Preservice Teachers' Perceived Preparedness and Confidence to Address Student Mental Health Needs

• In Event: Staff and Systems Involved in Supporting Student Mental Health

Abstract

Objectives: Teachers are well-positioned to perform early identification of students’ mental health needs and to make intervention and referral given their proximity to and length of time they typically spend with students. However, many teachers lack training in these areas, because coverage of these topics in teacher preparation programs is limited (Kern, 2015; Reinke et al., 2011; Schonert-Reichl et al., 2015; State et al., 2011). Teacher preparation programs in colleges and universities have an opportunity to educate and prepare future teachers to support the mental health wellbeing of their students (Phillippo & Kelly, 2014; Schonert-Reichl, 2019). Therefore, it is important to consider how pre-service teachers perceive their capability to address student mental health needs prior to entering the field.
The purpose of the current study is to examine factors associated with pre-service teachers’ perceived preparedness and confidence to address student mental health needs. In particular, the study examines the following characteristics of pre-service teachers: year in school (i.e. freshmen to senior), self-reported mental health status in the last 30 days, and whether they have a history of a diagnosis of depression or anxiety, while controlling for their gender and race/ethnicity.

Methods: Participants (N=487) were undergraduate students from 23 colleges and universities in New England who were enrolled in teacher preparation programs during the 2018-2019 academic year. They responded to a survey that included items asking about their demographics, program of study, perceived preparedness and confidence to address the mental health needs of students (Gatekeeper Behavior Scale, Albright et al., 2016), current mental health (K6 Scale, Kessler et al., 2003), and mental health diagnosis history. The distribution of year in school was roughly even among all participants, while most of them identified themselves as female (89%) and non-Hispanic White (82%). Multiple regression models were used to estimate the association of participant characteristics with preparedness and confidence to address the mental health needs of students.

Results: Both the preparedness and confidence models were statistically significant (p=.001, R2 = .062; p=.007, R2 = .049). Freshmen and sophomores reported feeling more prepared (β=.140, p=.006; β=.106, p=.039) and confident (β=.139, p=.007; β=.129, p=.013) than seniors to address the mental health needs of their future students. Having a history of a diagnosis of depression or anxiety was significantly associated with pre-service teachers’ perceived preparedness (β=.175, p<.001), and confidence to address student mental health needs (β=.136, p=.006). Pre-service teachers’ gender, race and ethnicity, or their own current mental health were not significantly associated with the perceived preparedness or confidence to address student mental health needs.

Significance: The study adds to the literature on school mental health from the perspective of pre-service teachers. Potential reasons why students felt less prepared and confident as they were closer to graduation will be discussed. The study also points to directions for further research on more closely examining the relationship between teachers’ and teacher candidates’ perceived preparedness and self-efficacy to address student mental health needs and their own mental health.

Authors

• Yawei Huang, Boston University

• Rachel Oblath, Boston University

• Melissa K. Holt, Boston University

• Jennifer Greif Green, Boston University