Teacher behaviors can reflect trauma-sensitive principles through supportive and structured teaching, which involves integrating teacher responsivity with consistent, fair practices. However, students and teachers in racially- and economically-marginalized communities are underrepresented in prior research examining the impact of supportive and structured teaching on students’ classroom behavior. This study assessed the association of beginning-of-the-year supportive and structured teaching with mid-year classroom engagement using observations completed in 137 K-8 classrooms in four New Orleans public charter schools with majority Black (<90%) student populations. Teachers represented a racially diverse sample (51% Caucasian or White, 43% Black or African American) and grade levels (52% elementary, 48% middle school), with most teachers (67%) considered early career educators. Structural equation modeling evaluated the proposed latent structural regression model for the hypothesis that a higher order factor representing beginning-of-the-year supportive and structured teaching would positively predict mid-year classroom engagement. Results demonstrated a significant association across levels of teacher experience as well as grade levels (β = .42, p < .01). Through balancing teacher responsivity with consistent expectations, supportive and structured teaching can be a trauma-sensitive mechanism for schools to provide social support while facilitating factors that promote students’ academic achievement, such as engagement.
(Publisher abstract provided.)