Start Here. My Why.

PhD Journey Blog: Introducing my research inquiry and presenting my abstract on Teaching and Learning Trauma-Related Content

Hello friends, thank you for being here and reading,

Here I am engaging in reflexivity to tracking the third year of my PhD through reflective journalling, storytelling of authentic personal experiences, thoughts and interactions within the social world, grounded in human experience and wholehearted love.

These reflective essays are for you if…

• you are a deep thinker and knowledge holder

• you are overthinking every decision, every feeling, every word

• you are curious about the social world and how it influences your life

• you are on a mission to understand yourself and reflect on your life

• you believe in social justice for all

• above all else, you love to have fun and a little pop culture.

I see you. I hear you. I want to write with you and for you. I am on a mission to find my inner writer’s voice that belongs to me.

PhD Journey

The day I started my PhD I had dreamt of flying away to somewhere amazing to present my research study and reward myself with a little holiday. Never in my wildest dreams I thought I would be travelling to Singapore. The advice was stay in Australia.

I quietly wanted an overseas trip! This was my reward. I achieved it. Yay!

I am preparing to have a little fun and explore the beautiful city with a fellow PhD, go out for dinners and book in some tours.

The first two years, however, were a rollercoaster of a ride, holding down a senior social work role I didn’t want to let go of, family responsibilities, writing a research proposal, designing the study, ethics applications, and recruitment of participants. Which included long days, but my weekends were free. Lots of lessons learned during this period for me to reflect on privately. The process redesigned my research and my thinking itself, forcing me to tolerate ambiguity, rethink assumptions, critically questions everything, and learn that progress is often invisible until suddenly, it makes sense. Fast forward to third year and I am still waiting for it, I am embracing ambiguity.

Here I present my abstract for my PhD research study that will has been accepted into the HERDSA Singapore Conference.

My Why

As a Czechoslovakian refugee I settled in Australia with my family in 1986. During my earlier years and throughout my adulthood within the Australian education I faced several obstacles as a Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD). These obstacles were mainly environmental, cultural, language, social and psychological.

As a learner with intergeneration trauma experiences of war and migration to Australia I have encountered various systems of knowledge and meaning of new cultural norms, different historical narratives and experiences of marginalisation as a culturally and linguistically diverse student belonging to a minority group. Loss of language and connection over familiar language phrases, greetings, movies and music was incredibly difficult and isolating. My knowledge of the world has been influenced by how knowledge is formed and accepted through lived experiences within the three generations of my family. My beliefs are constructed through intergenerational storytelling where families’ experiences of war and trauma constructed from individuals’ perspective and view of the world. These were reinforced through cultural practices. My experiences as a refugee influenced my understanding of social context in Australia and during displacement and resettlement which are reflections of the experiences of living within the Soviet regime, migration policies and education systems.

The Motivator

As an educator I experienced a critical incident in the classroom where a student had a sudden dissociative response to a case discussion related to a child abuse, we discuss these in detail. I was concerned for her wellbeing during learning; our discussions aim to be sensitive, however explicit exploring of details are important, this is necessary during the training to prepare students for the field. She disclosed to me that it reminded her of her childhood experiences, she reassured me she was okay. In that moment, as a learner I recalled how I felt when case studies related to experiences of refugees, displacement and intergenerational trauma were discussed. I remember feeling like this as a learner, re-experiencing my world in the classroom, but I was too ashamed to let the educator know, I hid it, some might say I became an expert at masking. As a social worker with a social justice lens, I wanted to understand how students can be supported in their learning journey. As an educator I wanted to understand what methods of learning trauma-related content would achieve success and wellbeing for the student.

This experienced has led me to design a research study, with a whole academic-researcher and institutional industry tribe to support during my investigations. For this I am grateful.

The Abstract

Title: Investigating social work students’ and educators’ experiences and perspectives of how trauma impacts learning and teaching trauma-related content.

Background: Social Work education has captivated students from equity backgrounds for over 40 years some of whom have experienced some form of trauma in their lifetime, Research highlights concerns for Social Work students’ wellbeing during learning of trauma-related content which claims to impact their wellbeing and success. This study investigates (a) how students’ affective, cognitive, and psychomotor learning domains are affected during learning trauma-related content (b) how students prepare to learn and (c) what teaching and learning methods achieve student wellbeing and success.

Description: The study co-constructs a theory of teaching and learning using Constructivist Grounded Theory methodology to build on Trauma-Informed Pedagogy in the Higher education sector. Trauma and Resilience Informed Research Principles guided researcher’s preparation, interview processes, distress protocol and self-care strategies used in the research process.

Method: Qualitative interviews with students (n=22), educators (n=10) and teaching and learning artefacts from the Bachelor of Social Work programs across two Australian Universities. Data analysis occurred in continuous comparison method of collection, coding, memo-writing, and sorting until theoretical saturation is achieved.

