PARLIAMENTARY INQUIRY INTO EFFECTIVE …

1 PARLIAMENTARY INQUIRY into EFFECTIVE strategies FOR teacher professional LEARNING STUDENTS SOCIAL, EMOTIONAL AND BEHAVIOURAL WELLBEING INVITED SUBMISSION AUTHORS: PHILLIP SLEE ( ) HELEN ASKELL WILLIAMS ( ) KATHERINE DIX ( ) MICHAEL LAWSON ( ) SCHOOL OF EDUCATION, FLINDERS UNIVERSITY, ADELAIDE, SOUTH AUSTRALIA GPO BOX 2100 ADELAIDE. 5001 Introduction The prevalence of mental health disorders among children and adolescents in Australia was estimated in a national child and adolescent mental health survey to be per cent (Sawyer et al 2000). This means for example, that, at any single point of time, approximately 138 000 Australian children and adolescents are experiencing a depressive disorder. Furthermore, the same national survey found that only a very small proportion of children with mental disorders receive professional help. These findings challenge us to consider how we might provide EFFECTIVE help for the large number of children and adolescents who are not attending treatment services.

2 In general, three approaches can be used to reduce child and adolescent mental disorders in the community. These are called : 'clinical', 'targeted' (including 'indicated' and 'selective') and 'universal' approaches. The advantage of clinical programs is the positive evidence of treatment effectiveness when the programs are correctly delivered. Disadvantages include their limited coverage of children's problems in the community, the relatively high cost of program delivery, the difficulty in ensuring that treatment is correctly delivered in routine clinical settings, and the large number of children and adolescents who fail to complete their treatment. Targeted programs focus on children at risk of developing mental disorders ( children living in poverty or children with parents who have a mental disorder) or children who have already developed sub-clinical problems. The advantages of targeted programs are the potential to reduce program costs and improve cost-effectiveness by focusing specifically on the targeted children.

3 Targeted programs have been criticized for increasing the risk of stigmatizing children who are identified to participate, although evidence to support this assumption is lacking. Another criticism is that accurate identification of children who are most likely to benefit from these programs is difficult because many of those proposed to be at risk do not actually develop the problem of concern and many without risk factors do subsequently develop problems. Universal interventions are offered to all children, regardless of whether or not they have problems. They aim to both reduce the emergence of new disorders and help children with existing problems. Universal approaches avoid the potential risk of stigmatizing some children and ensure that large numbers of children receive the intervention, thus enabling the inclusion of children with a broad range of risk factors. However, disadvantages of universal approaches include the possibility that many children receiving such programs may not need them, benefits can take a long time to emerge, and the value for individual children may be relatively small (Sawyer et al 2000) and difficult to measure.

4 'Clinical', 'targeted' and 'universal' approaches to managing child and adolescent mental health and mental illness are all represented within school systems. Spieldenner (WHO Europe, 2006) proposed that the school setting provides the entry gate to get to young people; allows long-term interventions to be planned, devised and implemented; and provides teachers and other students who can supplement parents as EFFECTIVE health promotion role models. The WHO framework for health promotion in schools involves curriculum, teaching and learning; the school ethos and environment; and partnerships with the wider school community. Locating health promotion in schools must expose health education to the same rigours of educational enquiry as occurs for other disciplines, such as science or mathematics. Questions about curriculum design, scope and sequence, EFFECTIVE pedagogies for the subject matter at hand, and how students learn, are all relevant to school-based health promotion initiatives.

5 Stewart-Brown (2006) identified that the most EFFECTIVE health promotion initiatives were of long duration, of high intensity, adopted a whole school approach, and took a multi-factorial approach that included attention to the school environment. With particular focus to mental health promotion, key elements included, changing the school environment developing personal skills, and involving parents and the wider community. Student wellbeing is represented as a core value of most educational and health systems. At the student level, wellbeing is generally represented as a multidimensional construct, with typical dimensions being social, cognitive, emotional, physical and moral or spiritual wellbeing. The South Australian Department of Education and Children s Services has in progress the Learner Wellbeing Project for Birth to Year 12 (DECS, 2007). As part of the Learner Wellbeing Project, each DECS site (birth to Year 12) is required to include an INQUIRY into an aspect of learner wellbeing in their site learning plan.

