Providing Trauma and Violence Informed Care to Preservice Teachers: A look into perceived behaviours and self-efficacy when working with children impacted by interpersonal and structural violence

Trauma-and-violence-informed-care (TVIC) and its active and anti-oppressive lens, allows for a thorough understanding of traumatic experiences and the impacts these experiences have had on student behaviours (EQUIP Health Care, 2017). Giving preservice teachers education on how to employ TVIC, may help to shape their attitudes towards student mental health behaviours and feelings of self-efficacy in the classroom. Understanding student behaviours empowers teachers to create better connections with their students, resulting in the classroom being a safe space for all students (EQUIP Health Care, 2017). As part of the Bachelor of Education program at a large Canadian university, second year teacher candidates (N =248) were required to take a mandatory mental health course which focused on concepts of structural and interpersonal violence using a TVIC lens. Discussion forums, quizzes, videos, and case studies were used to engage preservice teachers with the knowledge and strategies in the course. Participants completed pre-post measures related to attitudes towards trauma informed care (ARTIC-25; Baker et al., 2016) and self-efficacy for inclusive teaching practices (TEIP; Sharma, Loreman & Forlin, 2011). Both the participant’s attitudes towards student mental health behaviours and their feelings of self-efficacy in the classroom increased significantly between the pre-and post-test administration. The findings support the inclusion of topics such as mental health as important to include in teacher education programs. Implications for teacher practice and student outcomes are discussed. Keywords: trauma, structural violence, interpersonal violence, teacher educatio