Educator mental health literacy to scale: from theory to practice

Abstract

Schools are an excellent setting through which to promote mental health and well-being, and teachers are well positioned to provide related instruction and support in the classroom. However, teachers often report that they lack the knowledge, skills and confidence to deliver social emotional learning instruction and to support students who struggle with mental health challenges. Professional learning initiatives that build teacher capacity in this area are increasing in quantity, but not all of the offerings are evidence based, relevant, scalable, and sustainable. This paper explores the approach being implemented in school districts within Ontario, Canada to enhance mental health literacy for educators. A description of the mental health literacy strategy within the Thames Valley District School Board is provided to illustrate how school districts can align with broad directions while at the same time contextualizing efforts to address local priorities and perspectives. The paper offers a synthesis of lessons learned from this early adopter case study, and from the implementation of the broader provincial approach.

Keywords:

• Mental health
• capacity building
• teachers
• implementation
• case study

Acknowledgement

The authors would like to acknowledge the contributions of current and past Thames Valley District School Board staff who have had a leadership role in designing, implementing, and monitoring the district mental health and addictions strategy. In particular, the authors would like to thank Drs. Steve Killip, Michelle Gilpin, and Barrie Evans for their time in reviewing and contributing to this paper.