Teachers’ Confidence in Addressing Student Mental Health Concerns

Abstract

Teacher-led student mental health initiatives are recommended; however, do teachers receive adequate training to provide these services? This study aimed to examine what individual teacher variables directly relate to teachers’ knowledge and skills regarding general schoolwide behavioral policies and individualized support and practices, and what influence they exert on teachers’ confidence. The study was a quantitative method cross-sectional design using survey methods. Results demonstrated that both years of teaching experience and the number of resources available were statistically significant predictors of teachers’ general behavioral programming knowledge. Additionally, both mental-health related college coursework and assigned grade level predicted teachers’ individualized student supports knowledge and skills. Lastly, results demonstrated that teachers with higher individualized support and practices knowledge reported increased confidence in providing mental health interventions. Limitations include restricted generalizability due to limited response rate and uneven district representation. Implications and future directions emphasizing targeted professional development opportunities designed to increase teacher knowledge and skills related to evidence-based mental health practices are discussed.