Mental Health to Support Student Learning: Training Modules for Educators and School-Based Staff

• In Event: Teacher Stress and Coping: Exploring Teacher Engagement in Students’ School Mental Health Needs

Abstract

Recent prevalence rates of mental health problems in youth indicate that approximately 20% of youth meet criteria for a diagnosable mental health disorder; accordingly, educators are likely interacting with an increasing number of students with serious social, emotional, or behavioral difficulties (National Research Council and Institute of Medicine, 2009). While most educators embrace their role in supporting students’ mental health, all too often this aspect of their job, contributes to their own stress, burnout, and turnover (Burke, Greenglass, & Schwarzer, 1996; Kokkinos, 2007; McCormick & Barnett, 2010). Rothi and colleagues (2008) found that teachers perceive students with mental health problems as negatively impacting their teaching effectiveness by requiring additional classroom management strategies, increasing their stress level, and even reducing their own mental well-being. While teachers report that having knowledge of student mental health is vitally important for their students’ success; teachers often feel unprepared to intervene to address students’ mental health needs (Koller, et al., 2004; Rothi et al., 2008). This paper will review a pilot study of mental health training models for educators and school-based staff. Mental Health to Support Student Learning: Training Modules for Educators and School-Based Staff (MH-Modules) is a web-based, seven-module mental health curriculum aimed at enhancing educator and school staff mental health competencies. These modules will be piloted in Maryland during the 2013-2014 school year and data will be collected on usage, feasibility, pre and post mental health knowledge, and pre and post referral to and consultation with school-based mental health providers. In addition, data will be collected on teacher perceptions of the role of student mental health on teacher stress and teacher-reported effects of the MH-Modules on teacher stress. Educators will have the opportunity to participate in the pilot study and complete a mental health knowledge, practice, and teacher stress survey prior to completing the MH-Modules online. Participants will complete a feasibility and knowledge survey immediately after completion of the online training. Participants will also complete the mental health knowledge, practice, and teacher stress survey two-months post-training completion to assess long-term changes in knowledge, practice, and potential effects of MH-Modules in reducing teacher stress. It is hypothesized that teachers will exhibit increased mental health knowledge and report increased referral to and consultation with school-based mental health providers after completing the MH-Modules. The goal of the MH-Modules is to better prepare educators to recognize students with mental health problems and partner with school-based mental health staff to support these students. Results from this pilot study have the potential to support the MH-Modules as a feasible mechanism to increase educator mental health competencies and support for students with mental health problems, thereby reducing teacher stress and burnout.

Author

• Jill Haak Bohnenkamp, University of Maryland - Baltimore