Consider and think about how trauma and risk apply to students as it relates to doing activities in the classroom. Focus on how trauma could impede the student’s ability to complete that spe

Trauma and Triggers: Students’ Perspectives on Enhancing the Classroom Experiences at an

Alternative Residential Treatment-Based School Angelique Gabrielle Day, Beverly Baroni, Cheryl Somers, Jenna Shier, Meredith Zammit,

Shantel Crosby, Jina Yoon, Megan Pennefather, and Jun Sung Hong

Youths in residential treatment (RT) are often burdened with histories of trauma exposure and experience a multitude of unique challenges for both daily functioning and develop- mental trajectories. Youths spend a large portion of their day in school; these educational experiences affect long-term well-being. This study uses qualitative focus group methodol- ogy to better understand the school experiences of youths placed in an RT educational environment. The sample consisted of 45 female residents placed in out-of-home care due to a child welfare or delinquency petition. Several key themes emerged that illustrate youth per- ceptions of the climate of RT, how strict discipline schools can affect mood, and what factors promote or hinder school engagement and disengagement. These themes included issues related to interactions with residential and school staff, teachers, classmates, and other staff; their own inabilities to interpersonally cope; and mismatches between their educational needs and services provided. The article concludes with a discussion of implications for policy and practice.

KEYWORDS: education well-being; foster care; juvenile delinquency; youth voice

Youths in residential treatment (RT) facili- ties are often burdened with trauma histories and experience academic, behav-

ioral, and emotional problems (Abram et al., 2004; Ford, Chapman, Connor, & Cruise, 2012), which limit opportunities for a healthy, successful future (Wolpow, Johnson, Hertel, & Kincaid, 2009). The number of children and adolescents admitted to RT programs has increased significantly since 1980 (Doerfler, Toscano, Volungis, & Steingard, 2004; Zelechoski et al., 2013). Zelechoski et al. (2013) reported that 65,949 youths were in residential care in 2003; 75 percent were between the ages of 13 and 17 (Warner & Pottick, 2003), and 66 percent of youths in RT programs are female (Briggs et al., 2012). Trauma exposure among adolescents placed in RT programs ranges from 50 percent to over 70 percent (Bettmann, Lundahl,Wright, Jasperson, &McRoberts, 2011; Warner & Pottick, 2003; Zelechoski et al., 2013). RT programs offer services that include drug and alcohol treatment, confidence building, military-style discipline, and psychological counseling for a variety of addiction, behavioral, and emotional problems. Many of these programs are intended to provide a less restrictive alternative to incarceration or

hospitalization (Federal Trade Commission, 2008). Adolescents who are placed in an RT facility typically have experienced a wide range of psychiatric disor- ders, particularly traumatic stress. Traumatic stress can stem from physical, sexual, or emotional abuse; neglect; accidents; exposure to domestic and community violence; natural disasters; and other adverse events (Griffin et al., 2011). Studies sug- gest that early traumatic stress is linked to future psychiatric care, poor mental and physical health throughout life, low educational attainment, home- lessness, early pregnancy, poverty, unemployment, reliance on public assistance, impulsivity, dissociation, aggressive behavior, and relationship difficulties (Price, Higa-McMillan, Kim, & Frueh, 2013; Zelechoski et al., 2013).

Educational opportunities vary greatly in RT settings, from off-campus, public school partner- ships in the local community to educational ser- vices offered on-site at the RT facility. Although traumatic experiences can affect students in public school environments (Overstreet & Mathews, 2011; Smithgall, Cusick, & Griffin, 2013; Vidourek, King, & Merianos, 2016), youths in RT school settings may have unique trauma-related issues (Crosby, Day,

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Baroni, & Somers, 2015; Day et al., 2015). This arti- cle is restricted to understanding the educational ex- periences of RT youths in educational programs offered on-site at an RT facility. Effective schooling for foster and other adjudicated youths can lead to more positive outcomes (Mathur & Schoenfeld, 2010); however, traumatic stressmay affect adolescents’ perceptions, interactions, and learning (Hoagwood & Cunningham, 1992). The current study was designed to address the paucity of research that has been con- ducted to explore the role of RT schools in the heal- ing and treatment of traumatized, court-involved youths who are placed in RT programs.

