Australian Journal of Teacher Education
Keywords
attitudes, burnout, perceived knowledge, trauma, teacher professional development
Abstract
Teachers are required to meet the needs of trauma-affected students. While training improves teachers’ knowledge of trauma-informed care, it is not systematically implemented, risking teacher burnout and student progress. This cross-sectional survey investigated teachers’ perceived knowledge and attitudes regarding teaching students affected by trauma and three aspects of burnout (personal, work-related, and student-related). Australian primary and secondary teachers (N = 542) were recruited via social media and snowball sampling. Mediation analyses showed significant indirect paths, whereby greater perceived knowledge was associated with more favourable attitudes, which in turn was associated with less work-related, student-related, and personal burnout. Younger teacher age was significantly associated with greater work-related and personal burnout, but not student-related burnout. While diverse samples and longitudinal designs would consolidate findings, the findings suggest that teachers would benefit from trauma-informed professional development at pre-service and in-service stages to build perceived knowledge, promote favourable attitudes, and prevent burnout.
Was this research funded?
No, research was not funded
Recommended Citation
Cicco, B., & Anderson, D. L. (2026). Teachers’ Greater Perceived Knowledge of Trauma Linked with More Favourable Attitudes and Less Burnout. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 51(3). https://doi.org/10.14221/1835-517X.7151