Recent research has suggested that ten percent of school aged children and young people within the UK experience a clinically diagnosable mental health problem (Green et al., 2005). Schools, teachers and educational psychology services are increasingly required to help with the prevention, early recognition and management of mental health difficulties. In particular, teachers have been identified as important supporters of pupil mental health needs as tier one mental health workers and providers of universal mental health services (DfCSF & DH, 2008; Ofsted, 2005). However, a comprehensive review of both government and academic literature indicated that the feasibility of this expectation is largely unexplored, particularly within the UK context. Therefore, this thesis sought to investigate the perspectives of mainstream secondary school teachers regarding pupil mental health needs in order to develop a predictive model of their willingness. The rationale for focusing on willingness was that psychological theory indicates that willingness is an important determinant of actual behaviour (e.g. Ajzen, 2005). A model was developed based upon the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), but which included other relevant elements identified within the literature. The model was tested using a questionnaire developed for the purpose of the study, which was found to have both internal reliability and validity. Teachers from 14 schools within 9 South Wales LEAs completed the questionnaire (n=217). Regression analysis provided support for the proposed model, indicating that teacher age, level of personal experience and attitude towards the role were particularly strong predictors of teacher willingness. This research has many implications in terms of developing the capacity of schools to support the mental health needs of their pupils, for example, in providing an understanding of some of the social-cognitive processes which may influence teacher willingness. Additionally, the research has identified an important role for educational psychologists in terms of supporting schools to develop teacher willingness, for example, through tailored training.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:567337 |
| Date | January 2012 |
| Creators | Hamilton-Roberts, Amy |
| Publisher | Cardiff University |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://orca.cf.ac.uk/35877/ |
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