International Perspectives on School Mental Health Promotion

1. Expanding Our Horizons:Moving mental health and wellness promotion into the mainstreamToronto, Ontario – CanadaMarch 4 to 6, 2009

2. International Survey of Principals Concerning Emotional andMental Health and Well-Being International and Canadian Results Cheryl Vince Whitman Senior Vice President, EDC Vice President, Intercamhs Director, WHO Collaborating Center Louise Rowling President, Intercamhs A/Professor, University of Sydney Gloria Wells Director, Collaborative Services and Partnerships, Rocky View School Division Board Member, Intercamhs

3. Presentation Outline • Goals, Questions, Sample • International Results • Canadian Results • Conclusion & Recommendations

4. “Our society has changed dramatically over the past 30 years. Schools must try to compensate for what is missing at home and the entire community must accept responsibility for a healthy society.” Rural Ontario, Canada

5. Part I GOALS,QUESTIONS,& SAMPLE

6. Post-Survey Goals • Provide tools & peer learning to principals & staff. • Have principals discuss findings: • Raise awareness of issues. • Address stigma. • Advocate for policies & programs.

7. School-based mental healthpromotion supports… • a whole-school approach. • MH promotion, intervention, & treatment. • policies and skills for social emotional learning. • a healthy psychosocial environment & services. • involvement of community and parents. www.intercamhs.org

8. “I fully believe that an emotionally intelligent school is one that will be successful in changing community.” England

9. Questions of the Survey The survey asked participants about… …the link between emotional/mental health & academic achievement. …major emotional/mental health issues facing students & staff. …policies & types of training or other resources that might be useful to address these issues.

10. Sample Characteristics N=1215 25 Countries 2% from… Other Developed (N=13): e.g., Austria, the Netherlands, South Korea Other Developing (N=17): e.g., Brazil, Ghana, India, South Africa

11. Sample Characteristics • Average school size: 550 students • Grade level: • Pre-k/elementary: 51% • Middle/high school: 27% • Other grouping: 22% • Principals’ Gender: • 57% female • Student Diversity: • 50% “Mixed” or “Diverse”

12. Sample Characteristics

13. “We’re dying here in the front lines when there are not mental health and wellness services available for us – we can’t do our best job of educating students if we are always rushing to put out fires.” Inner-city school in Canada

14. Part II INTERNATIONALRESULTS

15. 1 The Link and Those In Need • 90% see emotional/ mental health & well-being as “very important” for academic achievement. • Principals estimate 1 in 5 students need prevention or intervention services.

16. Importance of emotional/mental health for academic achievement

17. 2 Principals See MajorStudent Issues to Be…

18. Principals’ Open-EndedResponses: issues for students • Awareness of issues, identification, & access to services (18.4%). 2. Communication & the psychosocial environment (17.5%). 3. Home & community problems (12.4%).

19. “Children, nowadays, are exposed to such a huge range of difficult situations at home, in school, at clubs, etc., that they need to be aware of them, taught how to deal with them, and given the opportunity to discuss and understand them.” Rural school in Ireland

20. 3 Principals See MajorStaff Issues to Be… • Stress, anxiety, depression. • Need for communication & support among teachers, students, & parents. • Principals rate emotional/mental health & well-being issues more important for students than staff.

21. Principals’ open-endedresponses of issues for staff

22. 4 Ministry of Education Policies

23. Ministry of Education Policies… • Need to strengthen polices that address emotional/ mental health & well-being through schools. • Materials & resources needed most when no national MOE policies.

24. “There are two key problems – a system that creates emotional and mental instability and an almost complete failure of support for children experiencing emotional and mental problems.” All-boys school in United Kingdom

25. 5 Impact of Student Family Income Principals of schools with lower student family incomes report poorer emotional/ mental health & well-being among students & staff.

26. Principals’ mean ratings of importance for emotional/mental health & well-being issues, by student family income level.

27. 6 Need for Resources Most useful resources include: • Training programs and materials • DVDs & web-based resources • Exchange with principals & experts • Resources, training, & materials needed for 9 critical areas of a whole-school approach.

28. Principals’ mean ratings of issues of greatest importance to be addressed through training, educational materials, & other resources

29. “Teachers have been overwhelmed by the many and fast-paced changes in both curriculum and student care. The concept of accountability, while an essential one, has been overblown to the point of teachers either shutting down, or questioning each and every thing they do.” Rural school in Canada

30. Part III CANADIANRESULTS

31. 1 The Link and Those in Need • 93% see emotional/ mental health & well-being as “very important” for academic achievement. • The estimate of 1 in 5 students needing services is even clearer.

32. 2 Canadian Principals See MajorStudent Issues to Be… Among Canadian principals…Awareness, identification, & access are even more important (29% vs. 18% for global data) • Anger management • Impulse control • Bullying and harassment

33. 3 Canadian Principals See MajorStaff Issues to Be… • Still: stress, anxiety, depression. • Still: staff issues rated lower importance than for student issues Need to identify MH problems & access to services mentionedmore often(21% vs. 17% for global data)

34. 4 Ministry of Education Policies • Need for educational materials & resources is slightly greater where there is at least 1 MOE policy.

35. 5 Impact of Student Family Income Impact of estimated student family income level is not as strong.

36. 6 Need for Resources Very similar to global data… • Most useful resources include: • Training programs & materials • DVDs & web-based resources • Exchange with principals & experts • Resources, training, & materials needed for 9 critical areas of a whole-school approach.

37. Comparison (Canadian vs. Global Samples) • Fewer female principals in Canadian sample • Student issues rated higher on average, with the top four over 4.00 • Awareness of problems & access to services cited more often by Canadian principals (28.9%vs.18.4%) • Fewer Canadian principals report MOE policies in place • Effect of income not as strong

38. “Emotional, mental health and well-being of both the student and staff in relation to the academic achievement of the individual should be of paramount importance to all.” Ghana

39. Part IV CONCLUSIONS &RECOMMENDATIONS

40. Conclusions • Globally, principals see the link between emotional/mental health and well-being and academic achievement. • Principals estimate that 1 in 5 students needs services.

41. Conclusions • Major issues: • Students: bullying/harassment & access • Staff: stress, anxiety, depression • Staff issues rated lower importance than student issues. • Need for policies, training, & other resources to support staff develop knowledge & skills.

42. Recommendations • ICP members discuss findings & use them to advocate for policies & programs • ICPmembers advocate with ICP & Intercamhsinternationally to develop training materials & other resources through Interconnexions

43. Intercamhs and ICP will… …develop plan of action & secure funding for these training materials & resources. …publicize results to create a movement, shared language, & action for change.

44. Contact Information Cheryl Vince Whitman Senior Vice President, EDC Vice President, Intercamhs Director, WHO Collaborating Center cvincewhitman@edc.org Ph: (0011-1) 617-618-2300 Fax: (0015-1) 617-527-4096 www.intercamhs.org www.icponline.org www.hhd.org Education Development Center, Inc. 55 Chapel Street, Newton, MA, USA 02458-1060