THE IMPACT OF MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

SUBMITED BY:

AARON CARL B. ARIOLA

MARY KRISEL SOLIMAN

YEAR & BLOCK:

BCAED-IV-A

SUBMITED TO:

MR. BERNARD JOHN MARTINEZ

I. CONTEXT AND RATIONALE

Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we
think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make
healthy choices. Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and
adolescence through adulthood.Although the terms are often used interchangeably, poor
mental health and mental illness are not the same. A person can experience poor mental health
and not be diagnosed with a mental illness. Likewise, a person diagnosed with a mental illness
can experience periods of physical, mental, and social well-being.When the demands placed on
a person exceed their resources and coping abilities, their mental health could be impacted. For
example, if someone is working long hours, caring for a relative, or experiencing economic
hardship, they may experience poor mental health.This study used a post positivist approach to
research. This paradigm used an objective with observable regulatory mechanisms view of the
nature of reality (Morris, 2013). There was no beginning hypothesis, as ideas and themes slowly
emerged through the interviews. Data was gathered qualitatively, in naturalistic settings to get
a clear picture of students’ and educators’ experience with mental health issues. The rationale
for choosing this paradigm was to allow for theories about the need for mental health services
to form as each piece ofdata was collected and evaluated. Gathering data in the high school, a
naturalistic setting, provided a breadth and depth of information that could be gained in no
other way. Teachers who spend hundreds of hours with students, counselors who each have
caseloads of more than 500 students, and administrators who work to establish the best school
infrastructure, are those with “boots on the ground.” Interviews with these educators provided
many genuine experiences that allowed the researcher to build theory.

II. INNOVATION, INTERVENTION AND STRATEGY

An empirically derived approach to map intensity and type of school strategies to the needs of
students has been used in parts of the USA. This tiered approach includes universal strategies
for all students, followed by interventions to assist selected students who face particular risks,
and finally a tier with treatment interventions for those with the greatest needs. An advantage
of this public health and tiered approach is that schools and teachers can support students with
varying needs and also create classroom and whole-school environments that support the
learning of all children.Schools in many high-income countries have long delivered public health
education and services, such as immunisation programmes and health and sex
education.Provision of mental health services in schools is quite new and mainly addresses the
academic effect of mental health difficulties that are not being met by external mental health
services. The specialty incorporates mental health promotion, prevention, and treatment. Many
interventions address overlapping areas, showing the present movement towards multitiered
systems of supports in which school mental health is delivered across a full continuum of care.
The ultimate aim is to promote student wellbeing, prevent the development or worsening of
mental health problems, and improve the effectiveness of education.

III. ACTION RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1. How long have you been a high school teacher?

2. What is your educational background?
3. What are some of your classroom methods to keep teenagers engaged?
4. Based on your experience as a teacher, what is your opinion on student
emotional wellness?
5. What is your experience with students in your class who are have emotional problems?

6. Describe some of the types of problems you’ve been aware of?

7. How do these problems effect the student’s ability to perform in your class?
8. What resources do you help the students access for their problems, if any?
9. What differences do you see in students who have unmet emotional needs
versus those who don’t?
10.What types of support systems do your students have, those who seem to
have problems and those who don’t?