Using Questionnaires in Teacher Research

Teacher research is described as being beneficial and yet it is hampered by teachers' lack of knowledge about research, including how to use popular research methods. Given that accounts by teachers describing their use of such methods in a systematic manner might prove useful for their peers, this article describes my experience of using a questionnaire in teacher research.     

Teacher Stress Related to Student Mental Health Promotion: the Match Between Perceived Demands and Competence to Help Students with Mental Health Problems

The present study highlights teacher stress related to student mental health promotion through the relationship between perceived competence, perceived responsibility and negative emotions. Data were derived from a mixed methods design, utilizing three focus group interviews (n = 15), followed by survey research (n = 771) amongst Norwegian K–12 teachers. The results suggest that teacher stress emerges chiefly from a mismatch between feeling responsible for and being able to help students with mental health problems. The data also point to the impact of time constraints in school context. Finally, the findings reveal significantly higher levels of perceived responsibility and negative emotions amongst female teachers, and significantly lower levels of perceived responsibility amongst teachers at higher grades.     

Improving outcomes for babies and toddlers in child welfare: A model for infant mental health intervention and collaboration

Children under three comprise a sizable and growing proportion of foster care placements. Very young children who enter the child welfare system experience disruptions of critical attachments that are essential to this formative stage of brain development, as well as other traumatic events, leaving them at great risk for lifelong impairments. To reverse these concerning outcomes, babies who have been removed from their homes require intensive, relationship-based interventions that promote secure attachment to a primary caregiver and holistic attention the child's developmental needs. Child welfare decision-makers must be informed of infant brain development and knowledgeable about the particular needs and circumstances of each child. This article describes a model with these features that has been developed and tested in the Bronx, New York, one of the nation's poorest urban counties with high rates of foster care. The Project utilizes evidence-based Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP) as its core intervention, and emphasizes collaboration and information sharing– driven by the CPP clinician– with judges, child welfare workers, attorneys and other social service and mental health providers, thereby encouraging developmentally and relationally informed case planning and permanency decisions. The model is evaluated using pre and post treatment psychosocial measures and program outcome data. Results indicate improvement in parenting interactions, positive child welfare outcomes (including increased rates of reunification, fewer returns to foster care), and improved safety and wellbeing. Results highlight the need for child welfare practices to be more closely aligned with the current science of infant brain development, and to incorporate a specialized approach to address the unique needs of infants.     

Identifying families with complex needs after an initial child abuse investigation: A comparison of demographics and needs related to domestic violence,mental health,and substance use

Families with complex needs related to domestic violence, mental health, and substance use have some of the worst child protective services (CPS) outcomes. Although many of these families are identified during a CPS investigation and subsequently referred to home-based postinvestigation services (HBPS), many are re-reported to CPS, so it is important to understand the postinvestigation experiences of this vulnerable group. Therefore, this study compared families with and without complex needs to understand their uniquedemographics, needs, and postinvestigation outcomes.The sample consisted of 2008 caregivers who received HBPS following an initial CPS investigation. The Family Assessment Form (FAF) was used to measure family functioning in eight domains using a 1–5 scale with higher ratings representing worse functioning. Complex needs were indicated by a mean FAF score of 3 or higher for either domestic violence, mental health, or substance use. Using Pearson chi-square analyses and two-sample t-tests, comparisons were made between families with (n = 836) and without (n = 1172) complex needs. Half of caregivers with complex needs had a history of abuse, 25% had three to five needs, and nearly half had six to eight needs; 90% of caregivers without complex needs had zero to two needs. Furthermore, caregivers with complex needs had higher mean scores for concrete, educational, and clinical needs. These findings highlight the importance of recognizing variation among families referred to HBPS and accurate screening to ensure that families with complex needs are offered and receive services matched to their unique characteristics and needs.     

Clout or doubt? Perspectives on an infant mental health service for young children placed in foster care due to abuse and neglect

Despite knowledge about the profound effects of child abuse and neglect, we know little about how best to assess whether maltreated children should return home. The effectiveness of the New Orleans Intervention Model (NIM) is being tested in a randomized controlled trial where the comparison is social work ‘services as usual.’ The future trial results will tell us which approach produces the best outcomes for children; meanwhile qualitative process evaluation is generating intriguing findings about the perceived impact of NIM on decision-making about childrens’ futures. Interviews and focus groups were conducted with social workers, foster carers, legal decision-makers and the NIM team (n = 63). Data were analysed thematically. Findings suggest that NIM is seen as bringing greater influence (‘clout’) to decision-making due to its depth of focus, provision of treatment for the family, health professional input and perceived objectivity. Simultaneously, the NIM approach and the detailed information it produces potentially throws judgments into doubt in the legal system. Clout/doubt perceptions permeate opinions about NIM and are inter-related with a historical discourse about ‘health versus social’ models of information gathering, with implications for assessment of child abuse and neglect that extend beyond the study context. The juxtaposition of ‘clout versus doubt’ both highlights and is strengthened by an intense focus among social workers and legal professionals on how evidence will be regarded within legal fora when making decisions about children. There is continuing uncertainty in the child welfare system about the best ways of assessing maltreated children, underscoring a continued need for the trial.     

