Citation:
Monks H, Pearce N, Barnes A, Cross D. School-based promotion of mental health and wellbeing to address bullying. ACHPER National Journal. 2018;25(2/3):39-46
Abstract:
Schools are increasingly recognised as playing a central role in the promotion of students’ mental health and wellbeing. Indeed, the use of social-emotional education delivered by school staff has demonstrated effectiveness in improving students’ social and emotional competencies and their academic performance. However, addressing social and emotional learning in the curriculum is necessary, but insufficient on its own to influence the range of factors that contribute to students’ mental health and wellbeing. As will be discussed, bullying behaviour can be a major challenge to young people’s mental health and wellbeing in the school environment. The complexity of school bullying, which can be deeply entrenched and involve multiple causal factors, means that it is best addressed as part of a systematic whole school approach, focusing on the multiple contexts in which students are embedded (family, peer, online, school and community). Educators are critical to the success of such approaches, through developing the supportive and safe environments in which young people thrive, and helping advocate for whole-school change to improve students’ mental health and wellbeing. It is important that intervention strategies are tailored to the unique context of each school community, and are informed by an assessment of the school’s capacity for implementation, to enhance the likelihood of positive outcomes from whole-school approaches and sustainability over time