Trauma in the classroom : how early childhood educators can teach children facing traumatic experiences

Abstract

In America, there are hundreds of thousands of children that face traumatic experiences each year. Some may be displaced due to storms that roared through the area, while others may face strife caused by their own family members. Trauma can leave a lasting impact of the child, leading to problem behaviors in the classroom. Though teachers are accepting of everyone in the classroom, they are not given enough resources on how to support those facing these traumatic experiences. Looking into how topics such as abuse, the foster care system, natural disasters, death of a family member, bullying, and parental divorce affect children in early childhood education classroom, I was able to combat these behaviors in the classroom to help educators feel more prepared to help all populations.