| dc.description.abstract | In recent years, increasing responsibility has been placed on schools to promote and support the mental health of children. However, research indicates that school staff hold different perceptions of this role, and their practice may be impacted by factors including stigma, confidence, training and capacity. Increasingly, school staff have reported the pressures that they are experiencing and the impact that this is having on their role and practice. Existing research in this area predominantly explores the role, views and experiences of teachers; however, research suggests that teaching assistants have an important, and often distinctive, role in supporting children’s mental health. Therefore, the overall aims of this research were to explore teaching assistant attitudes, views and experiences, and the factors that impact on their practice in supporting children’s mental health.
Within Phase One, a quantitative survey was used to explore the attitudes of teaching assistants to mental health, their role in supporting children’s mental health and their perceived self-efficacy within this role. 62 teaching assistants who worked in mainstream primary schools in the South West of England completed this survey. Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Key findings indicated that teaching assistants saw themselves as having a key role in supporting children’s mental health, although also demonstrated a lack of clarity around the relationship between mental health and mental illness. Self-efficacy measures also indicated that teaching assistants had higher perceived self-efficacy for tasks related to mental health promotion than direct mental health support. Furthermore, factors such as time, access to mental health-related training and experience all impacted upon teaching assistant self-efficacy.
In Phase Two, key findings from Phase One were explored further through semi-structured interviews with seven teaching assistants who worked in mainstream primary schools in England, and analysed through reflexive thematic analysis. Findings highlighted the perceived causes and impacts of poor mental health in children, and the way in which teaching assistants saw children’s mental health as different to adults. Key themes related to the teaching assistant role included relationships, practical support, a distinctive role, and aspects of support that were beyond the teaching assistant role. A variety of individual, school and educational factors that impact on teaching assistant practice were also highlighted. These included teaching assistant status, systemic factors such as the external pressures on schools, and discrepancies between the sources of knowledge and skills for teaching assistants.
Overall, this research highlights the key and distinctive contribution of teaching assistants in supporting children’s mental health, and the factors that impact upon this. It also highlights the way in which many of the factors that impact on the pedagogical practice of teaching assistants also impact on their role in supporting children’s mental health. This has important implications for Educational Psychologists, schools and policymakers as to how TAs can be best supported and empowered within their role in supporting children’s mental health. | en_GB |
