Post-Master’s Certificate
in Trauma-Informed
Educational Practices
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Overview
In many of today’s learning environments and communities, a significant portion of behavioral problems can be rooted in trauma. Children experiencing trauma are more likely to fall behind in class, get into trouble, or exhibit conduct issues. Trauma-informed education promotes an understanding and support of the whole student, helping create a positive learning environment, better student engagement, and improved academic outcomes.
This post-master’s certificate builds on your fundamental knowledge and skills related to teaching and learning with a focus on specific trauma-informed educational practices. This focus extends across various educational settings and populations. You’ll explore the theories and fundamentals of a trauma-informed approach to education, how trauma manifests in different populations and communities, specific trauma-informed strategies and practices for the classroom, and strengthening resilience among both students and educators.
The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) accredits public and private schools, colleges, and universities in the U.S.
Admission Requirements
A conferred master’s level or higher degree from a regionally or nationally accredited academic institution.
Courses
For the Post-Master’s Certificate in Trauma-Informed Educational Practices, you must complete 6 courses (18 credit hours). The estimated time needed to complete this certificate is 13 months.
Course Details
Course Listings
In this introductory course, you’ll analyze community resources and educational organizations related to trauma-informed educational practices. You’ll explore how historical contexts and practices have influenced current conditions and pedagogy, and you’ll examine the cultural and economic contexts as they relate to local trauma-informed educational practices.
Understanding how theory influences current policies and practices can help you evaluate how they’re relevant to trauma-sensitive environments. In this course, you’ll determine the essential elements of those environments as you review classroom, administrative, curricular, and community practices.
This course focuses on two essential components of trauma-sensitive environments: social emotional learning and the ethic of care. You’ll be asked to cultivate an ethic of care to a trauma-sensitive educational environment and relate social emotional learning and other practices to that same environment. Additionally, you’ll assess elements of social justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion as they apply to trauma-informed educational practices, and you’ll develop educational strategies built around ethic of care and social emotional learning competencies.
In this course, you’ll assess educator dispositions essential to trauma-sensitive educational environments and develop educator dispositions to learning in those environments. Further, you’ll explore culturally responsive practices related to trauma-sensitive environments; advocate diversity, equity, and inclusion as their central elements; and promote educator dispositions for strengthening those environments.
This course teaches you to determine systems-level, culturally responsive interventions in trauma-sensitive educational environments. You’ll explore ways in which individuals and culturally responsive systems interact to build, restore, and incorporate social justice into those environments. The goal is to cultivate an understanding of restorative and trauma-informed practices within a larger educational system.
In this final course, you’ll work to discern the differences between trauma within communities and community-wide trauma. Further, you’ll cultivate awareness of community-wide trauma practices and research, and deconstruct elements of a system-wide crisis plan for trauma response. You’ll also generate ideas for addressing community-wide trauma and learning, recommend system practices for responding to trauma, and finally, synthesize the impact of community-wide trauma on practice and research.
Learning Outcomes
If you’ve earned your Master of Education degree, then our post-master’s certificate may move you past the head of the class. NU’s Post-Master’s Certificate in Trauma-Informed Educational Practices is designed to help you focus and develop your skill sets and knowledge in a particular area of education beyond the master’s level, without the need for a doctoral commitment or dissertation. You’ll not only enhance your understanding of major theories and practices in your specialty, but you’ll be challenged to think critically about the topics covered with the goal of applying what you learn to your professional objectives—all while gaining a wealth of experience from your mentoring professors.
Why Choose National University
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We’re proud to be a Veteran-founded, San Diego-based nonprofit. Since 1971, our mission has been to provide accessible, achievable higher education to adult learners. Today, we educate students from across the U.S. and around the globe, with over 230,000 alumni worldwide.
“National University has impacted my career. You can immediately apply what you learn in class to your business.”
-Francisco R., Class of 2016
Program Disclosure
Successful completion and attainment of National University degrees do not lead to automatic or immediate licensure, employment, or certification in any state/country. The University cannot guarantee that any professional organization or business will accept a graduate’s application to sit for any certification, licensure, or related exam for the purpose of professional certification.
Program availability varies by state. Many disciplines, professions, and jobs require disclosure of an individual’s criminal history, and a variety of states require background checks to apply to, or be eligible for, certain certificates, registrations, and licenses. Existence of a criminal history may also subject an individual to denial of an initial application for a certificate, registration, or license and/or result in the revocation or suspension of an existing certificate, registration, or license. Requirements can vary by state, occupation, and/or licensing authority.
NU graduates will be subject to additional requirements on a program, certification/licensure, employment, and state-by-state basis that can include one or more of the following items: internships, practicum experience, additional coursework, exams, tests, drug testing, earning an additional degree, and/or other training/education requirements.
All prospective students are advised to review employment, certification, and/or licensure requirements in their state, and to contact the certification/licensing body of the state and/or country where they intend to obtain certification/licensure to verify that these courses/programs qualify in that state/country, prior to enrolling. Prospective students are also advised to regularly review the state’s/country’s policies and procedures relating to certification/licensure, as those policies are subject to change.
National University degrees do not guarantee employment or salary of any kind. Prospective students are strongly encouraged to review desired job positions to review degrees, education, and/or training required to apply for desired positions. Prospective students should monitor these positions as requirements, salary, and other relevant factors can change over time.