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  2. EDU H319

Childhood Trauma: Promoting Healing, Resilience, and Hope in Schools
EDU H319

Course Information

Description

Schools are essential environments for student learning and growth but trauma can significantly disrupt children’s development. This module examines how traumatic experiences affect neurobiological, psychological, and social functioning, emphasizing the child’s broader ecological context, including families, schools, communities, and cultural systems. Students will explore trauma-informed principles that foster healing and resilience across the school ecosystem. The module highlights culturally and developmentally responsive strategies, including multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) and both group and individual therapeutic approaches used in school settings. Through lectures, case studies, discussions, and experiential learning, students will build the knowledge and practical skills needed to create trauma-responsive learning environments. All participants must complete a brief Enrollment Survey prior to registration to help the teaching team better understand individual learning goals and needs.

School Graduate School of Education
Credits 2
Cross Reg

Available for Harvard Cross Registration

Department Education
Course Component Regular Course
Instruction Mode In Person
Subject Education
Grading Basis HGSE Student Option (Letter Graded, Sat/Unsat)
Learning Goals Promoting Awareness • Recognize the role of self in understanding trauma and in supporting children and youth who have experienced adversity. • Develop greater awareness of human resilience, the complex and layered nature of trauma, and the importance of empathy and flexibility in school-based support. • Understand the connections between trauma-informed education, advocacy, and social justice. Promoting Knowledge • Build a biopsychosocial-historical understanding of how trauma affects child and adolescent development and learning. • Understand how culture shapes trauma responses and informs the design of effective, responsive interventions. • Identify key components of trauma-informed education within a multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS). • Gain familiarity with evidence-based, trauma-focused clinical interventions used in school settings. Promoting Skills • Develop the ability to assess trauma symptoms through a culturally responsive and affirming lens. • Apply school-based interventions with flexibility, attending to students’ cultural and contextual realities. • Strengthen practical skills in designing and implementing trauma-informed school supports based on best practices presented in the course.
Career Focus <p>This class is for graduate students who are interested in gaining a greater understanding of the impact of childhood trauma on student learning and development and ways that school communities can work to foster healing and resilience.</p>
Competency N/A
Content N/A
Pedagogy N/A