The story so far
I had been working hard in the field of addressing the concerns of trauma-impacted children and young people for many years, prior to – and after – moving to working in Academia. Knowing what was happening internationally, I became aware of the importance of conferences in getting passionate and dedicated thinkers, leaders, and practitioners together to progress trauma-informed policy and practice in exciting and impactful ways. I knew great work was already happening in Australia regarding trauma-aware responses in general, but I was acutely aware that there was a need for a focus on trauma-aware schooling.
So, I led the development of our first Trauma-Aware Schooling conference in 2017 – starting with a two-day event – and the response was marvellous! So much so, that we made this important conference a biennial event – becoming more polished over the years and has grown considerably in attendance and impact each time.
We are excited to announce that our fourth conference in 2024, will be a three-day event that will include a conference dinner and a day of masterclasses where our delegates can spend dedicated time with national and international experts.
We are transitioning the name of our conference from Trauma-Aware Schooling to Trauma-Aware Education as our focus has broadened to include early childhood education and care, the schooling years, and higher education.
We have listened to the feedback of our delegates from previous conferences to design an event that will be responsive to the diverse challenges faced by educators, education sites, and education systems whilst also providing ample opportunity for deepening our knowledge, having fun, great food, and exciting networking opportunities.
We are truly looking forward to having you join us at the Trauma-Aware Education conference in 2024!
The more people we can gather to learn together and to grow understandings and skills in this area, the more we can truly address the unfortunate impact of trauma on children and young people as well as those wonderful people working hard to educate them!
So, make sure to tell your friends and colleagues about the 2024 Trauma-Aware Education Conference!
Dr Judith Howard
Associate Professor, School of Early Childhood and Inclusive Education, Faculty of Creative Industries, Education and Social Justice, Queensland University of Technology
Associate Professor Judith Howard is a national leader in Trauma-Aware Education in Australia, with important international reach. Judith comes from an extensive career and experience within government schooling in Queensland. She has worked as a teacher, school counsellor and student behaviour specialist and has held both regional and state leadership positions with the Queensland Education Department. Judith’s work has always had a keen focus on addressing the concerns faced by young learners living with the outcomes of complex trauma and the people working hard to educate them. She promotes a neuroscience-informed approach – to which she believes every educator needs access. Judith oversees pre-service and post-graduate teacher education in Trauma-Aware Education at QUT (including the popular, “Graduate Certificate in Trauma-Aware Education”) and has developed online courses that are reaching thousands nationally and internationally. She supervises a growing number of PhD students who are adding to the research evidence base for Trauma-Aware Education. She is the author of the popular book: “Distressed or Deliberately Defiant: Managing Challenging Student Behaviour due to Trauma and Disorganised Attachment (2013) and her more recent publication, “Trauma-Aware Education” Essential Information and Guidance for Educators, Education Sites and Education Systems” (2022). Judith continues to be busy researching, writing, speaking and training, and developing resources to advance Trauma-Aware Education across Australia.
