What Factors Influence This Decline?

Schools are seeing a continuous decrease in positive mental health attributes in their K-12 students, an issue that affects their well-being in the classroom and negatively impacts their personal and academic growth. As detailed within the American Psychological Association digital magazine – Monitor on Psychology, author Zara Abrams explains the various difficulties faced by students currently that contribute to their declining mental health, such as “growing concerns about social media, mass violence, natural disasters, climate change, and political polarization—not to mention the normal ups and downs of childhood and adolescence…”[1] In having to face these barriers, students are in need of counselors and mental health practitioners within the school setting in order to implement the necessary support systems to combat their distress. But, schools have been seeing a shortage in these positions and, in turn, are struggling to meet the needs of students and their families. [2]

Evidently, the environmental circumstances surrounding students can have a negative impact, thus affecting their overall prosperity and happiness in the classroom.

How Are Educators Combating the Issue?

In seeing this steady increase of declining mental health, schools are placing emphasis on the issue and are developing methods in countering it. One of these many solutions is to implement Social Emotional Learning (SEL) interventions, where such relies on the social emotional knowledge of teachers, student preparedness for their academic environment, and the positive and constructive relationship between students and their teachers.[3] This method largely surrounds the concept of persisting compassion in the classroom. In discussing its importance, author James Kirby of Sage Journals reflects on the positive effects of compassion, where the focus of this element is “…to improve the sensitivity to suffering in self and others, as well as increase motivational states to act to alleviate suffering.”[3] In cultivating an environment that amplifies positive reinforcement and emotional sensitivity, both students and teachers can thrive, giving students the necessary compassion to feel heard and teachers the tools to implement these elements in classrooms. 

In addition to SEL interventions, other schools across the United States are applying Comprehensive, Integrated, Three-tiered (Ci3T) models to aid K-12 students in specific concepts of enhanced well-being including academic, social, emotional, and behavioral needs.[4] With such efforts, educators can collect data and utilize these findings to refine the plan for their students’ specific needs. This, in turn, gives schools detailed plans and procedures, presenting a clear structure to base the well-being needs of each individual student.[4]

Approaching the well-being of students in the classroom differently, other schools are working to take preventative measures and showing the significance of universal mental health screenings. As a contributing author of EducationWeek, Matthew Stone describes how these preventative measures would help to “…alert educators to students who might be having problems—early signs of depression or anxiety, for example—and need help.”[5] In acting preemptively, schools are able to combat the issue of declining well-being in their K-12 students before it gets worse within the classroom, which could help to potentially avoid the issue completely in the future. 

Another organization that could serve to sustain informative staff on the topic of mental health and well-being is the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, where some of their main objectives include driving policy and social change, working with mental health and substance abuse organizations to ensure accessibility to helpful services, and promote the better understanding of mental health overall and provide tools in identifying, understanding, and “…[responding] to signs and symptoms of mental health and substance use challenges.”[6] In utilizing similar sources amidst the process of informing faculty about the topic, schools can ensure that their staff are approaching their classrooms with the necessary tools to create an environment that both welcomes students into a safe and open environment and provides the individualized care that each student needs.

Markedly, the decrease in student well-being has been brought to light in recent years, showcasing the efforts of academic environments in confronting the issue. The methods discussed help to convey the importance in not only coming up with strategic and well-defined solutions, but also in initially recognizing the presence of these issues and validating negative experiences of students within K-12 classrooms. With their continuous work, educators can resolve the issue of declining well-being in their students and create an environment that fulfills both their academic and emotional needs.

How Does PSG Fit In?

At Publishing Solutions Group, we value the well-being of students and aim to provide the polished materials necessary in order for them to thrive in their environment. As a team, we work with our clients and offer extensive services of effective content development, both print and digital, and some of these projects are in line with the topic of social emotional learning and mental health. Through our extensive knowledge in the educational publishing world, we have the necessary tools and staff to cultivate a positive and engaging environment in the classroom.

[1] https://www.apa.org/monitor/2023/01/trends-improving-youth-mental-health

[2] https://www.edsurge.com/research/guides/making-sense-of-k-12-student-mental-health

[3] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10.1017/jgc.2023.5

[4] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/15345084241239302?journalCode=aeib

[5] https://www.edweek.org/leadership/why-america-has-a-youth-mental-health-crisis-and-how-schools-can-help/2023/10

[6] https://www.thenationalcouncil.org/about-us/

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