The Lived Experience of Elementary Teachers in Trauma Affected Schools

Abstract

Teaching is regarded by many to be a noble and challenging profession in the best of times. A teacher is responsible for delivering information to students to prepare them to successfully enter the workforce later in life. The role of a teacher has expanded throughout our history to address multiple needs of all students. Given societal challenges such as poverty, substance abuse and other traumas, there are ever expanding responsibilities asked of teachers in addition to their usual teaching load. This Dissertation in Practice (DiP) strives to explore the lived experience of elementary teachers who teach trauma-affected youth. Specifically, this researcher is focusing on the concept of individual and collective teacher efficacy as it relates to longevity in the field of education. I envision an opportunity to investigate the way daily interactions with trauma-affected students transfer to a teacher’s sense of efficacy and accomplishment. This study looks at a school system in Southern Vermont with several elementary schools. Approximately 25% of American children will experience at one traumatic event in their lives (SMAHSA, 2015). Using various metrics to evaluate student behaviors, it has been found that the schools in this study have students who are affected by trauma. The supervisory union has partnered with consultants to train school personnel in the most productive way to help students who are experiencing trauma in their lives. As a researcher-practitioner who also works in this studied school system, I am curious about the short- and long-term effects that working directly with students experiencing trauma has on the efficacy of teachers and longevity in elementary schools.

Using an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis method (IPA) to explore teacher efficacy will afford this researcher the ability to bracket my experiences as both a student of trauma and as a former elementary teacher who worked with trauma-affected youth. IPA was chosen as it allows the researcher to use semi-structured interviews that invite the participant to speak freely about their feelings in a way that other methods might not. The study begins with Section 1 which will introduce the reader to the inquiry and explore gaps in current literature about the topic. It will also review the research questions developed including the theoretical frameworks that grounds this study. Several authors (Glesne, Brookfield, Kincheloe, and McLaren) describe critical thinking and critical theory in a way that is a foundation for the research. Kellner (2003) frames the use of the critical theory of education to examine current education practices. The research will also be evaluated through the concept of teacher self-efficacy along with critical theory. Section1 also explains Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (Smith, et al., 2009) as a methodology. Included in this section is also the data collection and analysis used in this study. Section 2 will outline the setting and history of the organization and the analysis of the organization is studied. Section 3 will consist of the scholarly review of material read and interpreted that formed a comprehensive foundation of understanding of the areas of teacher self and collective efficacy and trauma-affected teaching. Section 4 outlines the plan for dissemination of the findings within the place of research. Section 5 includes a plan for scholarly contribution to the field in the form of a publish-ready article encompassing the study findings as well as the plan to disseminate the information for the benefit of the school system. Section 6 comprises the scholar-practitioners personal reflection of the journey that culminates with this DiP.