Teachers’ perceptions of agency to enact school-based curriculum with students affected by complex trauma – an Australian study

Mallihai Tambyah; Tracey Sempowicz

doi:10.1080/13603116.2025.2571711

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Teachers’ perceptions of agency to enact school-based curriculum with students affected by complex trauma – an Australian study

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Teachers’ perceptions of agency to enact school-based curriculum with students affected by complex trauma – an Australian study

Mallihai Tambyah and Tracey Sempowicz

International Journal of Inclusive Education , Vol.Advanced access

2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2025.2571711

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Abstract

teacher agency

complex trauma

curriculum

trauma-informed practice

inclusive education

The wellbeing of students affected by complex trauma is a priority for inclusive education, yet little is known about the impact of the curriculum on student outcomes. Concern for trauma-affected students shifts the focus from delivering the curriculum to teachers’ agency to enact it. In this study, we examine teacher agency to deliver the Australian Curriculum to students from traumatic backgrounds. Fifty-five primary and secondary teachers from three Queensland schools participated in an exploratory multimethod study of teacher agency in teaching English, History, Science, and Health and Physical Education. Data from a questionnaire and follow-up interviews revealed affordances and constraints on teachers’ perceptions of agency related to knowledge of students, trauma pedagogy, approach to enacting the curriculum and school support. The ways in which teachers respond to the structural, material, and cultural contexts in the everyday work of enacting the curriculum are critical to supporting trauma-affected students. The study raises questions about teacher agency and a deeper consideration of curriculum in localised contexts.

Details

Title: Teachers’ perceptions of agency to enact school-based curriculum with students affected by complex trauma – an Australian study
Authors: Mallihai Tambyah (Corresponding Author) - Queensland University of Technology
Tracey Sempowicz - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Education and Tertiary Access
Publication details: International Journal of Inclusive Education , Vol.Advanced access
Publisher: Routledge
DOI: 10.1080/13603116.2025.2571711
ISSN: 1464-5173; 1360-3116
Copyright note: © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.
Grant note: This work was supported by Faculty of Education, Queensland University of Technology.
Organisation Unit: School of Education and Tertiary Access
Language: English
Record Identifier: 991183445602621
Output Type: Journal article

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