School-Based Mental Health Promotion and Early Intervention Programs in New South Wales, Australia: Mapping Practice to Policy and Evidence

Kristin R. Laurens; Linda J. Graham; Katherine L. Dix; Felicity Harris; Stacy Tzoumakis; Kate E. Williams; Jill M. Schofield; Traci Prendergast; Neale Waddy; Mary Taiwo; Vaughan J. Carr; Melissa J. Green

doi:10.1007/s12310-021-09482-2

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School-Based Mental Health Promotion and Early Intervention Programs in New South Wales, Australia: Mapping Practice to Policy and Evidence

Journal article

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Peer reviewed

School-Based Mental Health Promotion and Early Intervention Programs in New South Wales, Australia: Mapping Practice to Policy and Evidence

Kristin R. Laurens, Linda J. Graham, Katherine L. Dix, Felicity Harris, Stacy Tzoumakis, Kate E. Williams, Jill M. Schofield, Traci Prendergast, Neale Waddy, Mary Taiwo, …

School Mental Health, Vol.14, pp.582-597

2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12310-021-09482-2

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Abstract

mental health

student wellbeing

social-emotional learning

primary schools

evidence-based practice

Survey of School Promotion of Emotional and Social Health (SSPESH)

Limited empirical evidence is available regarding the uptake and effectiveness of school-based mental health and wellbeing programs implemented in Australian schools. This study aimed to characterise the delivery of programs in primary (elementary) schools across New South Wales, Australia, and to assess this information against published ratings of program effectiveness. Delivery of programs in four health-promoting domains—creating a positive school community; teaching social and emotional skills; engaging the parent community; and supporting students experiencing mental health difficulties—were reported by 597 school principals/leaders via online survey. Although three quarters of principals reported implementing at least one program, many of these programs were supported by little or no evidence of effectiveness. There was also variability in the use of evidence-based programs across the four domains. Findings indicate a need to provide educators with improved support to identify, implement, and evaluate effective evidenced-based programs that promote student mental health.

Details

Title: School-Based Mental Health Promotion and Early Intervention Programs in New South Wales, Australia: Mapping Practice to Policy and Evidence
Authors: Kristin R. Laurens (Corresponding Author) - Queensland University of Technology
Linda J. Graham (Author) - Queensland University of Technology
Katherine L. Dix (Author) - Australian Council for Educational Research
Felicity Harris (Author) - 61USC_INST___UNSW
Stacy Tzoumakis (Author) - Griffith University
Kate E. Williams (Author) - Queensland University of Technology
Jill M. Schofield (Author) - New South Wales Department of Education (Australia, Sydney)
Traci Prendergast (Author) - New South Wales Department of Education (Australia, Sydney)
Neale Waddy (Author) - New South Wales Department of Education (Australia, Sydney)
Mary Taiwo (Author) - New South Wales Department of Education (Australia, Sydney)
Vaughan J. Carr (Author) - 61USC_INST___UNSW
Melissa J. Green (Author) - 61USC_INST___UNSW
Publication details: School Mental Health, Vol.14, pp.582-597
Publisher: Springer New York LLC
Date published: 2022
DOI: 10.1007/s12310-021-09482-2
ISSN: 1866-2625
Copyright note: © The Author(s) 2021. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Data Availability: The Survey of School Promotion of Emotional and Social Health (SSPESH) data is owned by the University of New South Wales. Researchers interested in using the SSPESH data in collaboration with New South Wales Child Development Study (NSW-CDS) investigators should contact A/Prof. Kristin Laurens (kristin.laurens@qut.edu.au; kristin.laurens@unsw.edu.au) and NSW-CDS Scientific Director Prof. Melissa Green (melissa.green@unsw.edu.au) with their expressions of interest.
Grants: The role of social-emotional learning in attaining literacy and numeracy, FT170100294, Australian Research Council (Australia, Canberra) - ARC
The NSW child development study. Research shows that a child's development predicts health and social outcomes later in life, LP110100150 , Australian Research Council (Australia, Canberra) - ARC
Identifying new targets for primary school mental health interventions using population data, 1058652, National Health and Medical Research Council (Australia, Canberra) - NHMRC
Grant note: Australian Rotary Health Mental Health for Young Australians Research Grant (104090).
Organisation Unit: School of Education and Tertiary Access
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99990898502621
Output Type: Journal article

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