Empathetic Educational Environments: Advancing Cultural Sensitivity of Trauma Through Storytelling in the Secondary-level English Classroom

This exploratory sequential mixed methods study addresses the critical gap in trauma-informed educational research by centering trauma survivors' voices as foundational knowledge for developing pedagogical interventions. First, through comprehensive evaluation of a teacher preparation program, classroom observations across diverse Virginia schools, educator professional development (n =7), and in-depth interviews trauma survivors (n =15), this research reveals significant deficits in trauma-informed practices within secondary education settings. The study introduces "misbehaving forms," alternative narrative structures that deliberately resist conventional academic constraints to accommodate the non-linear nature of trauma expression. This concept emerged with survivor narratives describing how traditional formats failed to capture their authentic experiences. These qualitative findings then informed the development of a storytelling intervention, which was implemented in three sections of a secondary English class and measured through an adapted Self-Determination Theory questionnaire assessing autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Two sections of the English class (n = 39) received the intervention, and one section remained as the control (n =16). With this questionnaire, quantitative results demonstrated statistically significant improvements in the intervention participants' student autonomy (p = 0.0309), competence (p = 0.0069), and creative expression (p < 0.001). The integration of qualitative and quantitative findings validates the effectiveness of survivor-informed pedagogical approaches while establishing a methodological framework for centering marginalized voices in educational research. The research challenges traditional academic hierarchies that exclude survivor wisdom while providing practical strategies for creating trauma-informed learning environments that support both academic achievement and emotional healing.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy

Level thesis:degree_level

doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Individual Interdisciplinary PhD

Department dc:contributor.department

Graduate School

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

2026

Author dc:creator

• Rose, Mackenzie Shannon

Chair dc:contributor.committeechair

• Vollmer, James M.

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Parti, Katalin
• Kim, Kee Jeong
• Johnson, Marcus

• trauma-informed pedagogy
• survivor narratives
• mixed methods

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language.iso

en

Dc Identifier Other

vt_gsexam:44844

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/140695