Competence of teachers towards managing trauma among children with disabilities in Ghana

Abstract

Background: Although trauma is one of the leading causes of behaviour problems among children with disabilities, there has been limited scholarly interest in trauma management within the discourse of implementation of inclusive education.

Objectives: The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) trauma management model was used to study teachers’ awareness of trauma management among students with disabilities studying in regular classrooms.

Method: A total of 271 teachers were recruited from two municipalities in the central region of Ghana to complete the Teacher Trauma Management Scale developed for this study. The data were analysed using confirmatory factor analysis, mean scores, multivariate analysis of variances, and linear regression.

Results: The results showed teachers’ uncertainty towards trauma management, and a positive correlation was also found between the tenets of the study framework.

Conclusion: The study concluded with a recommendation for contextual development of the curriculum to guide teacher training in trauma management.

Contribution: Studies on trauma management within the discourse of implementation of inclusive education are scarce. This study extends the literature on inclusive education to teacher development to support trauma management among students with disabilities in regular schools.