Incorporating Facts ◆ The foundation of good mental health Mental Health is laid in childhood years, and has a into Educational major impact on multiple outcomes later in life, including educational Policies outcomes and future employment. ◆ Provide a system of affordable,
available and accessible high quality public day-care centres for all children.
◆ Implement evidence based anti-
and may reduce and prevent mental
health and wellbeing, and prevent
health problems, violence, bullying,
mental disorders in school.
conflict and anger.
with a sense of identity, self-respect, direction, meaning in life, mastery, belonging, safety, and social support.
◆ Include children and their families
M
in planning
requires the development of cognitive, emotional, and social skills for
which educational settings make an ideal context. Mental health may be defined as a state of wellbeing in which every individual realises their own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community. Thus, mental health is not just the absence of illness.
Educational settings promote mental health when they provide children and adolescents with a sense of identity and self-respect, direction and meaning in life, mastery, belonging, safety, social support and participation. Good mental health is associated with better educational and behavioural outcomes. A range of effective interventions are available to promote mental health and to prevent and reduce mental illness. However, very few children and adolescents receive such interventions in the school setting.
adolescents develop the ability to experience a range of emotions in appropriate and constructive ways: possess positive self-esteem and a respect for others; and harbor a deep sense of security and trust in themselves and the world. Mentally healthy children and adolescents are able to function in developmentally appropriate ways in the contexts of self, family, peers, school, and community. Building on a foundation of personal interaction and support, mentally healthy children and adolescents develop the ability to initiate and maintain meaningful relationships and learn to function productively.”
Bright Futures in Practice: Mental Health (National Center for Education in Maternal and Child Health)
Enhancing mental health in schools in comprehensive ways is not an easy task. Indeed, it is likely to remain
Schools are not in the mental health or
an insurmountable task until school
social services business. Their mandate
reformers accept the reality that
is to educate. Thus, they tend to view
such activity is essential and does not
any activity not directly related to
represent an agenda separate from
“Incorporating mental health into educational policies contributes to developing, maintaining and protecting society’s most potent and least developed resource, the mental health of children.”
school settings
“Mentally healthy children and
self-esteem, self-confidence, prosocial behavior, mental health and wellbeing,
mental health, providing young people
Mental Health and Education
schools enhance social-emotional skills,
based interventions to promote mental
and schools on whether they promote
ental health
targeted mental health initiatives in
bullying programs and whole-school
◆ Routinely assess day-care centers
by Chinonye Nriaka
◆ Well implemented universal and
that promote mental health and the wellbeing for oneself.
◆ Collect regularly data on children and adolescents’ mental wellbeing and any other problems
◆ Train school staff to support children’s psychosocial development
◆ Include mental health promotion in national school curriculum Mental health in schools educates school staff about learning barriers and promoting healthy development. It’s addressing systemic matters at schools that affect mental health, such as high stakes testing, bullying, alienation, and student disengagement from learning.
instruction as a sideshow. To counter
a school’s instructional mission. For
all this and end the marginalization
this to happen, we must encourage
of mental health in schools, those
them to view the difficulty of raising
interested in enhancing the role
achievement test scores through the
schools play in addressing mental
complementary lenses of addressing
health concerns must join with others
barriers to learning and promoting
in pursuing new directions that lead to
healthy development. When this is done,
the development of a comprehensive,
it is more likely that mental health in
multifaceted, and cohesive system
schools will be understood as essential
for learning communities that is fully
to addressing barriers to learning and
integrated into school policies.
not as an agenda separate from a
Such a system focuses on all students (not just some students), addressing barriers to learning and teaching (not just safety and health) and re-engaging students in classroom learning (not just minimizing behavior problems).
school’s instructional mission. In sum, advancing mental health in schools is about much more than expanding services and creating full service schools. It is about establishing comprehensive, multifaceted approaches that help ensure schools are supportive places that maximizes learning and well-being for students. •
Incorporating Facts ◆ The foundation of good mental health Mental Health is laid in childhood years, and has a into Educational major impact on multiple outcomes later in life, including educational Policies outcomes and future employment. ◆ Provide a system of affordable,
available and accessible high quality public day-care centres for all children.
