The space between: Current practices and perceptions regarding trauma-informed supports and special education services

Children are experiencing abuse and neglect at higher rates than ever before. There is a direct link between child maltreatment and negative educational outcomes, yet current research suggests school professionals are unprepared to provide appropriate support. Furthermore, children are four times more likely to receive special education services if they have experienced abuse and neglect, and young children are at the greatest risk. However, little research has been conducted that directly considers early childhood special education professionals in providing trauma-informed special education services. Through a constructivist lens, 18 school social workers and 17 early childhood special education teachers participated in six focus groups where current practices, facilitators, and barriers experienced by early childhood special education providers when providing trauma-informed support were examined. To achieve a deeper understanding, school social worker and early childhood special education teacher data were initially analyzed separately, and then a comparative analysis was conducted to examine similarities and differences across groups. Implications for research, policy, and practice are discussed.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Special Education

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2019

Author dc:creator

• Miller, Deserai

Contributors dc:contributor

• Santos, Rosa
• Ostrosky, Michaelene
• Corr, Catherine P.
• Lindsey, Brenda

• Trauma-informed care, special education

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2018 Deserai Miller

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/102769

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F102769