Supporting Children Experiencing Early Trauma: A Comparative Study of Teachers' Awareness, Preparedness, and Classroom Practices in Public and Private Schools of Lahore, Pakistan

Abstract

Early trauma, including adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), negatively affects children's cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and academic development, creating challenges for effective classroom learning. Although trauma-informed education has gained increasing attention internationally, limited empirical evidence exists regarding teachers' awareness, preparedness, and classroom practices for supporting traumatized children in Pakistan, particularly across public and private school settings. Addressing this gap, the present study examined teachers' awareness, preparedness, and trauma-informed classroom practices and compared these dimensions between public and private schools in Lahore. A quantitative cross-sectional survey design was adopted because it enabled the systematic measurement and comparison of teachers' perceptions and practices across educational sectors and facilitated statistical examination of relationships among the study variables. Data were collected from 100 teachers working in 12 private and 7 public schools using a 19-item structured questionnaire with satisfactory internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.80–0.89). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent-samples t-tests, Pearson correlation, and multiple regression in SPSS. The findings indicated high levels of teachers' awareness (M = 3.65, SD = 0.69) and classroom practices (M = 3.58, SD = 0.66), moderate preparedness (M = 3.45, SD = 0.73), and positive perceptions of student outcomes (M = 3.70, SD = 0.62). Private school teachers reported significantly higher awareness (p = .036), preparedness (p = .005), and trauma-informed classroom practices (p = .018) than public school teachers. All variables were positively correlated, with preparedness showing the strongest association with classroom practices (r = .69, p < .01). Multiple regression explained 42% of the variance in perceived student outcomes (R² = .42, p < .001), with preparedness emerging as the strongest predictor, followed by classroom practices and awareness. The study highlights the need for systematic trauma-informed teacher training, institutional support, and educational policies that strengthen teachers' capacity to support children affected by early trauma and improve student well-being and learning outcomes.