TRAUMA LITERACY INCLUSION IN JOURNALISM CURRICULUM: A PERCEPTION ANALYSIS OF EDUCATORS IN RIVERS STATE

Abstract

In the past few years, there has been a growing call for the inclusion of trauma literacy
course(s) in the curriculum of journalism training institutions in Nigeria. The proponents of
this call hold the view that many journalists leave the university or other training institutions
with almost no knowledge of how to approach the coverage of events that have trauma
scenes and extreme danger. This study therefore sought to find out the opinions of
journalism educators in Rivers State-based universities and polytechnics concerning the call
to include trauma-based contents in the curriculum of journalism studies. The study adopted
by qualitative and quantitative methods by using questionnaire and interviews to elicit
responses. The total enumeration sampling technique was used to determine the sample
size while the simple percentage count template and the Miles and Huberman's method
were used for analysis. The study found that trauma literacy is not distinctly taught in
journalism schools, and that students leave school without being equipped with the skills to
cover trauma-laden incidents. The study recommended that trauma literacy courses should
be designed and included in journalism curriculum.