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This study examined preservice teacher coursework and experiences related to student trauma, classroom management, and self-care during a junior-year clinical placement (N = 25), as well as through follow-up interviews with a subgroup of participants one year later (N = 8). An inductive, thematic analysis led to the identification of four broad themes related to teacher-student relationships, field-based learning, adopting a philosophy of control versus flexibility, and the professional practice of self-care. All participants observed the impact of trauma in their classrooms, but only a few witnessed trauma-informed strategies that centered relationships and the humanistic side of teaching. Preservice teachers placed in trauma-informed classrooms felt the most prepared to implement trauma-informed strategies, while most preservice teachers questioned their ability to create a positive and responsive space for students who had experienced trauma. Data were used to create a conceptual model of findings to help guide future work with preservice teachers and clinical experiences.

This study examines preservice teacher coursework and interview data related to encountering student trauma, secondary trauma, and the role of self-care during clinical placement experiences. A thematic analysis of the data led to the identification of four main themes: the power of student stories, recognition of the many forms of trauma, preservice teacher burnout, and barriers to integrating self-care. Additionally, our analysis revealed the ways in which preservice teachers experienced secondary trauma as a consequence of forming relationships with students and listening to their stories. Some of the effects of this secondary trauma were mitigated by engaging in self-care, but those preservice teachers who felt they failed at supporting their personal wellness experienced burnout. More troubling, only one preservice teacher recognized self-care's connection to trauma-informed teaching. Our findings reveal the importance of infusing content on trauma, secondary trauma, and self-care in teacher education coursework and the need to provide professional development on trauma-informed teaching for clinical placement school sites.

In response to the growing need for trauma-informed teaching, more teacher education programs are incorporating trauma-informed content to prepare preservice teachers for their future classrooms. For this study, we examined student coursework and clinical experiences related to student trauma and trauma-informed teaching with a group of preservice teachers (N = 25). A thematic analysis of written reflections and interviews revealed deficit-based ideologies connected to student trauma with minimal attention directed at student strengths and resilience. Preservice teachers viewed student trauma in relation to behavioral issues, as circumstances that teachers have to deal with, and as a result of family and community deficiencies. A few students recognized trauma in relation to resilience by viewing schools and teachers as a protective factor. Informal stories shared by cooperating teachers appeared to feed these deficit views, as well as some course-related materials and projects. Recommendations for teacher educators are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]