UC Berkeley

Significant research reveals that youth who reside in neighborhoods of high crime and violence can often be exposed to external stressors that result in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). These youths are disproportionately Black, and this condition often goes untreated. Consequently, their challenges with PTSD can surface and have tremendous impacts on teaching and learning at the schools they attend. These impacts include severe problems with academic achievement and discipline. The site of this research is a public, urban continuation high school in Northern California where many students exhibit symptoms of PTSD. This study explored the outcomes of professional development (PD) sessions designed to better prepare teachers to work with students who have exhibited behaviors connected to traumatic experiences. A mental health therapist led the first two sessions and assisted a focal teacher who was certified in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in presenting the final session. Data sources are videotapes of the PD sessions, audio taped interviews of participating teachers, teacher surveys, observations, and field note documentation of the teachers' classroom instruction. Findings indicated that teachers found the PD sessions highly effective in helping them to better understand student behaviors as well as ways that they themselves were vicariously affected by their students' traumatic experiences. This study also found that mental health training helped teachers re-conceptualize their approaches to curriculum and instruction. Finally, this research explored the effects of the PD on implementation across the range of disciplines that were taught. A key implication is that when mental health training is incorporated into PD in urban schools, ameliorative impacts for both students and teachers are achieved. Teachers who learn about the effects of and pedagogical responses to PTSD are better prepared to create effective learning environments for traumatized students.