Working with trauma-affected young people in secondary schools: exploring ‘self-care’ with pre-service physical education teachers

Working with trauma-affected youth in physical education (PE) can be a challenging and, at times, stressful and emotionally demanding process. Whilst little is known about how student trauma affects in-service teachers, even less is known about how it might impact pre-service PE teachers. The aims of this paper are therefore to (1) explore pre-service PE teachers’ experiences of working with students affected by trauma, and (2) consider the potential implications of this for their well-being. Through an online professional learning programme, we worked with three distinct groups of pre-service PE teachers (n = 22). The workshops generated data through individual activities and group tasks that allowed participants to reflect on their experiences. Findings revealed that pre-service teachers had several encounters during their school-based placements with young people who may have experienced trauma. These experiences were felt by the pre-service PE teachers – both emotionally and physically. Pre-service PE teachers were encouraged to develop self-care strategies; however, our participants indicated that this was not always easy to do. That said, pre-service PE teachers were able to describe some of the strategies they engaged with to take care of themselves and safeguard their own well-being. Many of these strategies were relational and involved spending time with others – such as school colleagues (teachers and/or mentors) – who were available to offer both practical and emotional guidance and support. Thus, our findings reinforce the importance of pre-service teachers learning about self-care and emotional regulation as part of initial teacher education courses.