◆ Implement evidence based anti-
and may reduce and prevent mental
health and wellbeing, and prevent
health problems, violence, bullying,
mental disorders in school.
conflict and anger.
with a sense of identity, self-respect, direction, meaning in life, mastery, belonging, safety, and social support.
◆ Include children and their families
M
in planning
requires the development of cognitive, emotional, and social skills for
which educational settings make an ideal context. Mental health may be defined as a state of wellbeing in which every individual realises their own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community. Thus, mental health is not just the absence of illness.
Educational settings promote mental health when they provide children and adolescents with a sense of identity and self-respect, direction and meaning in life, mastery, belonging, safety, social support and participation. Good mental health is associated with better educational and behavioural outcomes. A range of effective interventions are available to promote mental health and to prevent and reduce mental illness. However, very few children and adolescents receive such interventions in the school setting.
adolescents develop the ability to experience a range of emotions in appropriate and constructive ways: possess positive self-esteem and a respect for others; and harbor a deep sense of security and trust in themselves and the world. Mentally healthy children and adolescents are able to function in developmentally appropriate ways in the contexts of self, family, peers, school, and community. Building on a foundation of personal interaction and support, mentally healthy children and adolescents develop the ability to initiate and maintain meaningful relationships and learn to function productively.”
Bright Futures in Practice: Mental Health (National Center for Education in Maternal and Child Health)
Enhancing mental health in schools in comprehensive ways is not an easy task. Indeed, it is likely to remain
Schools are not in the mental health or
an insurmountable task until school
social services business. Their mandate
reformers accept the reality that
is to educate. Thus, they tend to view
such activity is essential and does not
any activity not directly related to
represent an agenda separate from
“Incorporating mental health into educational policies contributes to developing, maintaining and protecting society’s most potent and least developed resource, the mental health of children.”
school settings
“Mentally healthy children and
self-esteem, self-confidence, prosocial behavior, mental health and wellbeing,
mental health, providing young people
Mental Health and Education
schools enhance social-emotional skills,
based interventions to promote mental
and schools on whether they promote
ental health
targeted mental health initiatives in
bullying programs and whole-school
◆ Routinely assess day-care centers
by Chinonye Nriaka
◆ Well implemented universal and
that promote mental health and the wellbeing for oneself.
◆ Collect regularly data on children and adolescents’ mental wellbeing and any other problems
◆ Train school staff to support children’s psychosocial development
◆ Include mental health promotion in national school curriculum Mental health in schools educates school staff about learning barriers and promoting healthy development. It’s addressing systemic matters at schools that affect mental health, such as high stakes testing, bullying, alienation, and student disengagement from learning.
instruction as a sideshow. To counter
a school’s instructional mission. For
all this and end the marginalization
this to happen, we must encourage
of mental health in schools, those
them to view the difficulty of raising
interested in enhancing the role
achievement test scores through the
schools play in addressing mental
complementary lenses of addressing
health concerns must join with others
barriers to learning and promoting
in pursuing new directions that lead to
healthy development. When this is done,
the development of a comprehensive,
it is more likely that mental health in
multifaceted, and cohesive system
schools will be understood as essential
for learning communities that is fully
to addressing barriers to learning and
integrated into school policies.
not as an agenda separate from a
Such a system focuses on all students (not just some students), addressing barriers to learning and teaching (not just safety and health) and re-engaging students in classroom learning (not just minimizing behavior problems).
school’s instructional mission. In sum, advancing mental health in schools is about much more than expanding services and creating full service schools. It is about establishing comprehensive, multifaceted approaches that help ensure schools are supportive places that maximizes learning and well-being for students. •