Sustainability of Mental Health Programs

Many of the mental health programs that are studied for research are usually funded through grants and implemented in the classrooms at virtually no financial cost to the school. During a study, teachers are trained and monitored to implement these programs, however, when research is completed and all resources and observations are no longer present, it can become difficult to predict the sustainability of that program. The authors of the article "Sustainability of Teacher Implementation of School-Based Mental Health Programs" focus on analyzing the factors that affect the sustainability of classroom-based mental health programs. Sustainability in this article is defined as "ongoing implementation fidelity to the core program principle after resources used to support initial training and implementation are withdrawn" (pg. 666). 

The first factor examined is the administrative and instrumental support that can be provided specifically by the school principal who has the authority to make programs a priority and in turn redirect resources, and training. However, it is noted that the allocation of resources is determined by the perception of importance the program is in fulfilling the school's goals. The second factor is the strength of a sense of efficacy that teachers have. Empirical data has linked strong self-efficacy with a high likelihood of "implementing innovative educational practices and sustaining their effort to produce positive outcomes for their students" (pg. 668).  The final factor examined is teacher burnout. The three characteristics of teacher burnout relevant to program sustainability have been identified as emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and a low sense of accomplishment. 

The authors conclude that the foundation of the sustainability of mental health programs is at the observation of the impact that it has on the school and students. However, the greatest factor of sustainability is the deliverance that the teacher gives of the program which is studied to be tied to program training. The authors propose introducing a supported implementation phase to a program in which teachers receive intensive in-classroom consultation but further research cannot be provided by this article due to the high cost of this process. 

Although this article focuses on the implementation of programs for the mental health of students, after reading about "teacher burnout" I can't help but think about how schools should also be looking to implement similar programs for teachers as well. It's easy as a student teacher to think that I'll never lose my "spark" or sight of the reason why I feel so passionately about entering the educational field but it is all too common to hear from experienced teachers about how mindsets can change. Of course, this is not the case for all teachers but I definitely think that they could all benefit from having schools fund programs to prevent burnout. 

As far as for my own instruction, this article made me see how efficacy can be an important factor in being open to implement new strategies that could benefit the students. This will remind me to always keep my motivation going and that, especially as a teacher, I should never stop learning or looking for new ways to make a difference in the educational experience of my students. 

Article: Han, S.S. & Weiss, B. (2005). Sustainability of Teacher Implementation of School-Based Mental Health Programs. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology 33(6), 665-679.

Teacher-Student Relationships

In the article “Relationships Matter: Linking Teacher Support to Student Engagement and Achievement”, Klem and Connell research the conditions that are needed to promote student engagement and academic success throughout the elementary and secondary schools and test the linkage between experiences of support from teachers, engagement and school performance. Conditions are hypothesized to be “high standards for academic learning and conduct, meaningful and engaging pedagogy and curriculum, professional learning communities among staff and personalized learning environment” (pg 262). This study measured two forms of engagement in students: ongoing engagement (behavior, emotions, and thought-process throughout the school day) and reaction to challenge (coping strategies when faced with perceived academic failure). Data records and surveys were provided by the Institute for Research and Reform in Education for 1,846 elementary students (ages 7-13) and 2,430 secondary students (ages 10-15) from the years 1990-1995. The study concluded that having continuous teacher support create positive teacher-student relationships which cultivate more student engagement. Teacher support that creates engagement includes “creating a caring, well-structured learning environment in which expectations are high, clear and fair” (pg.270). Additionally, high student engagement is correlated with higher attendance and test scores- both strong variables in the prediction of completion of high school and the pursuit of post-secondary education. 

As the article expresses, relationships can best be fostered in a classroom environment that sets high, yet fair, expectations of their students, both in conduct and achievement, and has clear and consistent consequences. Student expectations are usually, at least in my experience in the high school setting, gone over in the syllabus at the beginning of each semester and are brought up as tools of caution when students are not following proper conduct. As seen in different classroom management strategies, it can be beneficial to have a physical copy of the expectations and consequences, as in the picture shown, in the classroom to set the environment of the classroom instead of only being brought up as something negative. Personally, I would also look into incorporating expected positive outcomes when all expectations are met so that students can know what they are working towards, or at least look toward some sort of reinforcing stimulus. 

The article also mentions the importance of autonomy support which gives students the feeling of independence and control over their education and that the work that they are assigned is perceived as being relevant and to their lives. It is also stated that in order for autonomy support to be effective, there needs to be a “clear sense of structure within which to make those decisions” (pg.262). I believe a good way to achieve autonomy support would be by implementing student-centered learning and culturally relevant pedagogy. Both have a large focus on using knowledge of your students to make the material more applicable, interesting and engaging. An assignment at the beginning of my student teaching required me to produce and deliver a student-interest and learning style survey to my focus class. When I feel that engagement is decreasing within my focus class I can turn to the surveys to look for points of interest that can be incorporated into lessons. I use this as a method for instruction, but also as a way to build relationships with students by having individual conversations about topics that I know interest them. This has become especially helpful when combined with the 2x10 method. 

As teachers, we are always looking for ways to engage our students in our content. We already know, or at least have an idea of, all the educational benefits that come with student engagement, but I think that sometimes we forget that a strong tool for engagement is to build positive relationships with our students. 

Article: 

Klem, A.M. & Connell, J.P. (2004). Relationships Matter: Linking Teacher Support to Student Engagement and Achievement.Journal of School Health 74(7), 262-273.

Link to an online version: 

https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/62ba/e2c89bc37bcdd165c60beb721c95a8771527.pdf

Expectations and Consequences chart from: 

https://theartofeducation.edu/2016/09/05/6-pieces-advice-not-follow-first-year-teaching/