2018.

Language: en

Keywords

Children; Disadvantage; Disaster; School; Teachers; Trauma