Trauma-sensitive Physical education teacher education

Abstract

Trauma is an epidemic and a public health crisis affecting schools and institutions of higher education globally. Childhood trauma has detrimental impacts on the brain, learning, and socio-moral development into adulthood. Trauma is a mental health as well as an educational problem that poses a serious threat to the academic achievement of students. Public schools have made some progress to become more trauma-sensitive to help build resiliency in students impacted by trauma, but institutions of higher education are lagging in the area of trauma-sensitivity. Physical education teacher preparation programs need a paradigm shift to address trauma with the COVID-19 pandemic posing new challenges. Preparing preservice physical education teachers to be trauma-informed lays the foundation for future teachers to mitigate trauma in schools. Such an effort will align physical education teacher education with public schools in addressing trauma and closing the trauma-sensitivity loop.