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School Leaders Self Efficacy in Identifying and Providing Support to Urban Educators Who Experience Secondary Trauma
Abstract
In addition to supporting students’ diverse academic needs, educators are tasked with helping students’ social-emotional needs (Briesch et al., 2020). This is especially true in urban school districts with high-risk populations (Evan & English, 2002). While educators attend to students’ social-emotional needs, they are also being exposed to trauma and risk exposure to secondary traumatic stress (STS) (Jensen, 2009). Just as students require support, there is an urgent need for educators to receive ongoing support (Luthar et al., 2020). This study examined school leaders’ self-efficacy in identifying and investigating supports available to address educators’ STS. The following research questions guided this study: 1. How do school leaders rate their self-efficacy in their ability to identify educators with secondary trauma? 2. How do school leaders rate their self-efficacy in their ability to support educators affected by secondary trauma? 3. Is there a significant difference between school leaders’ self-efficacy who have received trauma-informed/sensitive school training in their ability to identify and support educators who have experienced secondary trauma compared to school leaders who have not received trauma-informed/sensitive school training? This mixed methods sequential explanatory study was conducted with school leaders in two urban school districts in a northeastern state. Phase one collected quantitative data, n=64, using a survey to gather demographics and identify school leaders’ self-efficacy to identify and support educators’ STS. Phase two of the study collected qualitative data, n=16, using individual interviews to build upon the quantitative data collected in phase one. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, particularly t-tests, and qualitative data was analyzed using thematic analysis (Krueger & Casey, 2015). The findings of this study may assist district leaders and school boards in developing policies that provide targeted professional development to current and incoming school-level leaders on STS in educators. In addition, this study may assist in developing systems for recognizing, processing, and supporting educators impacted by STS and encourage the adoption of trauma-sensitive frameworks for school districts.
Subject Area
Educational leadership|Educational administration|Education
Recommended Citation
DeJesus, Lina, "School Leaders Self Efficacy in Identifying and Providing Support to Urban Educators Who Experience Secondary Trauma" (2023). Dissertation & Theses Collection. AAI30425194.
https://scholarsarchive.jwu.edu/dissertations/AAI30425194