Supporting the Mental Health Needs of Neurodivergent Students: Outcomes of a Mental Health Literacy Program for Primary School Educators
Article
Article Title | Supporting the Mental Health Needs of Neurodivergent Students: Outcomes of a Mental Health Literacy Program for Primary School Educators |
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ERA Journal ID | 200411 |
Article Category | Article |
Authors | Terlich, Rebecca, Krishnamoorthy, Govind and Fein, Erich C. |
Editors | Rodríguez-García, A. and de, J.C. |
Journal Title | Education Sciences |
Journal Citation | 14 (10) |
Article Number | 1069 |
Number of Pages | 14 |
Year | 2024 |
Publisher | MDPI AG |
Place of Publication | Switzerland |
ISSN | 2227-7102 |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14101069 |
Web Address (URL) | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/14/10/1069 |
Abstract | This study evaluated the effectiveness of neurodiversity training modules from a mental health literacy program for primary school staff offered over a three-year period (2013–2015), entitled ‘Teaching and Mental Health’. Using archival data, this study aimed to identify how much teachers learned, how confident they were about using this newly acquired knowledge, and how well the training met the teachers’ learning needs. This study also aimed to explore the relationship between knowledge and confidence, and how satisfaction indicators affected this relationship. Key ethical considerations of neurodiversity training and outcome measurement are discussed. A pre-test and post-test survey design was conducted with 99 primary school teachers from the Brisbane region in Australia. Analyses included three paired-samples t-tests, descriptive statistics, a linear regression analysis, and a mediation analysis. Significant increases of knowledge and confidence were found compared to baseline, and mean satisfaction ratings were high. Knowledge was a significant predictor of confidence, and mental health presenter ratings partially mediated this relationship. It is proposed that future delivery of the program should invest in improving presenter effectiveness. |
Keywords | mental health literacy training; neurodiversity; primary school teachers; autism; ADHD; sensory processing disorder |
Contains Sensitive Content | Does not contain sensitive content |
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020 | 520102. Educational psychology |
Byline Affiliations | Manna Institute, Australia |
School of Psychology and Wellbeing |
https://research.usq.edu.au/item/z9v2z/supporting-the-mental-health-needs-of-neurodivergent-students-outcomes-of-a-mental-health-literacy-program-for-primary-school-educators
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