Journal of - Southern University New Orleans

138 Journal of Urban Education: Focus on Enrichment(Gordon, 2004). Teachers who have a better understandingof addressing children who have experienceda traumatic event, are knowledgeableof their content area, and have an understandingof how their content relates to the rest of the curriculumcan encourage improved pedagogicalpractices. The findings disclosed that an overwhelmingnumber of teachers identified the needfor appropriate professional development trainingthat would allow them to service students better.The NYU Child Study Center, School of Medicine(2004), said ‚Research suggests that traumatizedchildren benefit greatly when they are embersof a supportive community and have access tohelp from a greater circle of people‛ (p. 2).The findings also disclosed that students wantedto be able to express themselves to teachers withoutfeeling threatened. Many acknowledged theywere comfortable talking to their teachers. Accordingto the American Academy of Child andAdolescent Psychiatry (2004), falsely minimizingthe danger will not end a child’s concerns, butinstead acknowledging the frightening parts ofthe disaster when talking eased their responses tothe disaster.LimitationsTwo apparent conditions outside of the researcher’scontrol that would possibly affect data collectionwere the truthfulness of the sample populationand sample size. Recorded information receivedfrom participants on interviews and surveyscould be skewed due to the possible lack oftruthfulness. Also, the concern of sample sizestems from questioning if the number of studentsfrom the Gulf Coast region was a large enoughsample size. Finally, generalization will be challengedbecause of the stated sample size to a largerpopulation. These limitations laid the groundworkfor future studies and contributed to the organicproperties of the research process.RecommendationsIt is evident that a reflective practitioner needswell-developed tools for making instruction meaningful.Therefore, it is up to stakeholders tomake sure those well-developed tools are easilyaccessible and user-friendly. These future researchrecommendations have been suggested tosupport the effectiveness of a posttraumatic staffdevelopment plan and address the NCLBA (2002)requirements in a restructured educational systemaffected by Hurricane Katrina:• Create a natural disaster curriculum that incorporatesplanning and returning to normalcy.• Develop a series of professional developmentsessions that increase teacher knowledgewhen dealing with children impacted by naturaldisasters.• Draft a documents that supports federal educationregulations such as the NCLBA thatsupport school districts that have been impactedby traumatic events.• Participate in writing state legislation thatsupports school districts that have been impactedby traumatic events such as naturaldisasters.REFERENCESAmerican Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.(1999). Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD): ACAPfacts for families. Retrieved August 16, 2005, fromhttp://www.aacap.org /page.ww?section=Facts+for+Families&name=Posttraumatic+Stress+Disorder+% 28PTSD%29American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.(2004). Helping children after a disaster: Facts for families.Retrieved May 3, 2005, from http://www. Aacap.org/ page. ww?name=Helping+Children+ After+A+Disaster&section=Facts+for+ FamiliesCenter for the Study of Teaching and Policy. (2001).Teacher preparation research: Current knowledge, gaps,and recommendations. Seattle, WA: Author.Cloitre, M., Morin, N. A., & Linares, L. O. (2004, January/February).Children’s resilience in the face oftrauma. Child Study Center Letter, 8, 1 - 6.Cook, G. (2006). Schooling Katrina’s kids. American SchoolBoard Journal, 194(4), 1-8.