At school, students are expected to concentrate on their schoolwork, actively listen, participate in class discussions, and respond to corrections and dis- cipline (Wolpow et al., 2009). For adolescents in an RT facility, school expectations may be compro- mised by trauma, which can undermine cognitive abilities and skills acquisition key to school success (Smithgall et al., 2013; Snowman & McCown, 2012). Trauma exposure may also lead to social and behavioral difficulties in the classroom; students who have experienced traumatic events exhibit more externalizing behaviors in school, such as aggressiveness, impulsivity, and fighting (Shonk & Cicchetti, 2001; Smithgall et al., 2013). As a result, these behavioral difficulties often lead to harsh school discipline (for example, suspension or expul- sion), involvement in the juvenile justice system, or school dropout (Baroni, Day, Somers, Crosby, & Pennefather, 2016; Smithgall et al., 2013).

RTs must include an emphasis on academics in addition to custodial care. Successful implementa- tion of quality academic programs in RT facilities is complicated by the characteristics of struggling youths and the design of RT facilities. Indeed, court-involved youths bring skill deficits, severe behavioral issues, and mental health challenges into the classroom; moreover, RT facilities are held accountable to security and safety considera- tions that largely supersede any educational efforts (Mathur & Schoenfeld, 2010). Specific, attainable, program-based changes with buy-in from students have the potential to make a genuine difference in the educational outcomes of court-involved youths. From a social–emotional perspective, effective RT schools must increase school engagement by creating a climate that promotes (a) positive teacher–student relationships, (b) positive peer relationships, (c) a personal sense of self, and (d) an ability to manage

emotions (Becker & Luthar, 2002). Identifying interpersonal cognitive problem solving as part of soft skill development, including social competence, is often a goal for education-based RT programs to address student engagement and disengagement (Small & Schinike, 1983).

To address the gap in understanding how schools in RT facilities meet the educational needs of court- involved youths, this study seeks to apply phenome- nology (Palmer, Larkin, de Visser, & Fadden, 2010) to explore traumatized RT students’ often hidden perspectives and lived experiences in their education environment. Recent research has illustrated the con- nection between students’ moods and emotional states and their ability to engage effectively in the classroom (Crosby et al., 2015; West, Day, Somers, & Baroni, 2014; Wolpow et al., 2009). In the current study, we explore the following research question: What factors trigger negative moods (school dis- engagement) or enhance positive moods (school engagement) among court-involved youths enrolled in an RT facility school, and how do students per- ceive how RT staff, teachers, and other school offi- cials respond to behaviors manifested in the academic setting?

METHOD Description of Curriculum and Intervention The school where the study took place implemented a modified version of the curriculum described in The Heart of Teaching and Learning: Compassion, Resiliency, and Academic Success (HTL) as the pri- mary intervention (Wolpow et al., 2009). HTL is an integrated, manualized curriculum founded on research, theory, and clinical practice and is grounded in ecological and attachment theories applied using psychoeducational, cognitive–behavioral, and rela- tional approaches. Additional information on the cur- riculum intervention is described in Day et al. (2015).

In addition to the curriculum intervention, the school implemented the Monarch Room (MR) as an alternative to traditional school discipline practices, to increase classroom seat time and maximize school engagement. When students become too escalated to remain in the classroom setting, they are sent to the MR for redirection and de-escalation or choose to go to the MR on their own. Once students are in the MR, a trauma-trained paraprofessional helps them de- escalate, refocus, and return to class. Various interven- tion strategies are used in the MR, including problem solving, talk therapy, and sensorimotor activities. The

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MR is available throughout the school day, with each specific MR episode lasting approximately 10 min- utes. Additional details describing the MR interven- tion are published in Baroni et al. (2016).

Participants and Study Site Participants included 45 randomly selected female students currently or previously involved in juve- nile court. All study participants were enrolled between September 2013 and June 2014 in a pub- lic, chartered, strict discipline academy colocated at a large child welfare placement agency for girls in a midwestern state. Eighty-six percent were current residents in the facility, and 14 percent had re- turned to the community but continued attending the school. Participants were ages 13 to 19 years. Similar to the rates of foster care youths in the Midwest, over 60 percent of the study partici- pants were African American (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, 2012). The racial and eth- nic composition and age of the study participants is representative of the school enrollment as a whole and is consistent with the national preva- lence rates of juvenile justice–involved youths of color who experience placement in RT facilities (Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Preven- tion, 2013) (see Table 1). Individual-level demographic data (student race and age) were obtained from the school’s administrative database and de-identified before they were provided to the research team for analysis.

