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CHAPTER TWO:
LITERATURE REVIEW
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health (Toumbourou, Patton, Sawyer, Olsson, Pullmann, Catalano et al., 2000).
Smith, Stwart, Poon, Hoogeveen, Saewyc, McCreary Centre Society, 2011) in their study of factors that promote mental health of youth in Grades 7 through 12 found that protective factors most strongly associated with positive mental health for youth included the presence of supportive adults inside and outside the family, feeling skilled and competent, having friends with health attitudes to risky behaviours, feeling connected to school and family, engaging in extracurricular activities, and feeling listened to and valued within those activities.
Research in the area also indicates that despite the evidence of mental health promotion efforts that have been evidence to promote protective factors, many youth programs instead have aimed to prevent negative mental health outcomes by reducing or preventing key risk factors such as alcohol use (Foxcroft, Irelan, Lister-Sharp, Lowe, & Breen, 2002) or violence (Petrosino, Turpin-Petrosino, & Buehler, 2002).
These programmes that have focused on single risk behaviours have been identified to be successful in reducing specific risk behaviour but have found limited effect on young people’s overall mental health behaviours. Komro and Stigler, (2000); Saewyc and Stewart, (2008) thus indicate that young people should rather be supported to develop adaptive coping skills, positive attitudes and values, health behaviours, and supportive social networks by changing the emphasis of programs from reducing risky behaviours to promoting positive mental health and building resilience. As a result, health risk behaviours are less likely to be taken up or to become lifelong patterns (Komro & Stigler, 2000; Saewyc & Stewart, 2008). Shochet et al., (2006) in a limited prospective study, has demonstrated a causal association between school connectedness and mental health in adolescents, while Springer et al., (2006) cite
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several studies which show that social bonding between school students, a caring and supportive school climate and student-school connectedness, are associated with the prevention of a range of risk behaviours in youth These risk behaviours include sexual behaviours, substance use, delinquency and aggression. Comprehensive school programmes, which aim to develop a positive school climate and foster a sense of identity and connectedness for students have been found to promote mental well- being, competence, social skills and school achievement as well as reduce aggression and bullying in youth (Jan e- Llopis, et al., 2005). Further, creating partnerships or alliances, such as between students and teachers, has been posited as a strategy for creating health-enabling context (Gillies, 1998).
A systematic review carried out by the World Health Organisation (WHO) (Stewart- Brown, 2006) revealed that school based programs that promote mental health “are particularly effective if developed and implemented using approaches common to the health promoting schools approach” (Cushman, 2008, p.232). This review highlighted 17 studies that evaluated interventions involving all students and that included the promotion of some aspect of positive mental health. School based health promotion activities ranged from single intervention classroom-based approaches to the implementation of comprehensive programs that involved classroom, school- based initiatives that adopted a whole school approach and that included major characteristics associated with the health-promoting schools model (e.g., students skills development, collaboration, changes in the school environment, participation of parents and members of the local community).
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Other studies of the HPS promoting positive mental health include A study of school communities, by Patton (1990) in Queensland, Australia conducted between October 2000 and April 2002 was conducted to investigate (Check study reference.
1. What ‘structural’ aspects of the HPS approach, defined as tangible artifacts or programs within the school community, influence school connectedness 2. What ‘process’ aspects of the HPS approach, defined as the methods of
operationalising structures, influence school connectedness at both the school and classroom level
Case study methodology was used in this study of school communities (Patton, 1990; Yin, 1994). The school community, included school staff, students, parents and carers, as well as representatives of health service and community agencies. A two phased, time series design was employed in each of the three schools, such that the relationships between aspects of the HS and indicators of school connectedness could be followed over a certain period of time. Data on these relationships were collected using in-depth interviews with representatives of key groups within the school community. A purposes sampling framework was used to select interviewees, such that those who were interviewed were the most involved in the implementation of the HPS approach in that school (Patton, 1990).
The central finding of this research supported and validated the use of whole-school approaches for promoting connectedness. It also provided insight into the three levels of influence of a whole school approach; at the school, class and school class interface, such as the bonds that can form between classes and between classes and the school community. Findings indicated the importance of classroom activities for developing interaction and direct connection between students and the school physical
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environment e.g. programmes, engraving pavers with names, contributing to a school ethos. Class-community partnerships that encouraged links between classes and links to other school staff were also viewed as important. This finding was also seen as representing another advance in understanding menchaisms for promoting connectedness. Specific structures that support the development of these relationships, such as collaborative curriculum planning between classes in the context of a whole school community and team teaching were identified as creating strong relationships in the school (Hunt et al., 2000; Kugelmass, 2001; Weller, 2000). This study also highlighted the importance of class organisation processes that led to school connectedness in which staff and students worked and developed reciprocal relationships. Informal school staff-student interactions that arose from these processes also gave staff insight into students’ personalities and thereby, increased staff perceptions of value of students.
The study also identified that a range of school policies and organisational structures can influence school connectedness, such as multi-strategic approaches to prevent bullying, peers support programmes, extra-curricular activities, support structures for school staff, and a fair behaviour management system. This research also reinforced the recognition of the significance of partnerships in the school community, and in particular it highlighted the influence of relationships between students and school staff along several indicators of school connectedness, including mutual reciprocity, perceptions of value, rust, school satisfaction, reduced absenteeism and even reduced bullying and aggressiveness in the school environment. This research contributed to the theoretical understanding of how to promote school connectedness as it argued for a whole school approach, embodied by the HPS model for building school
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connectedness. The conception of school connectedness as an ecological concept, drew upon social cohesion and social capital (Kawach & Berkmann, 2000) for its theoretical basis and represented a conceptual development in the fields of sociology, public health and education (Patton, 2009).
The major limitation of this study was its exploratory nature of the research design and approach, which limited the number of schools and phenomena that could be investigated. The theoretical developments offered by this research were thus viewed as a starting point for further exploration. This research was also viewed as significant in understanding the mechanisms and processes involved in promoting school connectedness, which as positive effects on the mental well-being and educational outcomes of young people (Patton, 2009).