The trauma and learning policy initiative (TLPI)'s inquiry-based process: Mapping systems change toward resilience

Devin G Atallah; Jessica B Koslouski; Kesha N Perkins; Christine Marscio; Rhyann L Robinson; Michelle G Del Rio; Michelle V Porche

doi:10.1002/jcop.23067

The trauma and learning policy initiative (TLPI)'s inquiry-based process: Mapping systems change toward resilience

J Community Psychol. 2023 Sep;51(7):2943-2963. doi: 10.1002/jcop.23067. Epub 2023 Jun 8.

Authors

Devin G Atallah^{1

2}, Jessica B Koslouski³, Kesha N Perkins⁴, Christine Marscio⁵, Rhyann L Robinson^{1

2}, Michelle G Del Rio^{1

2}, Michelle V Porche⁶

Affiliations

¹ Psychology Department, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
² Department of Psychology, Decolonial Antiracism Research & Action (DARA) Collective for Healing & Liberación, University of Massachusetts, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
³ Educational Psychology Department, The University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, USA.
⁴ Disparities Research Unit, Mongan Institute at Mass General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
⁵ Department of Counseling Psychology & Applied Human Development, Wheelock College of Education and Human Development, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
⁶ Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA.

PMID: 37289472
DOI: 10.1002/jcop.23067

Abstract

Trauma is much more than our individual experiences. Fundamentally, trauma is rooted in our social conditions, interrelated with the oppression and violence in our communities and in societies at large. Trauma is knotted within cycles of harm in our relationships and in our communities and institutions. Not only are our communities and institutions sites of trauma, however, but they can also be sites of great healing, restoration, and resilience. Educational institutions hold the potential for contributing to resilient change toward the creation of transformative communities for children to feel safe and to thrive, even in the face of accumulating adversities that are endemic in the United States and beyond. This study investigated the impact of an initiative that strives to support K-12 schools in transforming towards greater trauma-sensitivity: trauma and learning policy initiative (TLPI). We share findings from our qualitative, situational analysis of the impact of TLPI's support to three schools in Massachusetts, USA. Although TLPI's framework on trauma does not explicitly include an antiracism lens, when engaging in data analysis, with the aim to shed light on possible schoolwide approaches to promote equity, our team of researchers specifically attended to ways intersecting systems of oppression may have impacted student education. A visual diagram, "Map of Educational Systems Change Towards Resilience," emerged from our data analysis, with four themes that represent how educators understood the shifts in their schools. These were: (1) facilitating empowerment and collaboration; (2) integrating whole-child approaches; (3) affirming cultural identity and promoting a sense of belonging; and (4) re-envisioning discipline toward relational accountability. We discuss pathways that educational communities and institutions can take to create trauma-sensitive learning environments for the promotion of greater resilience.

Keywords: antiracism education; resilience; school climate; situational analysis; trauma-sensitive schools.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Educational Status
Humans
Learning*
Policy
Schools*
United States
Violence