Document Type
Poster Session
Department
Social Work
Faculty Mentor
Rachel Casey, PhD
Keywords
Public School, Staff, Trauma, immigrant, students
Abstract
There is ample research about immigrant students’ experiences in the school system (Womach, 2020), as well as the impact of trauma on learning (Gerrish, 2020), however there is limited research that reports on the experiences of school staff and what their needs are in order to best support immigrant students. The present study utilizes qualitative research methods to explore the experiences of school staff who engage with immigrant students who have experienced trauma. Researchers recruited public school employees from Lewiston and Portland school districts in Maine for participation in the study. The roles of the employees included teachers, social workers, administrators, and guidance counselors. Researchers are conducting semi-structured interviews to best understand the challenges they experience and whether they feel supported and effective in their role. Researchers will use thematic analysis to identify themes across participant responses. By obtaining knowledge about the staff experiences working with immigrants who have experienced trauma, investigators hope to gain a better understanding of the needs of the school staff to best assist this population.
Open Access?
1
Included in
The Experiences of Staff working with Immigrant Students Who Have Experienced Trauma
There is ample research about immigrant students’ experiences in the school system (Womach, 2020), as well as the impact of trauma on learning (Gerrish, 2020), however there is limited research that reports on the experiences of school staff and what their needs are in order to best support immigrant students. The present study utilizes qualitative research methods to explore the experiences of school staff who engage with immigrant students who have experienced trauma. Researchers recruited public school employees from Lewiston and Portland school districts in Maine for participation in the study. The roles of the employees included teachers, social workers, administrators, and guidance counselors. Researchers are conducting semi-structured interviews to best understand the challenges they experience and whether they feel supported and effective in their role. Researchers will use thematic analysis to identify themes across participant responses. By obtaining knowledge about the staff experiences working with immigrants who have experienced trauma, investigators hope to gain a better understanding of the needs of the school staff to best assist this population.