The study site is a school that provides educa- tional services exclusively to female students who are or have been in an RT facility, and all have experienced exposure to child abuse and neglect. Due to these traumatic histories, the majority of enrolled students are three to four years below standard grade level. Also, average length of stay in the RT facility is four to six months. Despite these limitations, the school aims to assist these students by adhering to a school discipline system that focuses primarily on treatment. The goal is to pro- vide an effective social–emotional learning envi- ronment to teach students emotion self-regulation and positive social skills, including how to make more responsible choices.

Procedures and Data Collection The study was approved by the institutional review board atWayne State University. Information about the study was distributed to participants and their legal guardians during school registration. An assumed consent process was used, whereby students, their caregivers, or both could opt out of participation at any time. The phenomenological approach provides the opportunity to uncover hidden pro- cesses and phenomena (Palmer et al., 2010), which is critical to understanding the unique needs and experiences of this vulnerable population. Six focus groups were conducted by independent re- searchers and were held at the school building where the intervention was targeted. Although not commonly used in phenomenology, focus group

Table 1: Characteristics of Student Focus Group Participants versus Total School Population

Characteristic

Study Participants (n = 45)

Total School Population (N = 124)

n % n %

Race or ethnicity White 3 7.0 26 21.0 African American 29 64.0 66 53.2 Other 4 9.0 8 6.4 Multiracial 9 20.0 24 19.4

Age (years) 13 1 2.0 8 6.0 14 2 4.5 17 14.0 15 8 18.0 21 17.0 16 22 49.0 43 35.0 17 10 22.0 28 23.0 18 2 4.5 6 5.0 19 0 0.0 1 <1

Note: For race or ethnicity, χ2(5) = 5.836, p = .32; for age, χ2(6) = 4.538, p = .60.

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methodology was selected because the data can uncover specific shared lived experiences; elicit new perspectives as group members confirm or deny each other’s experiences; and provide rich, inter- group interpretation (Bradbury-Jones, Sambrook, & Irvine, 2009). Each focus group participant was assigned a number; these ID numbers and their corresponding responses were documented in the transcripts to ensure that the researchers could offer an account of each individual participant’s claims and concerns and capture commonalities of experi- ence to account for context. Prevalence rates of identified themes were captured by frequency and participant. In addition, middle and high school girls participated in separate focus groups to ensure that younger student voices were not compro- mised. Students were asked five open-ended ques- tions: (1) If your mood changes throughout the day, what makes it change? (2) When I am having a bad moment at school, what helps is . . . ; (3) When I am having a bad moment at school, what makes it worse is . . . ; (4) How do your teachers and the school staff react to you when you are having a bad moment at school? and (5) If you were princi- pal for a day, what advice would you give to teachers to work with students like yourself ?

Three focus groups each were held in Septem- ber 2013 and June 2014. Each group consisted of six to eight students and lasted for approximately one hour. Students were randomly selected to par- ticipate in focus groups and were informed that participation was strictly voluntary. All selected participants agreed to and participated in the focus groups. Two participants who preferred not to verbalize their comments during the focus groups were provided blank sheets of paper and were asked to share their responses in writing. These written comments were collected and added to the end of the focus group transcript before analysis was con- ducted. Focus groups were audio-recorded and tran- scribed verbatim.

Data Analysis Transcripts were analyzed for themes using a criti- cal hermeneutics process (a line-by-line coding of the experiential claims, perspectives, and under- standings of each participant) (Kinsella, 2006). Three researchers coded the transcripts indepen- dently; these researchers then came together as a group using constant comparison methods to explore commonalities, differences, and main ideas

derived from the experiential material (Dye, Schatz, Rosenberg, & Coleman, 2000). Final themes and subthemes were derived through group dialogue, which developed a more interpretive account of the data. Focus group transcripts were uploaded into NVivo (version 10) (QSR International, 2010), and reports were run to assess prevalence rates by theme across all transcripts.

FINDINGS Seven major themes and subthemes, along with their prevalence rates, are all displayed in Table 2.

Theme 1: ClassroomDynamics Students identified several classroom dynamics that impeded learning progress: boredom, non- challenging assignments, constant classroom dis- ruptions, and teachers’ inability to respond timely to questions about the curriculum, as reflected in the following quotes:

I think school is too easy, like, there is no chal- lenge. I think that is why you get bored so quick, ’cause in real school you have challenges, this school they just give you kindergarten work.

*** Deal with they [student] attitudes even if you feel like they being wild and obnoxious… you have 10 or 15 other students in the class that have attitudes and you hear them say, oh my gosh, can you go head on with the, uh, lesson ’cause they feel like they really tryin’ to learn work.

