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'Little Helping Things': 5- to 8-Year-Olds Imagine How Elementary Schools Could Support Student Mental Health
Alison Giles-Kaye1,2, Jon Quach1,2, Meredith O'Connor1,2
1Faculty of Education, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Background:
Children's mental health is a global issue of concern, and schools are a key site for identifying and supporting children's mental health needs. Children are active agents in their mental health. Their unique perspectives offer valuable insights that can inform how their schools can support the mental health of their students. There is a lack of research exploring the views of young children.
Aims:
This study sought to explore the views of elementary school-aged children (aged 5-8 years) regarding how they imagine elementary schools could support student mental health.
Methods:
This study was conducted in Victoria, Australia. We undertook 17 semi-structured interviews with children aged between 5 and 8 years employing developmentally appropriate techniques that supported children's assent and choice. We employed reflexive thematic analysis to identify and report themes.
Results:
Analysis generated four themes from the data: the benefits of enabling play through school design and routines; fostering a culture of kindness and belonging; promoting mental health literacy; and cultivating teaching practices that prioritize children's mental health.
Conclusions:
Our findings provide children's views on how elementary schools can better support student mental health. They suggest we explore how children's views could be better integrated into school and policy initiatives and review existing priorities that may have unintended negative effects. Promoting play-based learning could support children's social-emotional learning and foster participation in learning. Considering the design of school environments that support children's physicality and sense of belonging could support student mental health.
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