Program
TEELP
College
Education
Student Level
Master's
Start Date
7-11-2018 3:00 PM
End Date
7-11-2018 4:00 PM
Abstract
Based on a review of research and best practices in mental health awareness and skills, this inquiry project argues for state legislative policies that would require mental health awareness and skills in the K-12 curriculum. Mental health affects individual accomplishments in every stage of people’s lives beginning in early childhood and throughout the life cycle. Prevention and treatment of mental illness plays a key role in the ability of an individual to cope with loss and develop resiliency and perseverance in challenging times and to make better decisions that improve the individual’s life and the lives of those around them. Recent research shows that mental health awareness and skills, which encompass social, psychological and emotional well-being, can be taught, measured, and mastered, starting at an early age. This inquiry project examines the question of how legislatively mandated mental health education in public schools can positively affect children's well-being and their future success. As a case in point, New York is the first state in the U.S. to require mental health to be part of health education. Virginia passed legislation requiring schools to teach mental health lessons to 9th- and 10th-grade students. New Hampshire, 4th in education and 2nd in child well-being, included mental health education in the first state-wide school safety plan. New Mexico could follow their lead and decisively turn around current conditions for child well-being and educational attainment. Implications of such proactive policies have been highlighted in research, including substantial decreases in childhood trauma, alcohol and drug addiction, violence and crime, with measurable increases in rates for student proficiency, high school and college graduation, teacher retention, employment, and eventually, a long-term, positive effect on our state's economy.
Included in
Behavioral Medicine Commons, Clinical and Medical Social Work Commons, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Commons, Community Health Commons, Community Health and Preventive Medicine Commons, Counselor Education Commons, Criminology Commons, Criminology and Criminal Justice Commons, Curriculum and Instruction Commons, Curriculum and Social Inquiry Commons, Disability and Equity in Education Commons, Early Childhood Education Commons, Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons, Educational Methods Commons, Educational Psychology Commons, Education Policy Commons, Elementary and Middle and Secondary Education Administration Commons, Elementary Education Commons, First and Second Language Acquisition Commons, Gifted Education Commons, Health and Physical Education Commons, Health Economics Commons, Health Policy Commons, Health Services Administration Commons, Health Services Research Commons, Inequality and Stratification Commons, Interpersonal and Small Group Communication Commons, Labor Economics Commons, Language and Literacy Education Commons, Legal Theory Commons, Marriage and Family Therapy and Counseling Commons, Maternal and Child Health Commons, Mental Disorders Commons, Neuroscience and Neurobiology Commons, Occupational Health and Industrial Hygiene Commons, Other Mental and Social Health Commons, Peace and Conflict Studies Commons, Pediatrics Commons, Policy Design, Analysis, and Evaluation Commons, Policy History, Theory, and Methods Commons, Psychiatric and Mental Health Commons, Psychiatry Commons, Psychology Commons, Public Economics Commons, Public Health Education and Promotion Commons, Race and Ethnicity Commons, Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education Commons, Social Control, Law, Crime, and Deviance Commons, Social Influence and Political Communication Commons, Social Psychology and Interaction Commons, Social Work Commons, Special Education and Teaching Commons, Substance Abuse and Addiction Commons, Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons, Work, Economy and Organizations Commons
The Critical Need for Mental Health Education to be Mandated in New Mexico's Public Schools
Based on a review of research and best practices in mental health awareness and skills, this inquiry project argues for state legislative policies that would require mental health awareness and skills in the K-12 curriculum. Mental health affects individual accomplishments in every stage of people’s lives beginning in early childhood and throughout the life cycle. Prevention and treatment of mental illness plays a key role in the ability of an individual to cope with loss and develop resiliency and perseverance in challenging times and to make better decisions that improve the individual’s life and the lives of those around them. Recent research shows that mental health awareness and skills, which encompass social, psychological and emotional well-being, can be taught, measured, and mastered, starting at an early age. This inquiry project examines the question of how legislatively mandated mental health education in public schools can positively affect children's well-being and their future success. As a case in point, New York is the first state in the U.S. to require mental health to be part of health education. Virginia passed legislation requiring schools to teach mental health lessons to 9th- and 10th-grade students. New Hampshire, 4th in education and 2nd in child well-being, included mental health education in the first state-wide school safety plan. New Mexico could follow their lead and decisively turn around current conditions for child well-being and educational attainment. Implications of such proactive policies have been highlighted in research, including substantial decreases in childhood trauma, alcohol and drug addiction, violence and crime, with measurable increases in rates for student proficiency, high school and college graduation, teacher retention, employment, and eventually, a long-term, positive effect on our state's economy.