*** I had a test to do, and I was, like, I need help on this, kept asking them. Five minutes go by and I asked her and she assumes I’m being sar- castic about the help. But I asked her for help, then when the test came around and I’m like, I don’t know this stuff, she want to get mad at me ’cause. . . I asked you five days ago to help me, now you sitting here cutting me up.

Theme 2: Family Issues External to the School Environment Affect Learning Students described how personal family issues affected classroom learning. Specifically, students described their family environments prior to place- ment in residential treatment.

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Table 2: Major Themes of the Study Findings

Theme

Total Student References

(n)

Focus Group’s Theme Appeared

(n)

Unduplicated Students Refs

(n)

1. Classroom dynamics Boredom: “I hate being bored. I get real irritated and I’ll just go off on a teacher, I probably get sent back to the building.”

33 3 14

Classroom disruptions: “Everybody tryna do they work . . . ; it’s people talking, and then the teachers gotta stop and they lose focus on what’s going on.”

38 4 24

Lack of challenging work: “In real school you have challenges; this school . . . , kindergarten work.”

19 3 9

Slow response rates on teacher feedback and assistance with classwork: “I was, like, I need help on this, kept asking them. Five minutes go by and I asked her, and she gonna say I’m being sarcastic about the help.”

56 6 28

Total 146 75 2. Family issues external to school 27 6 24

“You dealin’ with so much that’s goin’ on at home. Your family don’t think about you when you be here. They (teachers) don’t think about how it’s goin’ to affect you.”

Total 27 24 3. Interpersonal behaviors and challenges

Avoidance: “I just ignore ’em. I leave it alone because it’s not worth it.”

29 6 23

Peer conflict: “If you hit me then I’m gonna hit back, but it’s gonna be ten times harder ’cause when I get mad, I just blank out, I just see red and black.”

50 6 31

Problem-solving skills: “I be trying to problem solve like, I think before I act now, you know, rather than just hit before I think.”

32 5 23

Thinking about positive things, future: “So I think to myself, you’re about home soon, you about to see your dad again, see your mom again, you have to do a lot of stuff—you about to let that ruin everything?”

24 3 17

Verbal reactions: “I get real angry and I say bad things, but I wouldn’t wanna fight. ’Cause I’mnot a fighter, but I just talk stuff.”

50 4 28

Total 185 122 4. Recommendations to improve school climate

Extracurriculars: “I think y’all should come up with more activities, like sports after school.”

21 2 15

Food: “We got processed food. This food don’t ever get cooked; it’s just warmed up.”

52 5 18

Living arrangements: “They’re grown but they still don’t clean up after they self. It be vicious everywhere, the floor, in the kitchen. It’s just nasty.”

19 3 12

Monarch Room: “I think we should have more peer counseling. Say for instance, I’m in theMonarch Room and I ask, can they call one of my peers outta class so I can talk to this person because I can’t talk to the staff about what I really wanna talk about.”

54 5 26

Total 146 71 5. Peers

Creating drama: “It’s so much drama, like all you hear all day is gossiping.”

73 5 18

Disrespectful actions: “People put themselves in the category of a young lady, but that’s not what young ladies do—act catty all the time, cuss all the time.”

105 6 35

(Continued)

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Every day the things besides just school affects them every day, and that can also have a drastic change ’cause it can take over their mind, and when they are actually in the classroom and they are exacted to do one thing, they’ve got a million other things running through their mind and it’s hard for them, it is.

*** For one, my momma call me bitches and hoes all day every day at home; I get that enough from my momma, so to come in here and get locked up with a bunch of females I don’t know calling out my name and I don’t even respect my sister; well, I respect them, I don’t get along with them.

Theme 3: Interpersonal Behaviors and Challenges Six interpersonal dynamics impeded or facilitated class- room learning: peer conflict, perceived mistreatment,

avoidance, desire for problem-solving skills, positive relationships, and understanding the benefits of educa- tional attainment. Interpersonal factors that impeded classroom learning were conflicts with peers and per- ceived mistreatment by residential facility staff and school faculty. Avoidance both inhibited and pro- moted positive classroom learning. These behaviors included avoiding physical and verbal altercations when these situations presented themselves, as well as choosing to avoid friendships and connections with teachers and residential treatment staff. Interpersonal strategies that fostered a positive learning environment were the desire to learn problem-solving skills, develop relationships with “positive” people, and understand connections between educational attainment and employment opportunities.

