Hearing about students’ trauma takes a serious toll on teachers, a new UNC study finds

Ask a teacher about the hardest part of their job, and you might expect them to cite long hours or low pay.  But there’s another, less visible challenge that educators face: exposure to student trauma. Students may confide in a teacher about not having enough to eat at home, or an abusive family member.  And exposure to those problems takes a serious toll on teachers.  According to a new study out of the University of Northern Colorado, about 9 in 10 teachers and other classroom educators deal with what’s called secondary traumatic stress from helping students with their problems, or simply hearing about them.  And of those teachers, 42 percent had secondary traumatic stress that was considered severe.  Breanna King, a graduate student in UNC’s School Psychology program, designed and led the study. She spoke with Erin O’Toole about how high levels of secondary traumatic stress may contribute to teachers leaving the field – and she shared ideas about how to help teachers cope. * * * * *Sign up for the In The NoCo newsletter: Visit KUNC.org Questions? Feedback? Story ideas? Email us: [email protected] Like what you're hearing? Help more people discover In The NoCo by rating the show on your favorite podcast app. Thanks!  Host and Producer: Erin O'Toole Producer: Ariel Lavery Executive Producer: Brad Turner  Theme music by Robbie Reverb Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions In The NoCo is a production of KUNC News and Community Radio for Northern Colorado.