Beyond the Behavior: Teachers’ Trauma-Informed Attitudes Relate to Lower Expulsion Risk among Uninhibited Preschoolers

With large numbers of children expelled from preschool daily and childhood trauma and adversity a significant contributor to expulsion risk, trauma-informed school-based approaches may offer an opportunity to intervene to improve school outcomes for children impacted by trauma. Despite the proliferation of trauma-informed school-based approaches, such as training for teachers, there still exist significant gaps in understanding the mechanisms through which these approaches may influence child outcomes. The current study examines trauma-informed attitudes (e.g., buy-in and confidence in managing trauma in the classroom; Baker et al., 2016) as a potential moderator to the relationship between inhibitory control and expulsion risk among a sample of 22 teachers and 88 preschool students in the Mountain West. Findings demonstrate that more positive trauma-informed attitudes among teachers are related to significantly lower expulsion risk for students with low inhibitory control. Findings are discussed in the context of the intersection of trauma-informed approaches and expulsion prevention.