Pain of the past and present: an identity conscious exploration of the prevalence and scope of educator primary and secondary trauma

ABSTRACT

Research on trauma in education has primarily focused on the student experience while the prevalence and scope of educator trauma remains largely unexplored, especially through an identity-conscious lens. This study addresses the gap in our understanding of educator trauma through a national survey of United States educators. Results indicated that most educators have experienced primary trauma and a majority have also experienced secondary trauma as a result of their students’ traumatic experiences. Results further revealed that educator primary trauma differs across age, race/ethnicity, and sexual orientation, while educator secondary trauma differs by school context. Implications for educational leaders and administrators are considered, as well as directions for further research centring identity-conscious approaches to educator trauma.

KEYWORDS:

• Educator
• teacher
• trauma
• secondary trauma

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).