School Leader Preparedness for Addressing Student Mental Health
Author: Papa, Dorothy P.
Date: 2018-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: School Administration,Mental Health,Student Welfare,Leadership Effectiveness,Administrator Education,Competency Based Education,Administrator Attitudes,Principals,Course Content,Field Experience Programs,Expertise,Teacher Attitudes,College Faculty,Children,Adolescents,Standards,Mental Health Workers

This article describes an exploratory mixed method convergent parallel design study conducted to examine Connecticut Educational Leadership Preparation programs for the existence of mental health content in course work and field experiences to learn the extent to which preservice school leaders are being exposed to mental health content in their leadership preparation programs for developing the competencies needed for effectively addressing the diverse mental health conditions of students. National data indicate that about one in five youth currently experience a diagnosable and treatable emotional-behavioral problem, and in Connecticut, this represents about 150,000 children and adolescents in need of mental health care (Bracey, Arzubi, Vanderploeg, &amp; Franks, 2013). The concept of Expanded School Mental Health (ESMH) emerged from the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health in 2003. The Commission was charted by President George Bush to examine the state of the mental health system in the United States. It was found that the nation's mental health care system was fragmented and in disarray leaving many children and adolescents not accessing mental health care. The Commission produced a report which provided Recommendation 4.2 to include and expand school mental health programs. Since that time, schools have been identified as key settings in which to promote mental health and address the mental health conditions of youth. Education reform initiatives over recent decades require that school leaders connect leadership behaviors to students' social, emotional, and academic outcomes. School leaders hold a pivotal role in whether, and to what extent mental health promotion and prevention take root in school contexts (Gottfredson &amp; Gottfredson, 2002; Kam, Greenberg, &amp; Walls, 2003). Therefore, it is critical that preservice school leaders are adequately prepared during their preservice training to develop the competencies and skills that are essential for effectively addressing the diverse mental health conditions of students. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nationally renowned school mental health experts, and in-service Connecticut school principals to learn what leadership competencies they believe are needed for school leaders to effectively address student mental health. Responses yielded 11 suggested leadership competency content categories which served as the basis for two researcher-developed online surveys completed by Connecticut school leader preparation program course professors and preservice school leader program students rating the extent to which mental health content was included in course work and field experience. Program course syllabi were examined for mental health content. The convergence and paralleling of the study's qualitative and quantitative results illuminates the difference between what school mental health experts identified as essential leadership competencies for meeting the mental health needs of students, and what is comprised in Connecticut Educational Leadership preparation program curriculum and field experience. Findings from the data sources suggest there is a dearth of mental health content in program curricula, and insufficient attention to clinical internships. Connecticut educational leadership preparation programs could do better in preparing preservice school leaders for addressing the mental health needs of students.