You come in an environment or on a campus with lots of kids that have problems or issues that they can’t solve, and they need someone

Table 2: Major Themes of the Study Findings (Continued)

Theme

Total Student References

(n)

Focus Group’s Theme Appeared

(n)

Unduplicated Students Refs

(n)

Positive influences: “I hang around mostly leaders in this school, positive people, and that just helps me.”

17 4 18

Total 195 71 6. Residential treatment staff

Helping behaviors: “They give you good advice and make you feel up when you down.”

35 6 27

Lack of training, unprofessional behavior: “Half of these staffs be sitting here talking about other students; students be going back and tell students what the staff said.”

104 6 27

Overly restrictive behaviors: “When you actually sit there and see that a kid don’t do nothing but obey and just be consistent in doing what they have to do to out they treatment, they still being locked up. They don’t have leeway; they can’t go out to the mall with open placements.”

93 6 29

Total 232 83 7. Teachers

Intrusive communication: “They don’t care if you havin’ a bad day, they just wanna keep askin’ you what’s wrong—I don’t wanna talk about it.”

73 6 28

Negative behaviors: “The teacher don’t be even trying to be teaching; they just be letting the kids do whatever they wanna do.”

82 6 33

Positive behaviors: “She always support me, like when she would see that I’m down, she come see me if I didn’t even ask her. Like, she helped me if I needed any question or any extra help in our classes.”

42 5 25

Supportive communication: “Every time she see me cry she give me a hug and ask me do I need to go somewhere to talk about it.”

26 6 24

Total 223 110

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to talk to. It be kinda frustrating for a minute and then it’s like, people blow it out of propor- tion to keep nagging or keep you frustrated over the same thing.

*** What helps me is probably being around positive people, ’cause I try to hang around positive people ’cause I’ve had so many negative things in my life that I don’t need any more negativity.

Theme 4: Recommendations for Improving School Climate Students offered the following suggestions for improving school climate and culture: access to extracurricular activities, provision of elective courses, tutoring opportunities, and access to high school traditions (for example, yearbooks, dances, field trips). Students also discussed how food can affect their ability to learn. They were provided with three meals a day; however, students stated that they needed access to additional meals. Stu- dents said they would have a more positive attitude if they felt full.

[I think y’all should] come up with more activ- ities, like sports after school . . . yeah, volley- ball, basketball, I like volleyball . . . track.

*** I feel like they should have, like, parenting classes or something, like, that will help them get out of here when they leave here and they can be a better parent for their child or just know what to do, instead of be like, “Oh, when I go home I’m gonna see my baby, then I’m gonna leave for a couples of hours and go get high.”

*** They say we might not be able to get yearbooks because some of the people that’s graduating are from residential, and I feel that’s not fair.

*** You know you be cranky if you don’t eat; I gotta eat at least six times a day.

Theme 5: Peer Dynamics Students described how classmates instigated “unnec- essary drama,” such as engaging in physical and verbal altercations and gossip. Classmates were described as being disrespectful to one another and residential and

school staff. Still, students expressed wanting friend- ships and positive interactions with their peers.

It’s so much drama, like [name of residential unit] all you hear is gossiping, ’cause that’s all girls, who they don’t like, you can’t like a per- son when they first got there; you don’t even know me. That’s how I feel.

*** I was close to going home and I was telling people, yeah, I’m going home, and I was tell- ing people this and then they start bringing you down with them so you can stay here longer.

Theme 6: Dynamics Involving RT Care Staff Students described how RT staff implemented overly restrictive rules and regulations and dis- played unprofessional behaviors. On the other hand, they also described how RT staff helped in the treatment process, and perceived them as posi- tive role models. In addition, students provided recommendations for training of residential staff to improve student–staff relationships.

What makes me more mad is when I’m in a sit- uation and then every staff worker from [name of residential unit] just come out, then they say step out the classroom . . . they have you repeat the same story over and over again.

*** Give them, give the kids respect; we all going through something.

Theme 7: Dynamics with School Faculty and Other School Staff Last, students discussed interactions with faculty and other school employees. Specifically, they dis- cussed how teachers remove misbehaving students from classrooms and how students and other school personnel sometimes disregard their opinions. Stu- dents also expressed concerns about how teacher turnover might affect learning. They also discussed how some teachers were supportive of student interests.

Before he left, he [math teacher] was teaching us a different thing in math, but then when another teacher came in; she teaches it in a totally differ- ent way than he did. So it got some of the kids

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