Abstract
Research indicates that South Africa has a high prevalence rate of trauma, suggesting that many school-going children and adolescents may have already been exposed to traumatic experiences. Therefore, schools have the potential to be key environments for providing essential care to learners affected by trauma. Trauma-informed care (TIC) could offer a valuable approach to fostering a supportive learning environment for learners. However, there is a lack of sufficient studies on how schools in South Africa are currently addressing trauma, highlighting the need for further research into existing TIC practices and additional support required for effective implementation. This study, therefore, investigated how primary school teachers deal with learners who have been exposed to trauma and to what extent there is a need for primary school teachers to be trained on strategies related to TIC.
Using an interpretivist paradigm and a generic qualitative research design, the study employed purposeful sampling to select 10 participants – five from a government school and five from a private school – all participating in face-to-face semi-structured interviews and completing rating scales on a questionnaire. I identified key themes and patterns from the collected data using thematic analysis.
Research indicates that while teachers are generally aware of more serious forms of trauma, such as car accidents and death, they struggle to recognise more subtle but equally harmful traumas such as bullying. Teachers in this study acknowledged the importance of strategies like building relationships, offering safe spaces, providing one-on-one attention and fostering peer support. However, implementing these strategies is influenced by challenges such as large class sizes, limited resources and insufficient training. Teachers are making efforts to support learners who have been exposed to trauma and seek guidance from school psychologists, social workers or heads of departments; however, there appears to be an overreliance on other professionals, highlighting the need for teacher training and workshops
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on TIC. Recommendations are made for further research focusing on implementing TIC strategies, assessing their long-term effectiveness and addressing the challenges encountered in their application within the South African context.
KEYWORDS: Childhood Trauma, Learners, Teachers, Teacher-Training, Trauma, Trauma-Informed Care