The Pros and Cons of Teaching Mental Health in Schools.
We discuss evidence based research on the pros and cons of teaching mental health in schools.
What are the pros and cons of teaching mental health in schools?
One of the ways to support pupils’ mental health and wellbeing is to teach them about how to recognise it, how to cope with the challenges they face and how to be resilient through adversity. In England mental wellbeing forms part of the statutory Relationships, (Sex) and Health Education Curriculum.
There are a range of benefits, and also some drawbacks, to delivering mental health as part of the curriculum. We have undertaken a review of some of the pros and cons of teaching mental health in schools, and the implications that may have on individuals and staff within educational settings. Whilst this table is not exhaustive, it does give some of the factors to consider in the delivery of teaching a mental health and wellbeing curriculum.
If you have enjoyed this free resource, you might like to follow our YouTube account, for a variety of short videos and training on mental health in schools. In addition, we offer a variety of free resources, information, news, tips and advice as part of our membership offer through free and paid options. We have also linked a variety of free resources at the bottom of this page for you to access, designed to support teaching mental health in schools.
The pros of teaching mental health in schools:
- Improved understanding on how to manage individuals’ mental health will positively influence attendance figures.
- Teaching mental health offers students the opportunity and confidence to express their feelings to peers and adults.
- Student feedback aids understanding of how students are feeling and the barriers they may need to overcome.
- Enables the creation of a reliable data set for use in your whole-school wellbeing strategy.
- Helps enable a culture of self-awareness and teamwork that hopefully will continue into adulthood.
- Offers the opportunity to create a range of different lesson types, helping boost engagement.
- Enables and allows for planning and strategy to support colleagues throughout an educational setting.
- Teaching mental health supports the implementation of performance management, creating communication ‘touch points’.
- The improved wellbeing that comes with understanding will positively influence progress and attainment.
- Understanding the barriers students face and the reasons behind sudden behavioural changes helps strengthen behaviour policies.
The cons of teaching mental health in schools:
- Recognising symptoms of mental health could lead to students self-diagnosing and may affect their attendance.
- The extra time required to teach understanding and strategies can be a struggle to fit in around a tight curriculum.
- Without a pre-existing curriculum, lesson plans would need to be modified to fit the specific needs of children, classes, or cohorts.
- Data collected may not be relevant to the overall needs of individual settings, but rather individuals within them.
- Increases time pressures due to increased staff training, such as INSET days or Continuing Professional Development (CPD).
- Takes time out of the school day to allow for reflection, questions, and mindfulness exercises.
- The time it takes to manage mental health issues during and after school hours.
- The extra time pressures on SLTs to create effective, updated policies.
- Time taken away from learning subjects (i.e history, science etc) in a already crammed curriculum.
- The time needed to observe, reflect, and implement changes for individuals or the entire school.
Full list of references used to develop the pros and cons of teaching mental health in schools list
Alexander (2021) “Well-being and attainment in Scottish education: a capabilities approach” https://theses.gla.ac.uk/81820/
Anna A. Peycheva a, Anthony F. Guevara b, Mark J.D. Jordans (2023) “Systematic review of strategies for improving attendance in health and mental health interventions for children and adolescents in LMICs: Implications for mental health interventions” https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666560323000993)
BA Gueldner, LL Feuerborn, KW Merrell – 2020 Social and emotional learning in the classroom: Promoting mental health and academic success
Dolton A, Adams S, O’Reilly M. In the child’s voice: The experiences of primary school children with social, emotional and mental health difficulties. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry. 2020;25(2):419-434. doi:10.1177/1359104519859923 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1359104519859923
Fisher, P. (2010). Performativity, well‐being, social class and citizenship in English schools. Educational Studies, 37(1), 49–58. https://doi.org/10.1080/03055691003799073
Freeman, J., Wilkinson, S., Kowitt, J., Kittelman, A., & Brigid Flannery, K. (2018). Research-supported practices for improving attendance in high schools: a review of the literature. Educational Research and Evaluation, 24(8), 481–503. https://doi.org/10.1080/13803611.2019.1602546
Hart, A., & Heaver, B. (2015). Resilience approaches to supporting young people’s mental health: Appraising the evidence base for schools and communities. Brighton; University of Brighton/Boingboing. http://www.boingboing.org.uk/resilience-approaches-guide/
Hornby, G and Atkinson, M (2004) A Framework for Promoting Mental Health in School. Pastoral Care in Education https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-0122.00256
Jerusalem, Matthias;Klein Hessling, (2009, Vol. 109, Issue 4, pages 329 – 341) Johannes Mental health promotion in schools by strengthening self-efficacy. Health education, 19 Jun. https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/09654280910970901/full/html
Korinek, L. (2020). Supporting students with mental health challenges in the classroom. Preventing School Failure: Alternative Education for Children and Youth, 65(2), 97–107. https://doi.org/10.1080/1045988X.2020.1837058
Lawrence, D., Dawson, V., Houghton, S., Goodsell, B., & Sawyer, M. G. (2019). Impact of mental disorders on attendance at school. Australian Journal of Education, 63(1), 5-21. https://doi.org/10.1177/0004944118823576
Nielsen, L., Meilstrup, C., Nelausen, M.K., Koushede, V. and Holstein, B.E. (2015), “Promotion of social and emotional competence: Experiences from a mental health intervention applying a whole school approach”, Health Education, Vol. 115 No. 3/4, pp. 339-356. https://doi.org/10.1108/HE-03-2014-0039
Owens, J.S., Murphy, C.E. Effectiveness Research in the Context of School-Based Mental Health. Clin Child and Fam Psychol Rev 7, 195–209 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10567-004-6085-x
Parker, J.D.A., Crane, A.G., Wood, L.M. (2018). Educational Leaders and Supporting the Mental Health of Students and Staff: Limited Research but Promising Practices in Preparing School Principals. In: Leschied, A., Saklofske, D., Flett, G. (eds) Handbook of School-Based Mental Health Promotion. The Springer Series on Human Exceptionality. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-89842-1_11
Wignall, A., Atkinson, C., & Grace, P. (2023). Facilitators and barriers to implementing a whole-school mental health programme. Pastoral Care in Education, 42(1), 25–46. https://doi.org/10.1080/02643944.2023.2214903
Summary: Mental health, wellbeing and personal development in schools In Focus Published Thursday, 08 February, 2024
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