Abstract
In meeting the social and emotional learning (SEL) needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, the capacities of school staff are critical. There is very limited evidence for relevant capacity development initiatives. This evaluation reports a multicomponent SEL training intervention delivered to staff of an Australian education service that operates independently of any particular school to assist with the transitions of students from remote communities to boarding schools. A participatory action research (PAR) approach was implemented over 13-months with 21 staff participants. Results from a pre-, mid- and six months post-training survey and staff interviews were analysed and fed back through reflective group discussions. The training was associated with improved staff attitudes to mental health and skills to support student wellbeing. Sixteen participants received a tertiary qualification. Despite ‘working in challenging environments’, staff were ‘dedicated to help’ students, and ‘acknowledged the need for change’ to better support student wellbeing. However, given the service's brokering role between families and schools, fewer staff members reported feeling empowered to influence issues in their workplace. The evaluation demonstrated the value of SEL training for education staff and potential utility for school teachers and boarding staff who have direct duty of care for Indigenous students. The multicomponent training described in this study would need to be condensed for school settings.
Highlights
School-based social and emotional learning (SEL) programs offer significant returns for the resource and time investment (Banerjee, Weare, & Farr, 2013), and are being considered a more significant determinant of academic attainment than intelligence quotients (IQ) (Duckworth & Seligman, 2005)
This paper reports an evaluation of a multicomponent SEL staff capacity enhancement training intervention with members of an Australian education service that works independently from any particular school to broker the transitions of Indigenous students from remote communities to boarding schools
The results suggest that like studies of the effects of Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) for other participant groups (Jensen et al, 2016; Kitchener & Jorm, 2004), for service staff, the MHFA training was associated with a reduction in the stigma of mental illness and improved confidence in providing support for students suffering from mental illness
Summary
School-based social and emotional learning (SEL) programs offer significant returns for the resource and time investment (Banerjee, Weare, & Farr, 2013), and are being considered a more significant determinant of academic attainment than intelligence quotients (IQ) (Duckworth & Seligman, 2005). SEL refers to the process of acquiring and effectively applying the knowledge, attitudes and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships and make responsible decisions (Brooks, 2014) Evidence shows that such programs improve individual student competencies such as confidence about learning, a ‘growth mindset’ to persist when faced with challenges (Aronson, 2002), goal setting, stress management (Duckworth & Seligman, 2005) and problem-solving skills (Brooks, 2014). Identification is important because 75% of mental illness manifests by age 24 (Kessler et al, 2005) and individualised primary healthcare and specialist service responses to mental illness are often poorly coordinated and resourced (McGorry, 2017)
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