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“I TRY TO MEET THEM WHERE THEY ARE.”: EDUCATING TRAUMATIZED YOUTH IN AN ALTERNATIVE HIGH SCHOOL

This study examined school staff’s trauma-informed practices and experiences in an urban alternative high school that serves former high school dropouts, many of whom have experienced trauma. In light of the growing concern about trauma among students and the interest in trauma-informed education, this study offers a significant contribution by analyzing educators’ meaning-making, highlighting both what their practices look like “on the ground,” and identifying the consequences. Framed by Contemporary Trauma Theory as well as the concept of educational trauma (Sullivan, 2004), this study used ethnographic methods to examine the practices school staff used to create a schooling environment that was responsive to the needs of students with trauma histories. Observations and interviews were conducted with a total of 8 staff and 27 students over the course of one school year. The findings indicate that staff members’ trauma-informed practices centered on building relationships and using those relationships as a knowledge base in order to decipher and respond to negative student behavior. Together, these practices overlap with defining features of trauma-informed schools outlined in the literature. Staff practices had both positive and negative impacts on the school community. / Urban Education

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:TEMPLE/oai:scholarshare.temple.edu:20.500.12613/1287
Date January 2019
CreatorsGerrish, Ginger Rae
ContributorsCucchiara, Maia Bloomfield, Cucchiara, Maia Bloomfield, Levine, Judith Adrienne, 1965-, Price, Charles A., Davis, James Earl, 1960-
PublisherTemple University. Libraries
Source SetsTemple University
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis/Dissertation, Text
Format193 pages
RightsIN COPYRIGHT- This Rights Statement can be used for an Item that is in copyright. Using this statement implies that the organization making this Item available has determined that the Item is in copyright and either is the rights-holder, has obtained permission from the rights-holder(s) to make their Work(s) available, or makes the Item available under an exception or limitation to copyright (including Fair Use) that entitles it to make the Item available., http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Relationhttp://dx.doi.org/10.34944/dspace/1269, Theses and Dissertations

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