Children ages birth to five experience trauma at high rates. Additionally, children with disabilities are more likely to experience trauma than children without disabilities, highlighting the need for early childhood education (ECE) settings and professionals to be prepared to support children with disabilities who have experienced trauma. In this…

Negative health outcomes caused by adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and the COVID-19 pandemic, such as depression and anxiety, have increased exponentially in children and adolescents, resulting in students languishing rather than flourishing in the classroom due to poor mental health. Engaging in trauma-informed pedagogy provides a pathway to…

Shared trauma can contribute to anxiety, fear, sadness, and lack of engagement among learners leading to poor school attendance and diminished positive relationships. Therefore, it is incumbent on schools to design a supportive learning environment during experiences of shared trauma. The descriptive study presented illustrates a supportive…

Educators and students have encountered significant challenges, including illness and loss within their families due to events such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Traumatic events, like disasters, can greatly disrupt a community's functioning, resulting in widespread losses that surpass the community's ability to cope. Trauma-informed care (TIC)…

Growing evidence establishing the prevalence and educational consequences of childhood trauma has led to a national focus on equipping schools to support the specific needs of students who have experienced trauma. Despite clear evidence of disproportionate trauma exposure among students of color, most models of trauma-informed schools do not…

Overwhelming events such as neglect, abuse, and violence impact students in a number of ways. Typically, students who have experienced trauma demonstrate significant deficits in skills that promote emotional and behavioral regulation. When these deficits are displayed in the classroom, learning can be significantly disrupted for the survivor and…

Background: It is estimated that approximately 90% of children in foster care have experienced a traumatic event, with nearly half reporting exposure to 4 or more types of traumatic events. Educators must remain alert to indicators suggesting a history of trauma and understand the difficulties foster youth may face regulating their emotions and…

An increasing body of research has indicated that childhood posttraumatic stress (PTS) is associated with different aspects of cognitive, emotional, social, and behavioral functioning in childhood. That said, this study attempted to collect, map, and synthesize the existing knowledge regarding the effects of PTS on school-related behaviors of…

Anti-blackness precludes Black people from being viewed as rights-bearing individuals and justifies the degradation of Black people, Black history, and Black culture. In this conceptual article, we suggest that (1) anti-blackness is trauma-inducing, (2) schools are often the first sites where Black students encounter anti-blackness and subsequent…

In "The Fostering Resilience Workbook, Elementary Edition," Kristin Van Marter Souers, Keith Orchard, and Pete Hall--a mental-health clinician, social worker, and veteran principal, respectively--draw on research and their extensive experience to help elementary-level educators create supportive, trauma-invested environments in which…

Childhood exposure to adversity is prevalent, with most individuals in the United states having experienced at least one adverse event in childhood (Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative, 2019; Merrick et al., 2018). Low dosages of childhood adversity experienced within the context of a safe and caring home environment can promote the…

Today's youth suffer through challenges on multiple fronts. Alongside the COVID-19 pandemic and its related social and educational fallout, they've experienced trauma from increasingly frequent school and community violence, homelessness, family separation related to immigration, and sustained child poverty. Exposure to these and other traumas…

A case study was implemented in one rural district as it transitioned to a trauma-informed environment. A theoretical framework based on the literature framed the data collection around the seven themes of awareness, positive culture, intentional instruction, restorative practice, self-care, mental health support services, and professional…

Given that over two-thirds of children in the United States are exposed to at least one traumatic event by age 16, it is imperative that schools support these students with trauma-informed practices and resources. The current study investigated factors that affected teacher use of trauma-informed resources within two school districts in California…

As global challenges such as armed conflicts, forced migration, climate-related crises, pandemics, and widespread socioeconomic instability increasingly affect children and adolescents, schools must evolve beyond conventional academic mandates to promote both cognitive growth and psychosocial well-being. This special topic offers a global,…