Administrators and Teachers' Experiences With Trauma Training and Trauma Informed Care

Trauma problems have made an impression on school systems in the United States, and parents, students, administrators, and teachers pose concerns in the community and schools. The purpose of this study was to understand the lived experiences of administrators and teachers on trauma training and the implementation of trauma-informed care. This qualitative method was hermeneutical-phenomenological and centered on the lived experiences of this population. The researcher analyzed individual interviews of 11 educators identified as administrators and teachers. The results indicated that this population was disadvantaged by the trauma training they received in their ability to provide trauma-informed care. Three themes emerged: limited, familiarization, and challenging. The findings emphasized the significance of training for educators to implement quality trauma-informed care. The study highlighted the need for understanding how knowledge applied in appropriate contexts gives a greater capacity for building relationships, creating positive learning environments, managing student trauma-related behavior, and modeling positive behavior for students exposed to trauma. Furthermore, the findings necessitate school systems to recognize and confront the challenges administrators and teachers face because of training limitations on implementing trauma-informed care.