Facing the challenges to mental health and well-being in schools

The issues of mental health and well-being of children and young people are of increasing concern. In England, the UK government (Public Health England, 2016) recently reported that 10% of young people aged between 5 and 16 had a clinically significant mental health problem, whilst only 25% of those in need were receiving appropriate support and treatment. It is also stated that these problems are often long term and cumulative with 50% of people with a lifetime mental illness (not including dementia) experiencing symptoms before the age of 14 and 75% of such people experiencing symptoms before the age of 24.

Those experiencing significant social challenges are even more vulnerable to mental health problems than the general population, with 60% of looked-after children presenting with an emotional or mental health illness, and young people in prison being 18 times more likely to commit suicide than same-age young people in the general population. Suicide, perhaps the single most obvious consequence of the failure to successfully promote positive mental health for all, continues to be a leading cause of death among school-aged children in general, with the rate rising with age. Again, factors associated with this trend will be familiar to those concerned with the state of our schools, and they include bullying, social isolation and academic pressures, with adolescent suicides peaking during the examination periods (University of Manchester, 2016). The association between academic pressure and suicide continues into the university years and is evident in such diverse cultural settings as the USA and South Korea (see Cooper, 2012).

In these circumstances, it is vital that social and educational policymakers are alert to the ways in which mental health problems occur across the lifespan and that they pay particular attention to the pre-school and school years as foci of preventive and remedial interventions (Hornby & Atkinson, 2003). Crucial here are the frontline professionals who work with young people in schools and other settings catering for school-aged children and young people. Only when they are equipped with up-to-date theory, research and skills based on knowledge of effective practical interventions can teachers and related professionals be optimally equipped to help maximise the positive mental health of their pupils and help them to manage the challenges that they face (see Atkinson & Hornby, 2002). Success in these endeavours will help improve the happiness and well-being of young people, contribute to their ability to engage constructively with one another and with the demands of academic learning, and, in turn, help reduce the potentially lifelong impact of unmet mental health needs.

This special issue considers key issues affecting children’s and young people’s mental health and well-being in school settings. Papers explore theory, research, and practice in this area, with a particular emphasis being placed on prevention and intervention. Care is also taken to highlight the need for caution in the face of cultural and other sociological issues that impinge on this important area.

In the opening paper, Ammar Al-Ghabban explores the role of compassion in promoting well-being and supporting the social and emotional development of children and young people in schools. He shows how the principles of compassion can be woven into the social fabric of everyday life in school. On a similar theme, the second paper by Carmel Cefai (et al.) reports on an evaluation study of a curriculum designed to promote social emotional resilience in early year’s settings in Malta. Maria Poulou and Hideko Bassett continue the early year’s theme with their controlled study of the ways in which children in early year’s settings in Greece respond to peer provocation and how this relates to their adjustment to school. A particular feature of this paper is the way it demonstrates how access can be gained to young children’s perceptions. The paper by Eleni Didaskalou (et al.) also focuses on Greek school students, though their sample is made up of 500 secondary school students. The authors employ a standardised questionnaire to explore students’ mental health status in order to answer the question: ‘are Greek students flourishing?’ The penultimate paper, by Helen Askell-Williams (et al.), reports on another questionnaire study, this time focused on students in schools in Mainland China. An important feature of this paper is a discussion of the need for caution when applying psychometric instruments developed in one culture to different cultures. The final paper of this edition, by Peter Wood, continues the note of caution. This paper forcefully reminds us of the fact that mental health and well-being are constructs that should not be taken for granted but should always be considered critically for fear that may be misused to subvert the very purposes they claim to serve.

We commend this small, diverse, and thought-provoking set of papers to you in the hope that you will find them as stimulating and inspiring as have we. We also hope that they will provide added impetus for you in your engagement with this important topic.