Celebrating good conduct in classrooms improves mental health

Appreciation improves classroom behaviour and mental health

Celebrating good behaviour rather than picking on small flaws can not just improve classroom behaviour, it can also better mental health.

A new study led by the University of Exeter Medical School, finds training teachers to focus their attention on positive conduct and to avoid jumping to correct minor disruption improves child behaviour. It also improves concentration and mental health.

The research was published in Psychological Medicine. It analysed the success of a training programme called the Incredible Years® Teacher Classroom Management Programme. Its core principles included building strong social bonds between teachers and children, and ignoring low-level bad behaviour that often disrupts classrooms.

Teachers were encouraged to focus on relationship building, age appropriate motivation, proactive management of unwanted behaviour and acknowledging good behaviour.

The Supporting Teachers and Children in Schools (STARS) study was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care South West Peninsula. It aimed to promote social and emotional wellbeing.

The National Mental Health Survey 2016 estimated 10% of the Indian population suffers smaller from mental disorders. Studies suggest that the risk is higher in adolescents

The National Mental Health Survey 2016 estimated 10% of the Indian population suffers smaller from mental disorders. Some studies have suggested that the risk is higher in adolescents. According to a study on schoolchildren in Anand, at least one in eight adolescents in was at risk of mental health problems.

The commonest and most persistent mental health condition is severe behaviour problems. Children with “conduct disorder” are at risk of all adult mental health conditions as well as poor educational and social outcomes.

Professor Tamsin Ford, of the University of Exeter Medical School, said: “Our findings suggest that this training potentially improves all children’s mental health but it’s particularly exciting to see the larger benefit on the children who were initially struggling. These effects might be larger were this training offered to all teachers and teaching assistants. Let’s remember that training one teacher potentially benefits every child that they subsequently teach. Our study offers evidence that we should explore this training further as a whole school approach.”