Logo image
Relational ways of being an educator: trauma-informed practice supporting disenfranchised young people
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Relational ways of being an educator: trauma-informed practice supporting disenfranchised young people

Ann Morgan, Donna Pendergast, Raymond Brown and Deborah Heck
International Journal of Inclusive Education, Vol.19(10), pp.1037-1051
2015
url
https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2015.1035344View
Published Version

Abstract

disenfranchised young people relational pedagogy trauma-informed practice educator identity
Despite complex reasons for disengagement and exclusion from conventional schooling, all children have a right to education that is of a high quality. Disenfranchised young people require alternatives for re-engaging in education. This necessitates a rethinking of what it means to be an educator in alternative education settings and how to relate to young people who have experienced exclusion and failure in conventional school settings. Relational ways of being an educator are vital to support the creation of lifelong learners, not merely school completers. Flexible learning programmes offer a model of re-engagement in which relational ways of being an educator are prioritised. This article explores key aspects of trauma-informed practice and relational pedagogy in a network of flexi schools in Australia. Relational pedagogy can redress the impact of trauma and social exclusion experienced by young people. In flexi schools educator identities are challenged and changed by a willingness to explore and understand the impact of trauma on young people's development and capacity to learn. A commitment to trauma-informed practice and relational pedagogy requires educator identities to be co-constructed and negotiated in relationship with young people and colleagues. These shifts in educators' sense of identity in the flexi schools context are explored.

Details

Metrics

18 File views/ downloads
1360 Record Views

InCites Highlights

These are selected metrics from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool, related to this output

Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
Web Of Science research areas
Education & Educational Research

UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This output has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#3 Good Health and Well-Being
#5 Gender Equality

Source: InCites

Logo image