Trauma-Engaged and Culturally Responsive Schools

Abstract

An abundance of research on the prevalence of traumatic experiences in childhood and their impact on the brain, behavior, and learning led to discourse on how schools can provide trauma-informed services to prevent further re-traumatization and provide support. Over the last two decades, research has highlighted the integration of trauma-responsive practices in schools in place of traditional school discipline. Traditional school discipline policies disproportionately impact students of color and help support the school-to-prison pipeline. This chapter addresses the issue of schools creating trauma-engaged learning environments. However, there is less direction in the literature about why or how creating trauma-engaged schools should happen from a culturally affirming lens and social justice perspective since it is minoritized students that are more likely to feed the school-to-prison pipeline. Therefore, this chapter aims to provide an overview on creating trauma-engaged and culturally responsive schools to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline.