Date of Award
2026
Document Type
Honors Thesis (Open Access)
Department
Colby College. Education Program
Advisor(s)
Lauren Yoshizawa
Second Advisor
Michael Sanders
Abstract
The present study investigated how Rural Maine early childhood education practitioners conceptualized and approached early childhood trauma and adversity in daily classroom practice and how the social and geographic contexts of rurality affected their work. The study utilized Bronfenbrenner’s (1977) ecological systems framework to understand how varying levels of context affect rural Maine youth. The study’s literature review suggested that rural Maine youth experience lack of access to specialized mental health support amidst the deleterious effects of early childhood trauma and adversity (Maine Children’s Alliance, 2025; DeYoung et al., 2011; Lieberman et al., 2011). Amidst these shortages, the study identified promise in teachers’ and early childhood education centers’ use of trauma-informed educational practices to provide protective relations of care to students who are currently experiencing or may experience early adversity (Bartlett & Smith, 2019; Chudzik et al., 2025). To examine these phenomena, the study drew on semi-structured qualitative interviews with seven rural Maine early childhood education practitioners. Practitioners endorsed both universal trauma-informed practices in providing safe spaces for students, but also individualized approaches in working with students suspected of or confirmed to have experienced trauma. Participants underscored the distinct challenges and adversities of rural disinvestment experienced by their students, but also the specific strengths of rural early childhood centers and teachers in serving as hubs for access to vital resources for children and families. The study encourages educators to move towards a universal trauma-informed approach that emphasizes building predictable and caring classroom environments for young students and encourages researchers to understand the specific strengths and assets of rural communities.
Keywords
trauma-informed education, rural education, early childhood education, Maine
Recommended Citation
Catrambone, Daniel F., ""What Can I Do To Make You Feel Better?": Trauma, Teacher Practice, and Context in Rural Maine Early Childhood Education Classrooms" (2026). Honors Theses. Paper 1557.https://digitalcommons.colby.edu/honorstheses/1557