Educators during the pandemic may experience secondary traumatic stress, compassion fatigue, and community trauma alongside their own individual trauma¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · theoretical r1–r2 · q1
Currency · newest study 2020 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person · overdue for a recheck since 2025: baselines and conditions change

Subclaims¶

q1 i? Educators may experience secondary traumatic stress from knowing about trauma experienced by students, and compassion fatigue from wanting to help traumatized students. → Browning 2020 q1 i? Everyone in a school, adults included, may be affected by community trauma such as grief and collective hardship from economic and social instability during the COVID-19 pandemic. → Browning 2020 (2)

Evidence¶

Browning 2020¶

Browning, A., & Romer, N. (2020). To create safe and healthy schools during a pandemic, prioritize educator wellbeing. WestEd. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED610071

q1 · i? · theoretical · r2

The brief states, citing endnote 3 (Hydon et al., 2015), that educators may experience "secondary traumatic stress" and "compassion fatigue" related to student trauma. This is an attributed conceptual assertion; no data are reported in the brief.

"educators may experience secondary traumatic stress associated with knowing about trauma experienced by students, as well as compassion fatigue that can result from wanting to help traumatized students"

Browning 2020 (2)¶

Browning, A., & Romer, N. (2020). To create safe and healthy schools during a pandemic, prioritize educator wellbeing. WestEd. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED610071

q1 · i? · theoretical · r1

The brief asserts that community trauma, including "grief and collective hardship" from pandemic-related instability, affects all members of a school including adults. No empirical data are presented for this statement in the brief.

"everyone in a school (adults included) may be affected by community trauma such as the grief and collective hardship resulting from additional economic and social instability as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic"

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Among 171 educators interviewed, more than one-third met the threshold for a diagnosis of depression or anxiety and one in five exhibited significant PTSD symptoms — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Many students and staff will return to school with trauma that can adversely affect teaching and learning — related
• Mindfulness and stress management skills may produce positive effects on educator sleep, self-regulation, self-compassion, and job satisfaction — related
• Educator social-emotional competency and wellbeing contribute to warm student-teacher relationships and to trusted adults who model stress management for students — related
• Participants described significant psychosocial stress related to uncorrected poor vision, with different etiologies for parents, teachers, and students — related
• Positive school-based relationships support secondary students' learning and well-being, especially for youth experiencing poverty, trauma, and discrimination — related
• Trauma exposure is widespread among school students and is associated with adverse cognitive, academic, behavioral, and socioemotional outcomes — related
• Narratives of love and happiness for academic work intertwine with normalization of exploitation, producing a \"passion trap\" of pain and fatigue amid unstable contracts — related