6 For 2007. The DECS Learner Wellbeing Framework contains five dimensions that overlap and interconnect with each other: cognitive, emotional, physical, social and spiritual. Collectively these dimensions provide learners with resilience and confidence in their ability to influence their world. Initiatives such as the DECS Learner Wellbeing Framework illustrates the imperative for teachers to develop knowledge, skills, and dispositions that can foster wellbeing in school communities. In our submission we are proposing that teachers are at the fore-front in working with children in relation to their health, wellbeing and welfare needs, and so the preparation of teachers (both pre-service and in-service) is of significant importance. Wellbeing Initiatives for teacher Education in the School of Education, Flinders University Staff in the School of Education at Flinders University are actively involved in a range of research projects and teaching, focussed on teacher professional learning in relation to student health, wellbeing, and welfare needs.

7 In particular we have been involved with: 1. Evaluation of MindMatters Mental Health program in schools, 2. Evaluation of the KidsMatter mental health program, 3. Development of teaching topics for pre-service teacher professional learning, 4. Development of teaching resources for addressing primary and secondary school student s health, wellbeing, and welfare needs, 5. Australian Research Council-Linkage Grant 2007-2009, and 6. Presenting and publishing about wellbeing to National and International audiences 1. Evaluation of MindMatters Mental Health program in secondary schools One response to the need to build capabilities for wellbeing in Australia has been the introduction into secondary schools of the MindMatters teaching resource (MindMatters ). The MindMatters materials represent a major national curriculum development exercise in an area that is of vital importance for Australian society. The MindMatters classroom evaluation study conducted by staff of the School of Education at Flinders University investigated the teaching of the Understanding Mental Illnesses (UMI) module of the MindMatters resource in three South Australian classrooms.

8 The classroom evaluation evidenced significant improvements in participating students knowledge, social distance attitudes and behavioural intentions regarding mental illness, demonstrating that teaching about Understanding Mental Illness can be EFFECTIVE (Askell-Williams et al, 2006). In our submission a key finding from was that the participating teachers expressed no doubt that that teaching about Mental Health and Mental Illness is an imperative in schools. The question for our participants was not whether schools should teach the UMI module and the other modules in the MindMatters package. Rather, the issues were(i) resources , (ii) best practices, (iii) situating instruction, (iv) attending to students needs, (v) teacher education, (vi) ongoing teacher professional development, (vii) teacher confidence, and (viii) issues of scope and sequence in curriculum design. ( ) The focus of this submission posits that education can make a difference, by changing knowledge, attitudes and behavior.

9 2. Evaluation of the KidsMatter primary school mental health program KidsMatter is a primary school mental health promotion, prevention and early intervention initiative developed in collaboration with the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing, Beyondblue: the national depression initiative, the Australian Psychological Society, the Australian Principals Associations professional Development Council (APAPDC) and supported by the Australian Rotary Health Research Fund. The KidsMatter initiative aims to: Improve the mental health and well-being of primary school students Reduce mental health problems among students (eg., anxiety, depression and behavioural problems) Achieve greater support and assistance for students at risk or experiencing mental health problems. The KidsMatter evaluation conducted by staff of the School of Education at Flinders University will gather information about the initial implementation of KidsMatter in 100 primary schools across Australia.

10 The evaluation will provide knowledge of the implementation process and whether the initiative leads to improved mental health for students using a universal approach to intervention . The evaluation will inform the subsequent national roll-out of KidsMatter initiatives. In this submission we are highlighting the significance of early intervention and support. 3. Development of teaching topics for pre-service teacher professional learning Current topics specifically related to student wellbeing offered in the Bachelor of Education at Flinders University include, (i) Development, Learning and Inclusive Teaching, (ii) Building Social & Emotional well-being in school communities, (iii) Children s Peer Relations, and (iv) Myth, Magic & Mystery: Psychological Insights into the World of the Child. In these topics pre-service teachers are exposed to research, theory, and resources that facilitate their developing appreciation, critical reflection and understanding about the social and emotional development of children and adolescents.