Student Trauma in the Classroom

Trauma-related disruptive student behavior has risen sharply. With the increase in the number of students experiencing traumatic events, and the number of U.S. veterans entering college, disruptive behavior may worsen. The purpose of the present study was to explore faculty experiences with student traumatic behavior, as well as their training to deal with such behavior. Introduction The impetus for this study began with a conversation among faculty from various departments about recent incidents of disruptive student behavior in the classroom. All faculty had received rude emails, several faculty had students say things to them such as, "I am not going to stand for the grade you gave me on this paper." Several faculty had been approached in their capacity as 'advisor,' but found that what the student in question really needed was a qualified counselor to help them deal with serious mental health concerns. One faculty member was even in fear for her safety walking to and from class. Furthermore, none of the faculty felt prepared to handle these instances and all felt like they were 'floundering' a bit trying to figure out the best way to handle these student issues. As a result, it became clear that a research study on faculty experiences with disruptive student behavior and their preparation for dealing with such issues was needed. The research discussed here presents the initial findings of that study (Klein, Pritchard, Elison-Bowers, Book, Birdsall, & McMullen, 2008). Disruptive student behavior (ranging from talking in class to insubordination and intimidation) has risen sharply in college classrooms in recent years (Am ada, 1986; 1992), with some estimating that incidents have doubled or tripled in both frequency and severity in past decade (Schneider, 1998). Facing a severe student disruption in class can be a faculty member's worst nightmare. Although most college faculty members are well-versed in their own disciplines, they typically do not receive classroom management training skills in graduate school (Anderson, 1999; Seidman, 2005). Thus, confrontations with disruptive students inside or outside of the classroom can be very upsetting for faculty because they have not been trained to cope with such instances, and may not even be aware of the ethical, legal, or even university policies and procedures for dealing with disruptive or confrontational students (Hernandez & Fister, 2001; Lamb, 1992). In addition, such disruptions can easily hinder the relationships between faculty and other students in the class. In fact, when college students were asked to list things that inhibited their learning while in college, the number one answer was disruptive behavior of fellow students in class (Seidman, 2005). Disruptive student behavior in the classroom has even been linked to problems with student retention (Seidman, 2005). Thus, disruptive student behavior seems to impact students as much as, if not more than, college instructors (Amada, 1986; Seidman, 2005).