Snyder's hope theory: A beacon for teachers contending with secondary stress, compassion fatigue and burnout in relation to students' experiences of abuse

Abstract

Teachers are at an elevated risk of developing Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS) and Compassion Fatigue (CF) due to the increased number of children experiencing trauma and abuse in their care. The negative impacts of STS and CF on teachers' mental health impedes their abilities as child protectors and reduces child abuse reporting rates. Utilizing Snyders Hope Theory may combat CF and STS and empower educators in their roles as child protectors. Hope Theory and its components are discussed in this article and presented as a method to support teachers through mental health and child protection barriers.

Keywords

• Child protection
• Compassion fatigue
• Secondary traumatic stress
• Teachers
• Hope theory
• Teacher-efficacy