Transforming trauma-informed understanding into trauma-informed practice: The Reflective Circle Education Model

Abstract

Trauma-informed practice in education applies neuroscientific knowledge of the profound impact of early childhood trauma on learning and emphasises the central role of the student-teacher relationship in recovery. In adopting trauma-informed understandings, teachers are required to change their current practices and strengthen their relationships with their students. This often requires a reassessment of the beliefs and values informing their practice and relationships and insight into alternate ways of responding. While recommendations in the trauma-informed education literature emphasise the need for schools to support teachers in this deeply reflective work, it is rarely included in implementation practices. This study trials a form of critical reflection, the Reflective Circle Education Model (RCEM), with a group of six teachers in a school in Victoria Australia over a school year. Teacher perspectives on the value of the RECM model to support trauma-informed practice are then discussed.