Ready to Implement? An Exploration of K12 Faculty’s Preparedness to Create Inclusive Learning Environments

Abstract

AbstractUnderstanding how to create trauma-informed learning environments which can contribute to learner empowerment is the focus of this phase of an ongoing education design research project. As embedding opportunities for social-emotional learning (SEL) competency development has proven to help all students develop a sense of belonging within their educational environments (Cooper, 2014), a classroom climate that promotes these opportunities proves a useful metric by which to define inclusive learning environments. Internal and external factors K-12 faculty perceive as affecting their ability to create inclusive learning environments for increasingly diverse student bodies are examined. Observations are used to understand the extent to which faculty perception informs classroom practice. As K12 teachers are often collaborators in design and implementation of inclusive environments, an understanding of the extent to which these individuals conceptualize terms such as “belonging” is critical.