The Impact of the Psychological Trauma in School Adjustment and with Same Age Peers in Middle Childhood

Abstract

Traumatic and disastrous events are part of our everyday life. Every day, the media is full of cases of natural catastrophes, violence, murders and accidents. Unfortunately, the children are not saved from these events. Experiencing trauma has a deep impact on emotional, social, cognitive and behavioral life of children. School is the first environment after the family where the impact of the trauma can be seen and the manifestation of traumatic events experienced. The purpose of the study is to explore the impact of the psychological trauma in school adjustment and with same age peers and the way of supporting and helping these children at school. Questions that guide this study are: “How are the relationships of the children who experience trauma in middle childhood, with their peers and teachers? How do they adapt in the learning process? Does the collaboration with parents and school impact higher performance? How are these children treated and helped at school?” Data collection was analyzed through a case study, and the protagonist is a 7-year-old girl who has experienced trauma when her mother died. The other instruments used were semi-structured interviews with teachers and documentation analysis. The data collected through interviews and documentation study are examined through content analysis. Results show that the most common way of experiencing the trauma at this age is the solitude, the silence and the aggression. Also the results show that good cooperation with parents of children positively impacts student success and better adjustment of these children with peers. From the study it also emerged that although there is an Individual Education and Development Plan, it is not utilized, due to lack of appropriate conditions and framework.

DOI: 10.5901/ajis.2015.v4n2s2p35