This article aims to illuminate the perceptions of a pilot grief- and trauma-informed empowerment arts summer program for adolescents who lived in an at-risk Southern, urban neighborhood identified by the city in question as having a high percentage of street violence. The study it is based on was grounded in qualitative techniques, which…

Since schools are an ideal setting for students to receive mental health services, Mental Health Action Plans (MHAPs) were developed to define and detail the ways in which student mental health needs can be addressed at school. Similar to Individualized Education Plans and 504 plans, MHAPs are individualized plans, grounded in person-centered care…

There has been an increase in trauma sensitive children who experience socio-emotional and behavioral delays in the general education classroom. The purpose of this action research study was to investigate and develop classroom interventions for trauma sensitive children in early childhood and primary classrooms. Participants and data collection…

The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore teacher perceptions regarding the influence of specialized training and Emotional Behavior Disorder (EBD) programming to support students with special needs who have also experienced trauma. This study used purposeful sampling to select two elementary schools housing the EBD program targeted in…

"Statement of the Problem": Almost half of children in the United States have been exposed to childhood trauma (McIntosh, 2019). Discipline practices in many schools are often ineffective with and inappropriate for students who have experienced trauma. For example, students who are disciplined in traditional ways often continue to…

This qualitative study explored the influence of implementing a virtual culturally responsive and equity-centered trauma-informed professional development series with seven urban educators in the U.S. The study's findings suggest that a culturally responsive, equity-centered trauma-informed professional development series can enrich educators'…

The phenomenon of adverse childhood experiences (ACE) has been of interest to scholars since the late 1990s when their impact on life outcomes concerning physical and mental health was first acknowledged. Educators are challenged to support students who have experienced ACE, but many have implemented alternative practices such as restorative…

The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological study was to examine the lived experiences of general education teachers working with high-risk children that participate in therapy dog support in classroom settings. Interviews were conducted with 8 general education teachers who worked with high-risk children within an educational setting where…

Discovery City Schools, located in the southern United States, served approximately 8,168 public school students in 15 individual schools during the 2022--2023 school year. After a districtwide consolidation in 2019, Triumph Middle School (TMS) was established as the only middle school in the district and served 1,121 seventh- and eighth-grade…

A trauma-informed approach can give teachers the strategies they need to help children affected by trauma reach their full potential in the classroom. Mindfulness-based social-emotional learning (SEL) programs equip teachers with essential tools to create a trauma-informed classroom, which in turn helps alleviate stress associated with supporting…

Education plays a key role in safeguarding the well-being of refugee children but providing high-quality educational experiences to the approximately 500,000 Syrian school aged children living in Lebanon is an unprecedented challenge. This exploratory case-study utilizes phenomenological interviews to explore the lived-experiences and perceptions…

Teaching youth how to self-regulate is a focus of a trauma-informed school approach. Peace Spaces, including Peace Corners and Peace Rooms, are a trauma-informed intervention used to teach self-regulation skills to students. The current study used a Consensual Qualitative Research design to identify and describe the thoughts, concerns, and…

Trauma-informed care is a relatively new construct in K-12 education, and districts across the United States are seeking avenues to meet the needs of their students. The COVID-19 pandemic elevated the need for districts to develop appropriate supports to address student and adult trauma. Traumatic events can affect a child's mental, physical,…

Limited research exists about factors that influence the sustainability of preventive school mental health interventions when research support ends. This study assessed barriers and facilitators to sustaining RAP (Relax, be Aware, do a Personal rating) Club, a trauma-informed universal mental health intervention, in urban schools following…

This paper evaluates P-12 American school teachers' perceptions of a six-session training that used the trauma-informed Trust-based Relational Intervention (TBRI) system with teachers in one socioeconomically vulnerable school district during the 2018-19 school year. The research questions explored the training participants' (n=41) opinions about…