This call to action for educators examines how childhood trauma impacts cognitive, emotional and social development, and offers perspectives and strategies for fostering trauma-sensitive school cultures. Strong evidence indicates the central problems that underlie many behavioral and emotional obstacles to learning are rarely identified by educators. When these issues are properly understood and addressed, teachers, administrators and parents can more effectively serve students’ emotional and social needs, resulting in dramatic improvement in academic outcomes, attendance, teacher retention and parental involvement.

Gerald W. Neal currently serves as an associate professor in the Master of School Administration program at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke.

Gerald W. Neal

Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 211
Bibliographic Info: notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2021
pISBN: 978-1-4766-8123-8
eISBN: 978-1-4766-4099-0
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments vi

Part I. “Children of an Idle Brain”: Understanding Trauma 1
Introduction: The Author’s Voice 2
1. Maslow and Bronfenbrenner 9
2. Child Trauma 18
3. Other Common Sources of Trauma 31
4. Brain Research 43
5. The Influence of Religion 51
6. The Law and Child Maltreatment 58

Part II. A Model for the Trauma-Sensitive, Social-Emotional Learning School 67
Introduction: The Field of Dreams 68
7. The Trauma-Informed Teacher 74
8. Trauma-Informed Instruction, Social-Emotional Learning and Maslow 87
9. Rethinking Assessment 110
10. Social-Emotional Learning Competencies and Teaching Strategies 123
11. Behavior Management 130
12. Support Staff Leadership 146
13. Changing the Culture 161

The Last Word 180
Chapter Notes 183
Bibliography 191
Index 201