A Novel Evaluation of Trauma-Informed Practice Implementation in K-12 Education

Background: The school system is one of many possible protective factors that prevent or mitigate the effects of ACEs. Training school personnel in trauma-informed practice (TIP) should decrease ACEs and buffer against the impact of ACEs. Objective: We hypothesized that training all school system employees would change disciplinary actions in response to student behavior incidents in a rural south-central Appalachian school system. Methods: TIP training took place in Spring 2019 for all principals, assistant principals, and general administrative staff in a south-central Appalachian school system. All teachers were trained in Summer. Routinely collected student behavior incident and staff disciplinary response data were compared for the falls before (Fall 2018) and following (Fall 2019) TIP training. Results: There were 615 and 617 behavioral incidents and disciplinary actions in fall 2018 and fall 2019, respectively. The Chi-Square Test for Independence (student behavior incidents by year) indicated no significant change, X 2 (10, n = 1,232) = 16.035, p = .099, Cramer’s V = .114. However, a Chi-Square Test for Independence (disciplinary action by year) indicated a significant association, X 2 (6, n = 1,232) = 44.485, p <.001. Cramer’s V = .190. The highest frequency of disciplinary actions (i.e., detention, in-school suspension, out-of-school suspension) was all lower (by count, not statistically), and two of the lowest (i.e., removed from class a teacher’s request, other) increased. Conclusions: These findings could be evidence of behavior change due to TIP training, but further study must confirm the results.