Common Elements of Trauma-Informed Schools and Attention to Racial Equity: A Scoping Review.

Introduction: Notwithstanding the multiple descriptions and principles associated with trauma-informed schools (TIS), the field lacks a well-defined operational definition of TIS. This scoping review aimed to characterize TIS intervention components and implementation strategies described in published studies of TIS. This review also examined the extent to which published examples of TIS had an explicit focus on promoting racial equity. Method: Eligible studies described school- or district-wide trauma-informed approaches in Preschool-12 education, and included elements across at least two domains of TIS design: Organizational & Policy Reforms; Workforce Professional Development/Training; and Educational & Clinical Practices. A trained coding team reviewed eligible studies and applied 32 codes characterizing TIS intervention components and implementation strategies. Results: 30 eligible studies were identified. The most common Conclusion: Findings suggest TIS components related to implementation strategies are most frequently employed, and that explicit attention to racial equity was infrequent in published descriptions of TIS design and implementation.