Anna C. J. Long

Teachers are the most important factor in eliciting positive student outcomes. However, teacher stress and attrition are an increasing problem. This problem is exacerbated in high-needs schools, which serve students who are exposed to higher levels of risk factors and trauma. Due to the unique challenges faced by their students, teachers in these schools experience heightened rates of secondary traumatic stress (STS). What is unclear is how STS operates as a unique job demand contributing to teacher attrition. The present study surveyed 104 teachers in rural North Louisiana to determine the following: (a) What general mental health symptoms and degree of STS are teachers in high-needs rural schools experiencing? (b) Does STS contribute to teacher intent to leave the field? Study findings show that many teachers experience trauma exposure through their work, with approximately a quarter of those surveyed reporting that they were likely to leave their school or the profession in the next year. Additionally, a logistic regression found that STS significantly contributes to teacher intent to leave the profession. Implications of these emergent findings are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

There is a continuous push from researchers, accrediting bodies, and national education and behavioral health centers to address the safety, well-being, and success of our diverse student population in U.S. schools. However, several states are introducing or passing bills that ban or restrict culturally responsive practices in schools. The opposing views overshadow the importance of cultural responsiveness for children and the benefits of cultural responsiveness from the caregivers' perspective based on their lived experiences. Therefore, this study utilized phenomenological inquiry to gain caregivers' experiences of culturally responsive (and unresponsive) practices in their child(ren)'s preschool or elementary school. Interviews were conducted with 13 culturally diverse parents and caregivers from varying racial, ethnic, linguistic, religious, and financial backgrounds. An analysis of the interviews revealed six themes: (1) creating an inclusive and safe educational space, (2) establishing a parent-school alliance, (3) a need for cultural cognizance in the school community, (4) accommodation of religious and cultural holidays, (5) culture in the curriculum, and (6) equitable access to educational opportunities. This study reflects an essential step toward examining and incorporating the perspectives of parents and caregivers into our practice, research, and policy efforts for enhancing cultural responsiveness in schools. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Schools and students have faced a variety of challenges during the 2020–2021 academic year as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. These issues have drawn attention to the increased need for robust social-emotional learning skills at the elementary level to address the deficits exacerbated by the pandemic. Sources of Strength is an evidence-based suicide prevention program for middle and high school students. In 2020, Sources of Strength launched an elementary school curriculum focused on promoting protective factors and resilience. Data were collected across 11 elementary schools (N = 1022; 3–5th graders) in the Great Plains region of the USA at two time points during the COVID-19 pandemic (T1: Fall of 2020, T2: Spring of 2021). We examine the effectiveness of the program using a pre- and post-test design measuring various student social-emotional outcomes including positive classroom climate, emotional problems, school belonging, help-seeking attitudes, bullying perpetration, peer victimization, student and teacher intervention, student well-being, and student resilience. The program was evaluated using multilevel regression models to examine the associations between self-reported student program exposure and student outcomes. Although comparisons between T1 and T2 indicated a worsening of several student outcomes, positive associations were found when accounting for the degree of student exposure to the program. Greater student exposure was associated with improved positive classroom climate, school belonging, help-seeking attitudes, student well-being, resiliency, and lower reports of emotional problems. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Given the individual and systemic stress endured by children and families during the COVID-19 pandemic, research examining culturally responsive school experiences and supports to enhance resilience is critical. This study examined the relationship between caregivers’ perceptions of COVID-19 impact, mental health distress among children and caregivers, and school-based sociocultural protective factors, including culturally responsive practices in schools and the relationships between teachers and caregivers, concurrently and longitudinally. Data were collected from caregivers of elementary-aged children at two-time points from March to April 2020 ( N = 174) and one year later in 2021 ( N = 114). Regression analyses revealed that COVID-19 impact positively predicted and parent-teacher joining negatively predicted mental health concerns among children and families, concurrently and longitudinally. Furthermore, there was a positive relationship between caregivers’ perceptions of teachers’ social awareness and justice practices and mental health symptoms for children in 2020. Parent-teacher joining longitudinally moderated the relationship between COVID-19 impact and caregivers’ mental health concerns. This study provides implications regarding sociocultural resilience factors that should be considered in schools amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2020–2021 academic year brought numerous challenges to teachers across the country as they worked to educate students amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The current study is a secondary data analysis of qualitative responses collected as part of a teacher survey to evaluate a social emotional learning curriculum implemented during the 2020–2021 academic year. The lived experiences of teachers (N = 52) across 11 elementary schools in the Great Plains region were captured through open-ended questions as the teachers transitioned from in-person to remote learning. A phenomenological approach was utilized to analyze the challenges expressed by teachers as they faced instability and additional professional demands. Given that stress and other factors that strain mental health exist within multiple layers of an individual's social ecology, a modified social-ecological framework was used to organize the results and themes. Findings suggest that during the academic year, teachers experienced stressors related to their personal and professional roles, concerns for students’ well-being which extended beyond academics, and frustrations with administration and other institutional entities around COVID safety measures. Without adequate support and inclusion of teacher perspectives, job-related stress may lead to teacher shortages, deterioration of teacher mental health, and ultimately worse outcomes for students. Implications for policy, research, and practice are discussed.

Introduction Interleukin (IL) 22 is a key cytokine involved in regulation of epithelial function and its role in IBD remains highly controversial. Some studies indicate a protective role in epithelial regeneration, whereas other studies imply a pro-inflammatory role. Insights are now needed to improve of understanding of the functional role of this important cytokine and how its expression might impact patients with ulcerative colitis (UC). In this study, we have probed the clinical and functional significance of IL-22 responsive transcriptional modules and causal networks in diseased tissue of over 500 UC patients and in preclinical models of colitis. Methods We mapped the transcriptional landscape of human colonic epithelial 3D mini-gut organoids in response to treatment with IL22, and other pro-inflammatory cytokines. We tested the clinical significance of the IL22-regulated transcriptome by probing whole colonic biopsies from 550 ulcerative colitis (UC) patients from UNIFI clinical trial programme (patients with UC treated with ustekinumab, an anti-IL12p40 antibody). The functional role of IL22 regulated biological pathways were evaluated in pre-clinical models of UC. Results IL-22 regulated pro-inflammatory biological pathways involved in microbial recognition, cancer and immune cell chemotaxis. IL-22 was an especially potent regulator of the CXC family chemokines CXCL1, CXCL2, CXCL5, CXCL6 and CXCL8, which are all powerful neutrophil-selective chemokines. There was a positive correlation between the IL-22 transcriptional programme and the histological severity of inflammation (r=0.49, p+ neutrophils to the colon. Conclusions The interleukin 22/neutrophil axis is functionally important in colitis and is associated with treatment resistance in ulcerative colitis