Psychology
Document Type
Article
Abstract
Student voice has been largely absent in the trauma-informed schools movement. Student perspectives on trauma-informed approaches are particularly critical for students who identify as Black and Hispanic. Black and Hispanic students consistently report more negative school experiences than their white peers, including negative school climate and lower levels of school equity and personal belonging. This article describes a youth participatory action research (YPAR) program with 18 Black and Hispanic middle school students. We describe how YPAR was integrated with trauma-informed principles to engage student voice. We outline student-led research projects and results related to core features of trauma-informed schools. Finally, we describe how students used their findings to advocate for change within their schools. We conclude that YPAR presents a promising avenue through which school leaders and their partners can directly and meaningfully involve young people in the creation of trauma-informed schools. © 2025, Appalachian State University, Center for Appalachian Studies. All rights reserved.
Publication Title
Journal of Trauma Studies in Education
Publication Date
2025
Volume
4
Issue
3
First Page
180
Last Page
195
ISSN
2832-1723
DOI
10.70085/jtse.v4i3.340
Keywords
middle school, trauma-informed schools, Youth Participatory Action Research
Repository Citation
Chanin, Jesse; Overstreet, Stacy; Swift, Allisyn; and Francois, Samantha, "“I Didn’t Think Many Teachers Cared:” Using Youth Participatory Action Research with Middle Schoolers to Advance Trauma-Informed Practice in Schools" (2025). Psychology. 987.
https://commons.clarku.edu/faculty_psychology/987
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Copyright Conditions
Chanin, J., Overstreet, S., Swift, A., & Francois, S. (2026). “I Didn’t Think Many Teachers Cared” : Using Youth Participatory Action Research with Middle Schoolers to Advance Trauma-Informed Practices in Schools. Journal of Trauma Studies in Education, 4(3), 180–195. https://doi.org/10.70085/jtse.v4i3.340
