Special education teacher licensure curricula: Creating a pipeline of trauma-informed special educators

Since the inception of formalized education, the roles and responsibilities of teachers have continued to expand. Today, teachers’ duties are commonly affiliated with the school social workers (case managers), therapists (clinicians), and their primary role as teachers (educators). As student needs are more expansive, it is imperative teachers become better informed about how to engage, support, and intervene when presented with students who have experienced trauma and or traumatic symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). For example, a student who may experience sexual abuse would be required in most cases to attend school as soon as possible. As a result, the child may become emotionally dysregulated, resulting in behavior outbursts and or school detachment. This behavior often leaves the teacher in awe as they try to figure out how to best support the student who has faced a traumatic event that will take time to process and heal. As the rise in school crisis begin to shift our focus from academic achievement to mental health and substance abuse services, we must begin to advocate for a paradigm shift in how we look at schooling in today’s time. There is a substantial push for the development of trauma-informed schools. This will require that our educators become trauma-informed to respond appropriately to students’ needs and school crises that may arise on any given date. As a result, teachers will need to gain an in-depth understanding of trauma, trauma-informed care, and culturally appropriate approaches to best prepare them to meet the needs of students from all cultural backgrounds for real-life situations that exist in the schools at a fundamental level. This work intends to document the similarities and differences between and among master’s level special education teacher licensure programs. In addition, the researcher aims to highlight coursework and curricula advances that best align with culturally responsive pedagogy and trauma-informed care.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Curriculum and Instruction

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2022

Author dc:creator

• Combs, Dominic D.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Harris, Violet
• Alston, Reginald
• Crosby, Shantel
• Powell, Tara
• Smith, Patriann

• Keywords: Culturally Responsive Pedagogy
• Cultural Identity
• Trauma
• Trauma-Informed Care
• External Risk Factors
• Euro-Centric Teaching

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2022 Dominic Combs

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/116031

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F116031