Beginning Within: Marking a New Journey Toward Equity in Trauma-Informed Education Practices

An exponentially increasing number of students experience traumatic events in their daily lives. To address this phenomenon, Beginning Within: Marking a New Journey Toward Equity in Trauma-Informed Education Practices delves into the profound impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). It brings together extensive research, thoughtful contemplations, and innovative ideas that shed light on some of the lesser-explored aspects of trauma-informed practices in education. Authors in the book have developed chapters around three guiding models for systemic change: John Kotter’s (1996/2012) Eight-Step Model for Organizational Change; Fallot and Harris’ (2001) Five Guiding Principles of Trauma-Informed Practice; and Smith, et al.’s (2017) five-level Building Equity Taxonomy.

The chapters reflect the growth, grief, and galvanizing challenges that have shaped and continue to shape our understanding of equality, safety, and organizational change around trauma-informed educational practices. Hear from authors, experts, and leaders in the education field who are leading the way in systemic change, ranging from the work in Missouri after the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, to university professors and classroom teachers seeking ways to use the past as guideposts toward a new journey of equity in trauma-informed practices, with each step paved by three research-supported tenets for creating a climate of trauma-informed practices, as offered by the editors of the book:

• The journey to equity begins with a deep dive into each stakeholder’s internal beliefs about self-care.
• Self-care must be a priority, otherwise, caring for students comes at the lasting cost of secondary traumatic stress (STS) and teacher burnout.
• A sense of well-being must extend beyond the school building and into the community.

Whether the reader is a pre-service teacher, a current teacher, an aspiring or current administrator, or an educator preparation faculty member, ideas are shared that can be implemented within a variety of schools, programs, or academic organizations.

Perfect for courses such as: Trauma-Informed Education; Trauma-Informed Teaching; Foundations of Trauma-Informed Education; Trauma-Informed Practices and Pedagogy; Trauma-Informed Practices and Resilience; Trauma-Informed Classroom Teachers; Introduction to Becoming a Trauma-Informed Educator; Trauma-Sensitive Learning Environments; Foundations of Trauma-Informed Practices and Wellness