‘Happy when they arrive,happy when they go home’ – focusing on promoting children’s mental health creates a sense of trust at preschools

A need for research on young children’s mental health has been identified. Moreover, there is a need to enhance teachers’ skills regarding health promotion work in preschool. The aim of the study is to examine the impact of a specific course on mental health promotion among Swedish preschool teachers. Data were gathered through interviews and documentation. A qualitative content analysis was used. Three categories: ‘attention’, ‘belonging’ and ‘personal growth’ – and six subcategories emerged from the analysis. The latent content of these categories is described in the theme: ‘Increased awareness, in thoughts and actions, of promoting mental health may create a sense of trust at preschools’. The results show that a specific course to promote mental health enhanced the teachers’ awareness of mental health which improved their work with children. This contributed to the development of a sense of trust at preschools, which is important to children’s mental health.     

Reflecting on Functioning in Trigger Happy America

Trigger warnings are posing serious threats to the ways that English educators can teach at the university level. If Aristotle – and Hillis-Miller years later – argue that literature must arouse and bring about catharsis, then proponents of trigger warnings are anaesthetising the power of words and watering down their ability to incite emotional responses and promote healing. By examining the relationship between proponents of the trigger warning and reflective functioning – a psychoanalytic concept that emerged out of the British psychoanalytic school – this article argues that English students and English educators who support the use of trigger warnings may suffer from poor reflective functioning. Individuals with poor reflective functioning have difficulty coping with their emotions as well as practising mentalisation during times of acute stress, which can be triggered in response to arousing interactions with texts. Finally, the article offers some suggestions for how English educators might use empathy, intentional self-disclosure and vulnerability as a means for enhancing reflective functioning in students and encouraging them to journey more freely and courageously into controversial, charged, and dramatic literary moments.     

‘You shouldn’t be making people feel bad about having sex’: exploring young adults’ perceptions of a sex-positive sexual health text message intervention

Young adults are disproportionately affected by negative sexual health outcomes, such as sexually transmitted infections. One strategy for reducing such negative outcomes involves the use of comprehensive sexual health education. As comprehensive sexual health education programmes are adopted, there is a need to evaluate the messaging approaches that might best connect with young people. Sex-positive approaches, which describe sex as a healthy practice and personal choice, are becoming popular, but whether this strategy works has not been tested from a message design perspective. This study examines the reactions of young adults to sex-positive or sex-negative messages, framed as a gain or loss, designed for a text message-based intervention. Participants quantitatively evaluated 24 messages on their mobile phones. Gain frames were preferred over loss frames, and sex-positive messages were rated as more believable and persuasive. An interaction between the two concepts was also found. Results highlight how sex-positive messages that focus on the benefits of certain behaviours tend to resonate better with young adults. Implications for health educators and practitioners are discussed.     

“You Can Do it Anywhere”: Student and Teacher Perceptions of an Online Sexuality Education Intervention

Formal sexuality education in schools is declining in the United States and this is disproportionately affecting adolescents in rural settings. The purpose of this qualitative study was to assess student and teacher perception of sexuality education delivered online as a potential solution to address this gap in access. Nine gender-specific group interviews were conducted with ninth grade students (n = 29) in rural North Carolina to discuss students’ experience with an online sexuality education intervention called MyHealthEd. Interviews were also conducted with three health teachers at pilot schools. Students and teachers identified more benefits to online sexuality education including more student engagement and greater privacy and comfort, than drawbacks, such as too much student autonomy and less interaction with others. Online sexuality education is a promising and preferred method of delivery for sexuality education for students and health teachers, particularly in settings where trained health teachers are not available or less willing to deliver state-mandated content. The MyHealthEd intervention has the potential to increase availability of high quality health education to students across North Carolina, as well as students in other rural or underserved areas.     

College/University Counseling Centers Supporting Study Away: Challenges and Opportunities

Research points to significant numbers of students on college campuses experiencing mental health distress and an ever increasing number of college students who are choosing to make an off-campus educational experience a part of their college careers. When we consider both of these trends together, it is quite apparent that a significant number of students with mental health concerns will spend periods of time studying away from campus, with converging concerns among college mental health and study away professionals about how to best support these students. This article seeks to outline both challenges and opportunities inherent in the collaboration between campus professionals in supporting students with mental health issues before and during their study away experiences.