Standing on the forefront of school mental health: Building upon capacity in teacher candidates through mental health literacy and trauma-and-violence-informed-care
Abstract
Early identification and access to appropriate supports can improve the trajectory of childhood mental illnesses. Schools and educators have consistently been identified as having a significant role in both mental health promotion efforts as well as the identification of emerging mental health concerns amongst students. Equipping teachers for this role through professional development related to mental health literacy (MHL) is essential in ensuring their success. Closely tied to mental health is a sense of safety, and children who feel unsafe at school may have greater difficulty regulating their emotions and behaviour and be less available for learning. Utilizing a trauma-and-violence-informed-care (TVIC) framework within the education system may help schools provide safe places for all students, including those exposed to trauma, structural violence and experiencing mental health concerns. Initial teacher education offers a natural opportunity to prepare future educators with the knowledge, skills and self-efficacy needed to create learning environments that are safe, equitable and meet the needs of all students, including those with mental health concerns and/or the experience of trauma and violence. A mandatory, online mental health literacy course was utilized to provide instruction in MHL and TVIC to Bachelor of Education students (n=287) at a large Canadian university. Pre and post-test measures were used to capture knowledge gains with respect to mental health literacy, attitudes towards trauma-and-violence-informed-care and self-efficacy for utilizing inclusive teaching practices. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) revealed a significant effect of time across measures, indicating that knowledge gains were made. There was no significant effect of previous learning on the measures of interest, which suggests that knowledge gains were made regardless of participants’ previous mental health knowledge. These findings highlight the importance of including these topics within initial teacher education. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.