Teachers' understanding of PTSD among adult refugee backgrund students : - a qualitative interview survey from the educators' perspective

Many refugees and asylum-seekers have been exposed to traumatic events prior to resettlement. This study examines Swedish language teachers’ understandings of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among adult refugee students who need to learn the societal language to restart their lives. Using focus groups, teachers discussed their understandings of PTSD, how it manifests itself in the classroom, and how they have changed their teaching to accommodate refugee students with PTSD. The focus group discussions revealed that many teachers were unsure how PTSD manifests, and that they felt insecure in their teaching approaches. Nevertheless, the teachers worked hard to provide a safe place for all students to learn and applied teaching and learning approaches they felt were appropriate for adult learners. These results suggest that teachers’ self-confidence in their abilities to support adult refugee students could be increased through formal training on PTSD