Mental health and subjective well‐being of staff in a secondary school for adolescents with severe and profound multiple learning difficulties

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to explore the mental health and subjective well‐being of staff working with adolescents with severe and profound multiple learning difficulties. The participants were 19 teachers and 25 teaching assistants working in an inner London, local authority, specialist day provision. A demographic questionnaire, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the Connor‐Davidson Resilience Scale, the Positive Affect Scale, and the Satisfaction with Life Scale were used as data collection tools. The inferential statistical tools used were t‐tests and correlational analyses. The study brought to light a high number of borderline and abnormal anxiety scores among all staff. The study also found a significant difference in the resilience scores of teachers and teaching assistants, with teaching assistants scoring higher on the resilience scale. The results, alongside findings from previous research, call for better mental health support for teachers and staff working in the field of special educational needs and disabilities. The study highlights the emotional toll on educators, and the need for mitigation strategies that promote good mental health outcomes for both teachers and students.

Exploring teachers’ confidence in addressing mental health issues in learners with Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties (PMLD) pre and post training

“…I was unable to hold the twilight or online training until further along in the term, which impacted on timescales. Further research could explore mental health needs for all in the classroom, as they impact upon one another (Black and Halstead, 2021). More time could be needed to establish whether training does impact on long term classroom practice.…”

Bienestar Subjetivo y Salud Mental en universitarios del Ecuador: análisis de relaciones latentes con SEM

“…En general, los universitarios principalmente padecen condiciones de estrés, depresión, ansiedad, trastornos del sueño, entre otros (Black & Halstead, 2021;Martínez et al, 2021;Mayorga-Lascano & Moreta-Herrera, 2019). Incluso, se presentan diferencias por género, en el que condiciones como somatización, depresión, ansiedad, fobias y el malestar psicológico en general son más intensoas en mujeres que en hombres (Gaibor-González & Moreta-Herrera, 2020; Gao et al, 2020).…”

“…Dado que las variables de BS y SM muestran una relevancia en el contexto educativo, es por de menos no debe considerarse que estas se encuentren relacionadas, aunque la evidencia actual no es amplia en el contexto regional y del Ecuador. Ciertos trabajos muestran relación entre el BS y la SM en población general (Gavilanes-Gavilanes & Moreta-Herrera, 2020; Martínez et al, 2021;Yildirim & Arslan, 2022) y también entre los universitarios (Black & Halstead, 2021;la Cruz-Sánchez et al, 2013), aunque esta evidencia aún es escasa. Los reportes tratan sobre todo entre la SCV y el AP con alteraciones específicas como ansiedad, depresión y estrés, pero no sistematizados en un sentido global del malestar psicológico.…”

“…El AP y la SCV se correlacionan entre sí de forma moderada. La verificación de esta relación concuerda con trabajos similares que han sido recogidos tanto en adultos (Gavilanes-Gavilanes & Moreta-Herrera, 2020; Martínez et al, 2021;Yildirim & Arslan, 2022) como en universitarios (Black & Halstead, 2021;la Cruz-Sánchez et al, 2013). Esta evidencia señala la importancia que guarda el BS, tanto en los aspectos cognitivos como emocionales en la generación y deterioro de la SM.…”

Psychological Capital and Occupational Well-Being: Mediating Effects of Work Engagement Among Chinese Special Education Teachers

“…Children with special needs are individually diverse and require a high level of competence from special education teachers, yet their development is extremely slow. This leads to higher levels of work stress and poor mental health among special education teachers ( He, 2016 ; Poppes et al, 2016 ; Sun et al, 2019 ), even resulting in higher job burnout and lower well-being ( Zhang and Zhang, 2012 ; Black and Halstead, 2021 ). Previous studies have confirmed that the occupational well-being of special education teachers was lower than that of mainstream school teachers in China ( Zhao and Huang, 2015 ).…”