Trauma-Informed Education Skills: Enhancing Competence for Future Professionals

It is highly likely that future professionals, such as teachers or speech-language therapists, will need to work with children who have gone through traumatic experiences. That’s why Vilniaus kolegija/Higher Education Institution in Lithuania (Faculty of Pedagogy), in partnership with Liepaja University in Latvia and the University of Gdansk in Poland, has developed a Blended Intensive Programme “Trauma-Informed Education Skills” (TIES) for future Professionals.

This program aims to equip future teachers and speech-language therapists with the tools and strategies needed to support and promote social-emotional competence in younger children who have experienced trauma. Through the program, students will gain a better understanding of these children and be able to provide better education, as well as broaden their intercultural competence.

The program is divided into two parts: an online component from April to May 2023, and a contact week in Vilnius from May 15 to May 19, 2023. The online component includes lectures and film screenings, while the contact week includes group work, field visits, and cultural events.

Throughout the program, students from the three higher institutions will learn to be empathetic towards children and their families with traumatic experiences, and understand how a child’s traumatic experience can affect their brain development, learning capabilities, and behaviour. Young professionals will also reflect on the application of tools and strategies for working with trauma-exposed children in the educational context and apply their knowledge through a group project.

This program offers a unique opportunity to learn from experts in the field and gain hands-on experience in working with children who have experienced trauma. Selected students are highly motivated to enhance their competence and make a positive impact in the lives of young children by becoming trauma-informed future professionals.