Trauma-Informed Bal-A-Vis-X: An Evaluation Study

Abstract

This evaluation study of Trauma-Informed Bal-A-Vis-X (TIB) training in Norman Public Schools investigated whether TIB training affected teacher perceptions of student behavior, teacher self-efficacy, and teacher usage of trauma-informed strategies in the classroom. Participants (N=230) were asked to complete a set of three surveys related to teaching students of trauma. The participants were comprised of three groups based on their self-reported background experiences of previous trauma training: those who have had no prior trauma training, those who have had prior trauma training other than TIB training, and those who have had prior TIB training. The mean scores of the three groups were compared. Results showed that those who reported having attended TIB training indicated a greater sensitivity to possible trauma-based motives for student behavior, higher self-efficacy for working with students of trauma, and greater usage of trauma-informed strategies compared with those who had not attended TIB training. Since this study was limited to the context of educators in Norman Public Schools, additional research is needed to determine if these results can be applied to other contexts.