Evidence: The study will report on the preliminary findings on the impact of trauma-related content on the three learning domains, students’ preparation, methods of teaching and learning.

Contribution: The study further develops the Trauma Informed Pedagogy within social work and equity groups in the higher education literature.

Engagement: Stories and reflective group discussion.

Sociologists’ positivist approach is defined by the English sociologist John Goldthorpe as;

Sociology is the study of human social behaviour. It represents an attempt to apply to the study of human society, the same scientific method and approach that has been so dramatically successful in yielding an understanding of the physical world (Aarons & Willis, 2023, p. 32).

Sociologist don’t disregard the spiritual or biological perspectives, instead sociologist widen those experiences and perspectives and examine broader society influences on individuals. Social workers practice in the field with individuals and groups which is wholistic and values biological, psychological, cultural, social and legal lenses. sociologist study individuals in social worlds and interpret these perspectives within social human behaviour and worldview lens, recognising multiples truths and perspectives.

Take Away

Five things I have learned about following my dream, a mission with a purpose, are;

• Making a difference in people’s lives is why I became a social worker; however, the field is like a systemic battlefield, this led to frustration and burnout, abandoning direct practice is an intentional choice;

• Research is inherently a form of political action to examine social structures and improve the outcomes for students and educators, because they deserve it;

• Widening my perspective beyond my lived experience of intergenerational trauma has been incredibly healing and along the way I have proved to myself what is possible;

• I found GRIT, it has been a game changer!

• With hard work comes rewards, my reward is a trip to Singapore.

Help me prepare for the conference and articulate my research, please ask me a question?

Continue reading…

PhD Journey #5: The recipe for successful thesis writing

PhD Journey #4: How I actively learn and explore research ideas in my data

PhD Journey #3: I quit my job

References

Agllias, K. (2012). Keeping safe: Teaching undergraduate social work students about interpersonal violence. Journal of Social Work Practice, 26(2), 259-274.

Anderson, R. K., Landy, B., & Sanchez, V. (2023). Trauma-Informed Pedagogy in Higher Education: Considerations for the Future of Research and Practice. Journal of Trauma Studies in Education, 2(2), 125-140.

Bishop, J., & Williams-Hecksel, C. (2023). Career Outcomes and Past Trauma Exposure of MSW Graduates of a Trauma Treatment Certificate Program. Journal of Teaching in Social Work, 43(1), 85-98.

Blaisdell, H. A. (2024). The Right Time for Process (ing): Trauma-Informed and Student-Informed Care Pedagogy in FYC at the Two-Year College (Doctoral dissertation, Middle Tennessee State University).

Butler, L. D., Carello, J., & Maguin, E. (2017). Trauma, stress, and self-care in clinical training: Predictors of burnout, decline in health status, secondary traumatic stress symptoms, and compassion satisfaction. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 9(4), 416.

Butler, L. D., Maguin, E., & Carello, J. (2018). Retraumatization mediates the effect of adverse childhood experiences on clinical training-related secondary traumatic stress symptoms. Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, 19(1), 25-38.

Carello, J. (2018). Retraumatization during MSW training: A trauma-informed narrative approach (Doctoral dissertation, State University of New York at Buffalo).

Cavener, J., & Lonbay, S. (2022). Enhancing ‘best practice’ in trauma-informed social work education: insights from a study exploring educator and student experiences. Social Work Education, 1-22.

Cunningham, M. (2004). Teaching social workers about trauma: Reducing the risks of vicarious traumatization in the classroom. Journal of social work education, 40(2), 305-317.

Gere, S. H. (1999). Integrating clinical, personal and academic knowledge: Faculty reflections on training student trauma survivors in social work and psychology. Simmons College School of Social Work.

Gilin, B., & Kauffman, S. (2015). Strategies for Teaching About Trauma to Graduate Social Work Students. Journal of Teaching in Social Work, 35(4), 378-396.

Gladden, J., Weller, B. E., Hernandez, A., & Hopkins, A. (2023). Teaching trauma content in higher education: A systematic literature review. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 24(5), 3384-3397.

Hanson, J. G., & McCullagh, J. G. (1995). Career choice factors for BSW students: 10 years perspective. Journal of Social Work Education, 31 (1), 28-37.

Shannon, P. J., Simmelink-McCleary, J., Im, H., Becher, E., & Crook-Lyon, R. E. (2014). Experiences of stress in a trauma treatment course. Journal of Social Work Education, 50(4), 678-693.

Strand, V. C., Abramovitz, R., Layne, C. M., Robinson, H., & Way, I. (2014). Meeting the critical need for trauma education in social work: A problem-based learning approach. Journal of Social Work Education, 50(1), 120-135.