Covering traumatic story assignments is often central to a journalist's job. Violent crimes, natural disasters, and tragic personal struggles--these are newsworthy events. Studies have associated trauma coverage with higher rates of posttraumatic stress disorder, burnout, and other traumatic stress symptoms in reporters. This study uses a survey…

Literature has been an imitator of life for generations on this earth, this literature has voiced the voiceless. Recent contemporary and postmodern literary theories have catered to burgeoning notions of logic that go beyond human survival on the planet. Science fiction is a genre of fiction that encompasses imaginative concepts like futuristic…

In the spring of 2020, the emerging COVID-19 pandemic prompted states across the country to mandate that most early childhood education programs close, leaving families with young children scrambling to adapt to full-time caregiving and leaving educators uncertain of their economic and professional future. For many communities, this hardship was…

Social disruption caused by natural disasters often interrupts educational opportunities for children. However, little is known about children's learning in the following years. This study examined change in academic scores for children variably exposed to a major bushfire in Australia. Comparisons were made between children attending high,…

Addressing mental and behavioral health effects of disaster media coverage is an important part of a disaster public health response, and school staff may be particularly well suited to help children and youth cope with disaster media. We conducted qualitative interviews (N = 42) to explore US school staff (e.g., teachers, mental health staff,…

The ways in which youth cope with the following traumatic experiences have a critical impact on resilience and recovery, yet few measures adequately assess adolescent coping behaviors while exhibiting sound psychometric properties. The current study uses exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) to analyze data from the Kidcope, an…

According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA's) research on historical flood risk, 98 percent of U.S. counties have been impacted by a flooding event. Not only do flood events occur in and impact all regions of the United States, but they are also costly. Therefore, it is in the interest of communities for education…

According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA's) research on historical flood risk, 98 percent of U.S. counties have been impacted by a flooding event. Not only do flood events occur in and impact all regions of the United States, but they are also costly. Therefore, it is in the interest of communities for institutions of higher…

"Before the Aftermath: A Pedagogy for Disaster Responsiveness" examines how teachers of writing at the college level can respond to social, natural, or political disasters that interrupt their classes. As disaster becomes an increasingly prominent feature of contemporary life, teachers are encountering it in their work, and being forced…

This study reports on the emotional exhaustion and burnout of five teachers who acted as first responders when a large earthquake struck their city during school hours. Eighteen months after the earthquake, these teachers recounted, then discussed their earthquake experiences. Teachers used a mood meter (Brackett and Kremenitzer, Creating…

The present study is a pilot study to examine the initial effectiveness of the Support for Students Exposed to Trauma (SSET) program (Jaycox et al. in Support for Students Exposed to Trauma: the SSET program. Lesson plans, worksheets, and materials. TR-675, RAND, Santa Monica, CA, 2009) in reducing PTSD symptoms and building resilience and social…

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread across the U.S. and around the world, school systems everywhere are in crisis management mode, hoping to reopen safely while simultaneously making valiant efforts at continuity of instruction via remote technologies and, where possible, "hybrid" models that blend in-person and virtual…

The multifaceted influences of coloniality in higher education continue to be explored to reshape and transform spaces that can either reproduce structures of coloniality or bring about decoloniality. The University of Puerto Rico, the central higher learning institution of the archipelago, continues to undergo changes that are influenced by its…

The long-term nature of mental health needs after disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina, continues to require attention. Research that emerged during the anniversaries of the storm has shown Katrina and its aftermath to be associated with posttraumatic stress, depression, anxiety, disruptive behavior, and somatic complaints in children and…

Beginning from an assumption that effective and equitable family and community engagement is an unrealized promise for many charter schools, this multi-case study explores the work of two charter schools in New Orleans. Nineteen educators, parents, and board members between two schools were interviewed to answer the question: Why do individuals…