BEST+Well: A Universal Intervention to Promote K-12 Educators’ Mental Health Literacy and Well-Being

• In Event: Competing Stressors: Examining Ways to Support K-12 Educators' Coping and Well-Being

Abstract

Research has indicated that, when given effective training, educators can implement evidence-based interventions with fidelity and positively impact students’ academic performance and mental/behavioral health outcomes (Fortier et al., 2017; Yamaguchi et al., 2018). Unfortunately, pre-service programs rarely incorporate training related to mental health (Author et al., 2019; Ohrt et al., 2020; Schonert-Reichel et al., 2017) and a limited number of in-service teacher certification standards include mental health and wellness competencies (Ball et al., 2016; Author et al., 2017). These training gaps create a mismatch between the explicit expectations around academics that drive teacher preparation with the implicit expectations around supporting student well-being inherent in educators’ roles as helping professionals (Author, 2013; Rodger et al., 2018). Consequently, educators experience competing job demands and increased rates of stress and burnout (Author et al., 2024). Indeed, educators consistently report some of the highest levels of work stress (Herman et al., 2018; Maslach et al., 2001) with navigating student mental health concerns, beyond their typical teaching duties, a major factor (Lin, Parker, & Horowitz, 2024). Thus, educator training must address how educators build the skills to respond to students’ mental health needs and sustain their own well-being.

In this presentation, we describe the development and implementation of a K-12 Tier-1 intervention titled BEST+Well that trains educators (e.g., teachers, administrators, paraeducators) in both crisis response and coping skills. The program focuses on a set of skills for effectively identifying and responding to pressing mental health concerns in students - Broaching mental health, communicating Empathy, Screening for suicide, and Triage and referral - as well as WELLness practices for responders. Data are drawn from the 2023-2024 academic year pilot implementation. The training was conducted in one urban district (in a predominantly rural midwestern state). Educators (n = 351) completed 4 in-person modules, facilitated by faculty trainers, over the course of the academic year. Educators also completed web-based deliberate practice sessions in-between modules, monthly virtual gratitude groups facilitated by a licensed psychologist, and online pre, mid, and post surveys. The surveys included questions from the Teacher Mental Health Literacy Questionnaire (Rodger, Johnson, & Weston, 2018), State Self-Compassion Scale (Neff et al., 2021), and social validity items (Lane et al., 2015).

Preliminary results from repeated measures ANOVA analyses found that educators’ outcomes in the domains of teaching and leading a mentally healthy classroom, professional relational skills, conceptual understanding, and self-efficacy significantly increased between pre-to-mid and pre-to-post-assessment (p < .01). A greater percentage of score increases occurred between pre and mid (e.g., beginning and end of first semester) than pre and post (e.g. beginning and end of year). Educators also indicated that BEST skills are being actively used to respond to a range of pressing mental health concerns in their schools, with the most frequent concerns being emotional distress and trauma. Findings from the pilot implementation demonstrate promising evidence of the usability, feasibility, and effectiveness of this novel training to improve educators’ mental health response skills and personal coping skills concurrently.

Authors

• Duhita Mahatmya, University of Iowa

• Gerta Bardhoshi, University of Iowa

• Martin Kivlighan, University of Iowa

• Qianyi Gao, University of Iowa