Beginning Within

Marking a New Journey Toward Equity in Trauma-Informed Education Practices

Joanne C. Fish, Jamie Doronkin

• Publisher: Myers Education Press
• Year: 2025
• Print ISBN: 9781975506384
• eBook ISBN: 9781975506407
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Professional Development

An exponentially increasing number of students experience traumatic events in their daily lives. To address this phenomenon, Beginning Within: Marking a New Journey Toward Equity in Trauma-Informed Education Practices delves into the profound impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). It brings together extensive research, thoughtful contemplations, and innovative ideas that shed light on some of the lesser-explored aspects of trauma-informed practices in education. Authors in the book have developed chapters around three guiding models for systemic change: John Kotter's (1996/2012) Eight-Step Model for Organizational Change; Fallot and Harris' (2001) Five Guiding Principles of Trauma-Informed Practice; and Smith, et al.'s (2017) five-level Building Equity Taxonomy.

The chapters reflect the growth, grief, and galvanizing challenges that have shaped and continue to shape our understanding of equality, safety, and organizational change around trauma-informed educational practices. Hear from authors, experts, and leaders in the education field who are leading the way in systemic change, ranging from the work in Missouri after the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, to university professors and classroom teachers seeking ways to use the past as guideposts toward a new journey of equity in trauma-informed practices, with each step paved by three research-supported tenets for creating a climate of trauma-informed practices, as offered by the editors of the book:

• The journey to equity begins with a deep dive into each stakeholder's internal beliefs about self-care.
• Self-care must be a priority, otherwise, caring for students comes at the lasting cost of secondary traumatic stress (STS) and teacher burnout.
• A sense of well-being must extend beyond the school building and into the community.

Whether the reader is a pre-service teacher, a current teacher, an aspiring or current administrator, or an educator preparation faculty member, ideas are shared that can be implemented within a variety of schools, programs, or academic organizations.

Perfect for courses such as: Trauma-Informed Education; Trauma-Informed Teaching; Foundations of Trauma-Informed Education; Trauma-Informed Practices and Pedagogy; Trauma-Informed Practices and Resilience; Trauma-Informed Classroom Teachers; Introduction to Becoming a Trauma-Informed Educator; Trauma-Sensitive Learning Environments; Foundations of Trauma-Informed Practices and Wellness

Table of contents

• Cover image
• Series page
• Halftitle page
• Copyright
• Title page
• Contents
• Foreword
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: Systems Theory—Embedding the Culture of Trauma-Informed Education: Reviewing a Decade of Work Since the August 2014 Ferguson Missouri Shooting
• Chapter 2: The Impact of Urgency Culture on Self-Care
• Chapter 3: Undoing Urgency: Resisting Neoliberalism in Higher Education
• Chapter 4: Understanding Elementary Student-Perceived Impact of Complex Trauma and Toxic Stress Response on Learning
• Chapter 5: Designing a Classroom Space for Middle School Students to Experience Empowerment Through Choices
• Chapter 6: Creating Equity with Secondary Students Who Have Experienced Personal or Community Trauma by Using a Bifocal Perspective
• Chapter 7: “If My Teacher Had Known”—College Students’ Reflective Perceptions about Sharing Challenging Events with Middle or High School Teachers
• Chapter 8: Belonging, Trauma, and Resilience: Creating a School Environment that Celebrates Human Connection Using a Multisystemic Approach
• Chapter 9: The Realities of Trauma-Informed Practices: Teachers’ Perspectives
• Chapter 10: Developing A University Peer Support Allies Program to Address Student Mental Health
• Chapter 11: The Journey Toward Becoming Truly Trauma-Informed
• About the Authors
• Index