Hearing primary school teachers experiences of supporting children affected by developmental trauma

: an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis

Abstract

This thesis explores primary school teachers’ experiences of supporting children affected by developmental trauma. The study begins by examining the relevant literature concerning developmental trauma as a phenomenon, as well as the impact of children’s experiences upon teachers’ emotional wellbeing and sense of confidence within their professional role. The literature review provides a rationale for further qualitative research within a UK context. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used to analyse semi-structured interviews with six participating teachers, which led to personal experiential themes from each participant and five group experiential themes across the dataset. Group experiential themes included: an emotional experience (“it can feel overwhelming”), managing the emotional toll (“I try and switch off as much as possible”), the teacher role (“all the different hats you’ve worn that day), relationships – validation, support and reflection (“having people to chat to is really helpful”) and questioning inclusion (“a system at breaking point”).
Findings were discussed in consideration of the interaction between existing literature, psychological theory, national context, and legislation. The findings of this research emphasise the emotional impact of working with children affected by developmental trauma and participants views on what support they found helpful, including feeling validated, reassured and supported in their professional duties. Implications for Educational Psychologists and schools are discussed as well as recommendations for future research.

Date of Award	10 Dec 2024
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Bristol
Supervisor	Jak L Lee (Supervisor) & Rob Green (Supervisor)