Children and adolescents experience stress in both the short term and long term. For example, students might be living in poverty, or experience family breakdowns, abuse or loss of a loved one. When exposed to stressful situations, students are more likely to experience impact on their learning, development, mental health and behaviour (Roffey, 2016). Currently, one in five Australian adolescents are diagnosed with experiencing a mental illness (Aldridge et al. 2016). Furthermore, when faced with the challenge of chronic stress, this may impact a students’ self-worth and resilience and have a flow on effect into their social life. For example, they might find it difficult to develop healthy friendships and relationships or they might experience bullying (Student Wellbeing Hub, 2017).

Therefore, children and adolescents need to develop coping strategies to face into the challenges of life. Understandably, children do not develop strategies to cope with these issues on their own. Families, communities and schools must all play their part (Roffey, 2016). Schools can provide guidance in developing protective factors to overcome adversity and foster positive wellbeing and resilience.

Wellbeing and resilience are vital to not only reducing the effects of mental health problems, but also improving relationships, identifying an individual’s strengths and developing problem solving skills to confront difficult situations (Reach Out!, 2017). When a school’s culture fosters positive psychological wellbeing, the impact is not only seen in academic results, but also in physical and mental health (Alonso-Martirena, 2017). Furthermore, a growing body of research indicates that the wellbeing of children influences both economic and emotional wellbeing in later life (Aldridge et al. 2016)

It has long been known that students experiencing a mental health issue, are likely to present with behavioural problems in class. In order to promote positive wellbeing, Coverdale (2017) suggests the following is required: the right conditions to learn and develop, individual self-worth and respect, positive relationships, a safe home and local community and opportunities to participate in activities to thrive.

The importance of this research for educators is firstly; that students require conditions that promote development and learning. Secondly, schools have been acknowledged as safe place to promote wellbeing in students. These conditions are best endorsed through school policies, culture, practices and resources (Alonso-Martirena, 2017). As such, wellbeing now sits within schooling alongside other socially valued goals, including academic achievement, equity, citizenship, and social cohesion (Powell, 2017). Therefore, feeling of safety, and development of learning can be targeted at a whole school level.

The following activities and resources are aimed at helping teachers within their class to encourage student self-worth, respect amongst peers and positive relationships with friends and family. In particular, we have focused on six areas to improve student wellbeing. 

1.     Healthy Minds

2.     Anti-Bullying

3.     Healthy Relationships

4.     Managing Teenage Depression, Anxiety and Stress

5.     Healthy Bodies

6.     Building Resilience

Alonso-Martirena, Y. (2017). An Engagement-based School Experience as a Premise of Wellbeing. Procedia - Social And Behavioral Sciences, 237(Education, Health and ICT for a Transcultural World), 654-660. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2017.02.037 

Coverdale, G. (2017). The importance of well-being in children and young people. Journal Of Public Mental Health, 16(3), 93-95.

Nansook Park, a. (2004). The Role of Subjective Well-Being in Positive Youth Development. The Annals Of The American Academy Of Political And Social Science, 25.

Powell, M. A., & Graham, A. (2017). Wellbeing in Schools: Examining the Policy-Practice Nexus. Australian Educational Researcher, 44(2), 213-231. 

Student Wellbeing Hub. (2017). Secondary Classroom Resources. Available at: https://www.studentwellbeinghub.edu.au/educators/secondary-classroom-resources#/ [Accessed 12 Oct. 2017].

 

The available resources vary vastly when looking at the issue of the 'healthy mind'. Some of the resources for ‘healthy minds’ include a video on the secret to happiness, others have lesson plans for teachers that aim to target self-awareness and self-management. 

Mission Australia (2016) quotes a student who suggests that more talk about mental health issues should be included in school curriculum. Therefore, we have also included a link to the DAX centre which is a gallery with artworks designed by people who have experienced a mental illness. An excursion to the DAX centre would help to break down assumptions about mental illness and allow for discussions in class about how mental health issues are common and it is okay to accept that you have them. 

Mission Australia (2016). Youth Survey: 2012-2016. Available at https://www.missionaustralia.com.au/publications/research/young-people [Accessed 12 Oct. 2017].

Tugade, M. M., Fredrickson, B. L., & Barrett, L. F. (2004). Psychological Resilience and Positive Emotional Granularity: Examining the Benefits of Positive Emotions on Coping and Health. Journal Of Personality, (6), 1161.

There is no reason to not assume that the same can be said for a school environment. Students being bullied will look to avoid school as much as possible and work less productively when in the school grounds. 

Jungert et al. (2017) highlights the importance of a student-teacher relationship in the event of bullying and to encourage its prevention. These studies indicate that the harmful affects of bullying prove detrimental to the learning spaces of the children and therefore need to be attended too.

The resources below are for both students and teachers to help facilitate the encouraged support of students suffering bullying behaviour as well as the prevention of continued bullying behaviour.

Jungert,T., Lotti, N., Longobardi, C., & Thornberg, R., (2017). Student–teacher relationships and their associations with pro-social motivation and bystander behaviors in school bullying. Lunds universitet. 

Salin, D., & Notelaers, G. (2017). The effect of exposure to bullying on turnover intentions: the role of perceived psychological contract violation and benevolent behaviour. Work & Stress, 31(4), 355-374

Sotardi (2016) looked into the management of stress in high school students and their coping mechanisms. A lot of students did not have effective ways of dealing with everyday stress that comes from the challenging environment of school life. 

The resources below give an understanding of how to both manage mental health issues as well as giving potential signs or indications when a student might be struggling. Having these resources in place for students and teachers allows the students to be more aware for their friends while teachers can also extend their duty of care beyond physical injuries by notifying the students of the right places to go if they are struggling.

Sotardi, V. A. (2016). UNDERSTANDING STUDENT STRESS AND COPING IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: A MIXED-METHOD, LONGITUDINAL STUDY.  Psychology In The Schools, (7), 705.

Garmy, P., Berg, A., & Clausson, E. K. (2015). A qualitative study exploring adolescents' experiences with a school-based mental health program. BMC Public Health, 151074.

Kase et al (2017) found that the academic benefits of a good health program in a school was very highly related. Schools running strong health programs had students performing much better on standardised testing. These students also reported feeling more energetic and enthusiastic towards school. This is a really important aspect of getting students into the classroom so that they are able to engage with the learning. If they are in a healthier state physically then they are able to improve their mental health as well as learn more efficiently. 

Keeping physically active has shown to improve and maintain receptiveness in class. A study by Alonso-Martirena (2017) found that practicing mindfulness activities in class improved the individual wellbeing of students and also had a flow on effect to engagement and commitment in class.

Alonso-Martirena, Y. (2017). An Engagement-based School Experience as a Premise of Wellbeing. Procedia - Social And Behavioral Sciences, 237(Education, Health and ICT for a Transcultural World), 654-660. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2017.02.037 

Kase, C., Hoover, S., Boyd, G., West, K. D., Dubenitz, J., Trivedi, P. A., & ... Stein, B. D. (2017). Educational Outcomes Associated With School Behavioral Health Interventions: A Review of the Literature. Journal Of School Health, 87(7), 554-562.

Tuuri, G., Zanovec, M., Silverman, L., Geaghan, J., Solmon, M., Holston, D., & ... Murphy, E. (2009). Research report: “Smart Bodies” school wellness program increased children's knowledge of healthy nutrition practices and self-efficacy to consume fruit and vegetables. Appetite, 52, 445-451.