Authors: Maya McBride, MPS; Jennifer Harman, PhD, IMH-E; Karen Hickman, MEd; Danya Johnson, BS; Angela Kyzer, BA; Melissa Sutton, MSE; Anna Temple, BS; Nicola Edge, PhD
Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR
About this page: This is the accessible text version of the poster above. Each figure is described in text and accompanied by a data table.
Purpose
Early childhood educators routinely serve children who have experienced trauma and need additional resources to support their development. This study measured the impact of a pilot cohort of the FIRST:ECE Teacher Certificate Program — an advanced training and coaching series designed for teachers ready to learn trauma-informed care strategies to support children.
Methods
The trauma-informed certificate (TI-C) offers teachers a series of 6 trainings, with on-site or virtual coaching visits. The program is designed for cohorts of Early Childhood Education (ECE) teachers recruited from programs across the state. Teachers were administered pre- and post-test surveys using validated measures including:
- School Implementation Leadership Scale (SILS)
- Preschool Expulsion Risk Measure (PERM)
- Implementation of Trauma-Informed (TI) strategies
- Acceptability (AIM), Appropriateness (IAM), and Feasibility (FIM)
- Classroom observations conducted using the Climate of Healthy Interaction for Learning & Development
Three focus groups were conducted after completion of the series.
Results
Participants
A total of 18 participants joined the pilot cohort. Most reported their role as a lead teacher (89%) and having 10+ years of experience (67%).
Trauma Knowledge
Paired t-tests indicated statistically significant increases in educators’ knowledge of trauma and TI practices, t(14) = 6.34, p < .001, as well as participant confidence in their knowledge, t(14) = 7.43, p < .001.Figure 1 — Knowledge Gains. Bar chart comparing mean scores (scale 1 to 4) for two measures, Before TI-C and After TI-C. Both measures show large increases after the training, marked as statistically significant.
| Measure | Before TI-C | After TI-C | Significance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knowledge of Trauma | 2.81 (0.67) | 3.96 (0.07) | p < .001 *** |
| Confidence in Knowledge | 2.38 (0.81) | 3.84 (0.25) | p < .001 *** |
Significance key: * p < .05; ** p < .01; *** p < .001.
Expulsion Risk
A paired t-test was used to examine differences in teachers’ feelings of hopelessness and stress as it relates to children’s risk of potential expulsion. Hopelessness was significantly lower than before training, t(16) = 2.88, p = .005, as was teacher stress, t(16) = 4.52, p < .001.Figure 2 — Expulsion Risk Factors. Line chart with two lines — Hopelessness and Stress — each plotted at Before TI-C and After TI-C on a 1-to-5 scale. Both lines slope downward after the training.
| Measure | Before TI-C | After TI-C | Significance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hopelessness | 2.73 (0.99) | 1.94 (1.11) | p = .005 ** |
| Stress | 3.53 (0.89) | 2.25 (1.34) | p < .001 *** |
Implementation
Participants were asked how often they utilized specific trauma-informed strategies with children in their classroom. Statistically significant results were identified across three scales developed to assess teacher perception of implementation of practices related to relationship building, t(14) = 6.37, p < .001; self-regulation, t(14) = 2.60, p = .011; and response to major crises, t(14) = 5.08, p < .001.Figure 3 — Implementation of Trauma-Informed Strategies. Grouped bar chart comparing Before TI-C and After TI-C means (scale 1 to 4) for three categories of practice. After-training scores are higher in every category.
| Category | Before TI-C | After TI-C | Significance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Relationship Building | 2.93 (0.56) | 3.56 (0.37) | p < .001 *** |
| Self-Regulation | 3.28 (0.71) | 3.68 (0.46) | p = .011 * |
| Crisis Response | 2.77 (0.75) | 3.67 (0.49) | p < .001 *** |
Focus Groups
Throughout the training series, participants received individualized coaching. Coaches visited participants onsite, met virtually one-on-one, and sent videos via text messages with reminders of strategies for implementation. Educators reported that virtual visits were the most helpful (100%), followed by in-person classroom visits (94%), and video reminders (81%). The importance of these visits was highlighted in three focus groups conducted following completion of the TI-C series. Rapid coding and thematic analysis emphasized coaching as a cornerstone of this training certificate. Teachers noted that coaching further elevated learning and implementation of trauma-informed strategies.
Observations
A random sample of 8 educators participated in classroom observations before and after completing the certificate. Preliminary analysis showed significant or trending positive changes in classroom climate in domains including social and emotional learning, t(7) = 1.83, p = .055; individualized appropriate practices, t(7) = 2.31, p = .027; attunement, t(7) = 1.54, p = .083; and the total classroom score, t(7) = 1.42, p = .099.Figure 4 — Observed Changes in Classroom. Grouped bar chart comparing Before TI-C and After TI-C observation scores across four domains. All four After-TI-C bars are higher than the Before-TI-C bars.
| Domain | Before TI-C | After TI-C | p-value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social Emotional Learning | 0.11 (0.63) | 0.57 (1.01) | .055 (trend) |
| Individualized Appropriate Practices | 0.71 (0.57) | 1.23 (0.71) | .027 * |
| Attunement | 0.73 (0.59) | 1.13 (0.63) | .083 (trend) |
| Overall Score | 0.77 (0.46) | 1.09 (0.63) | .099 (trend) |
Satisfaction
All teachers (100%) either agreed or strongly agreed the training:
- Improved the way they work in their classroom.
- Helped them better understand challenging behaviors.
- Taught them steps to support children’s development.
Teachers agreed that the trainings were clear and easy to understand, planned to use trauma-informed strategies, and would recommend TI-C to colleagues.
Conclusions
Results suggest that the program may effectively aid ECE educators in appropriately supporting the development and unique needs of young children who have experienced trauma. Program and evaluation replication with different cohorts of educators and greater sample sizes will help verify the findings of this study.
References
- Lyon, A. R., Corbin, C. M., Brown, E. C., Ehrhart, M. G., Locke, J., Davis, C., Picozzi, E., Aarons, G. A., & Cook, C. R. (2022). Leading the change in the education sector: development and validation of the School Implementation Leadership Scale (SILS). Implementation Science 17(48). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13012-022-01222-7
- Gilliam, W. S., & Reyes, C. R. (2018). Teacher Decision Factors That Lead to Preschool Expulsion: Scale Development and Preliminary Validation of the Preschool Expulsion Risk Measure. Infants & Young Children, 31, 93–108.
- Weiner, B. J., Lewis, C. C., Stanick, C., Powell, B. J., Dorsey, C. N., Clary, A. S., Boynton, M. H., & Halko, H. (2017). Psychometric assessment of the Preschool Expulsion Risk Measure. Implementation Science, 12(108), 1–12. doi:10.1186/s13012-017-0635-3
- Gilliam, W. S., & Reyes, C. R. (2017). Climate of Healthy Interactions for Learning & Development, Draft Manual [Unpublished manual]. Edward Zigler Center in Child Development & Social Policy, Yale Child Study Center.