Preparing Teacher Candidates and Experienced

Teachers: Armed to Support Students Mental

Health and Well-Being

Shiva Alasvand
To identify and understand:
Teachers level of preparation for supporting the
mental health and well-being of students
Strategies/resources/programs for supporting
students mental health and well-being
Incorporation of mental health in teacher
education programs
Opportunities for professional development for
experienced teachers






Purpose of the Study
Research Question:
How can
experienced
teachers and teacher
candidates be better
prepared to support
students towards
mental health and
well-being?

Research Questions
Sub-Questions:
1) What resources or strategies
do current practicing teachers use
to help them support students
towards mental health and well-
being?

2) What specific content areas
and experiences can be
incorporated into pre-service
teacher education curriculum to
better prepare new teachers to
support students towards mental
health and well-being?

Personal experience
Passion for education
Empathy, compassion and love


Background of the Researcher
Defining Mental Health
A state of well-being in
which every individual realizes
his or her own potential, can
cope with the normal stresses
of life, can work productively
and fruitfully, and is able to
make a contribution to her or
his community (World
Health Organization, 2013)
Theory and Research
Prevalence
Canadian Mental Health
Association states that
approximately 10-20% of
youth in Canada are affected
by a mental illness, however,
out of those children
requiring mental health
services, only one out of five
receives them (2012)
Pre-Service Teacher Training
A teacher education program that results in the candidate
receiving their teacher certification
Theory and Research Continued
Mental Health and Teacher Education Programs
Teachers indicate a dire need for mental health education and
training to occur within pre-service teacher education
programs (Walter et al., 2006)
Online survey of elementary teachers and ECEs:
Many disagreed with the statement, I feel that I have the level
of knowledge required to meet the mental health needs of the
children with whom I work (Reinke et al., 2011, p. 7)
Criteria
Must have teacher
certification
Experience working with
students with a mental
health issue




Methodology
Participants
Peter (Community Health
Coordinator)
Julie (Teacher of Special
Education)
Karen (Primary School
Teacher/TDSB/Section 23)
* All participants are Pseudonyms in order to preserve anonymity
Theme #1: Observing Mental Health within the Classroom

Potential Signs
If someone's having mental health issues, it can be either internalized or
externalized. So if it's internalized it's a little harder to seeSo you really have to
have a bird's eye view of what's going on. - Julie

Influence of Stigma
It [mental health] wasn't as important of an issue than it is nowI think it was
still really stigmatized back thentheres external stigma and there is internal
stigma as well. So even stigma for mental health really prevents people from
reaching out for help. And most people who can get over the stigma get the help
that they need. - Peter

Findings
Findings Continued
Theme #2: Effective Strategies for Understanding Mental Health

The Importance of Conversations about Mental Health
I think talking about it [mental health and well-being], normalizing it, making it a
priorityit should be as much of a priority as reading, writing and arithmeticour
goal as teachers is to prepare students to be successful outside of school and
social emotional learning is necessary to be successful in the world so why arent
we focusing more on that? Julie

The Importance of Establishing and Maintaining Support Systems
There are alwayspsychologists or social workers attached to the school. So
thats always a support system for a teacher who has a student with a mental
health issue. Supports would be family for sure. Partnership with family. Having
conversations about what theyre noticing at home. - Julie




Findings Continued
Theme #3: Programs and Resources in Support of Mental Health
Awareness/Education

Peters Suggestions:
Mental Health First Aid
(endorsed by Mental
Health Commission of
Canada)

Julies Suggestions:
Special Education Part 1
Supporting Minds: An
Educators Guide to
Promoting Students
Mental Health and Well
Being
Karens Suggestions:
Special Education Part 1
When Somethings
Wrong: Strategies for
Teachers
Findings Continued
Theme #4: Teacher Education Curriculum/Professional Development on
Mental Health


Increased Relevancy of
Mental Health and Well-
Being:

Its an issue thats
becoming more relevant.
Its something that we
need to continue to
educate ourselves
withembrace. - Karen
Potential Content:

I think that it should be
incorporated into every
courseif it were a thread
throughout every course, I
think that we would be
able to be a better service
to our teacher candidates
and to our students in their
classrooms. - Julie

Role of the Teacher:

Were always in a
supportive role and again
we might be at sort of the
front line and be the first
one to notice it but we
arent trained to be that
personwe can be
supportive in that role but
we need to bring someone
from the outside to help
deal with those issues
- Julie
Findings Continued
Theme #5: Education on Mental Health through an Optimistic
Lens
In the future, things will look better in terms of training [on mental
health] for teachersI think its only going to get better from here
because now were focusing on it more which I think is greatI think
were moving in the right direction - Julie
Limitations & Implications for Further Research

Small sample size
Time constraints
Focus on teacher education programs in general
Lack of student perspectives

Implications