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Description
In the School of Wellbeing we will support teachers, principals and educators in strengthening the students'' mental health. We will create a pedagogical innovation raising awareness of the school''s role in enhancing students'' mental health, help to understand what mental health really means (knowledge component), how to strengthen it, how to implement specific strategies (methodical component), create teaching aids and materials for students (practical component) and show how to use them (inspirational component). We will prepare thematic paths: knowledge-method-material-inspiration. The areas defined in the knowledge component will have corresponding strategies and practical materials to be used in class.
PISA research has shown that Polish students, despite excellent results, do not feel comfortable at school. We found ourselves in the infamous 28th out of 29. In a study by the School with Class Foundation 76% of respondents indicated low self-esteem as the main cause of mental problems among young people. 40% of respondents indicated depression as the most serious problem, but among high school students the percentage rises to 60%. The situation of the young was additionally complicated by pandemic.
In Iceland, the mental health of students is also deteriorating. A survey of students in the last year of primary schools in Reykjavik since 2009 shows that the number of teenagers with symptoms of depression has doubled and the percentage of those with symptoms of anxiety is four times higher.
The topic of mental health in Poland is part of the discussion on the reform of child psychiatry and the debate on the condition of young people in lockdown. Our project empowers adults who work with young people who return to school with severe mental distress. Our final beneficiaries are Polish and Icelandic students aged 12-18, among whom mental problems and crises are particularly severe. We will be working directly with teachers, educators working with this age group.
Summary of project results
In Poland and Iceland, problems related to the mental health of children and adolescents are increasing, especially mood and relationship disorders. The project is an innovative response to these needs, offering materials supporting students'' mental health at school. We have developed a toolkit for people working in schools, aimed at increasing awareness of the school''s role in promoting and supporting students'' mental health. We cooperated with experts, creating attractive sources of knowledge and materials helpful in preparing lessons.
A key element of the Well-Being School was the creation of a compendium of knowledge covering 6 areas of mental health at school: depression, crisis intervention, digital well-being, peer violence, self-esteem and classroom integration - a total of 36 expert texts. For this purpose, 6 school work strategies corresponding to these areas were developed, as well as 6 films in which expert practitioners talk about what elements of the strategy they implemented in their work in schools. Additionally, 6 sets of activities were created to work with students, and teachers - pilot participants - prepared texts and podcasts describing their experiences after using the project materials (inspirations). We also organized: an online conference, a meeting for teachers from Iceland, an international conference in Warsaw and a study visit of the project team to Iceland covering educational institutions and institutions responsible for education.
The project evaluation showed that people who participated in the program gained new ideas for ensuring well-being at school (90.36%) and want to use some of the materials in the 2023/2024 school year (93.98%). The most frequently used topics were: self-esteem (71%), depression and mood disorders (67%), and class integration (64%). The least common was a crisis intervention, which was justified by the fear of not having sufficient knowledge that the person in charge would turn out to be incompetent and the fear of injuring one of the patients. This is a signal for us to focus on familiarizing this topic in schools while continuing the project.
We will also use the knowledge and experience acquired in the project to advocate for changes in education in Poland and in the partner country. The impact of the project will be long-term and multi-faceted. We have created a strong educational and expert base for further activities - diagnostic and implementation in schools.
Summary of bilateral results
The most interesting aspect of the partnership was the development of materials that meet the needs of both teachers in Poland and Iceland. Partner meetings and study visits played a key role here, during which we could exchange ideas and revise them on an ongoing basis. What had a particularly positive impact on our cooperation was the closeness of the Icelandic partner organization to the school and its extensive knowledge of the Icelandic education system, as well as the educational know-how of the leadership organization (FSzK - knowledge of the needs of the target group preceded by research). Thanks to the partners from SPSPwR, we were able to learn about the everyday work of teachers (the partners are teachers in an Icelandic school) and learn details about the introduction of the new education system in Iceland from officials of the Ministry of Education and Children or the Reykjavik City Hall.Working together and responding to the needs of various systems were the most educational elements of the project, which strengthened and developed the competences of the organizations cooperating in the project. Thanks to participation in the project, both organizations have developed effective methods of exchanging experiences in the field of project management and innovative methods of working at school. The experiences and results gained during its implementation will be further used in programs run by partner organizations, and they will also use the knowledge and experience acquired in the project to advocate for changes in education in Poland and in the partner country, citing the conclusions from the pilot. The project''s impact on target groups will be long-term and multi-faceted. We have created a strong educational and expert base for further activities - diagnostic and implementation in schools.Cooperation with partners was so efficient that we plan to develop it with a partner organization, based on the program methodology.