“It’s Just Not What We See”

Abstract

There is a growing interest in the provision of trauma interventions in schools, including support for refugees being educated in Canada. Very little research, however, has explored trauma training for those working in schools, particularly from the perspective of teachers. This qualitative case study focused on one school district in a mid-sized city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, examining perspectives on existing trauma training held for teachers who work with Syrian refugee students. Results from seven teacher interviews suggest that social workers must be careful not to slot teachers into pre-existing general trauma training, but must design specific trainings that consider the setting, developmental needs, and forms of trauma unique to war, displacement, and resettlement stressors in order for the trainings to be most helpful to teachers. Further research from the perspective of teachers, as well as Syrian students, is needed in order to create more equitable educational environments.

Keywords

• trauma training
• school
• teachers
• Syria
• refugee
• education