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Secondary school staff experiences of supporting and promoting adolescent mental health in Ireland.

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Title: Secondary school staff experiences of supporting and promoting adolescent mental health in Ireland.
Authors: Blix, Anna1 (AUTHOR), Dwan-O'Reilly, Maeve1,2 (AUTHOR), Walsh, Laura2 (AUTHOR), Booth, Ailbhe1,2 (AUTHOR), Heary, Caroline3 (AUTHOR), Hennessy, Eilis2 (AUTHOR) eilis.hennessy@ucd.ie
Source: Irish Educational Studies. Jun2026, Vol. 45 Issue 2, p321-342. 22p.
Subject Terms: *Education policy, *Qualitative research, *Secondary school teachers, Mental health promotion, Well-being, Adolescent health
Geographic Terms: Ireland
Abstract: Teachers and other school staff are increasingly relied on to address student mental health in secondary schools in Ireland. As part of the Wellbeing Policy Statement and Framework for Practice (2019), the Department of Education set out the ambition to place the promotion of wellbeing at the core and ethos of all schools in Ireland by 2023. This study investigates secondary school staff's experiences of addressing mental health in schools through qualitative analysis of open question data provided by n = 359 school staff. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to analyse the data, resulting in three themes. The themes highlighted the salience of mental health in schools, the wide variety of ways mental health is integrated in Irish secondary schools, and how mental health in schools can be a source of pressure for staff. The findings of this study suggest that staff, while generally positive towards mental health engagement in schools, do not feel adequately prepared to deliver this content to the extent expected of them. Findings are discussed in relation to the Wellbeing Framework as well as the existing international literature on school based mental health content, and implications for policy and practice are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Irish Educational Studies is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Education Research Complete
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  Data: Secondary school staff experiences of supporting and promoting adolescent mental health in Ireland.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Irish+Educational+Studies%22">Irish Educational Studies</searchLink>. Jun2026, Vol. 45 Issue 2, p321-342. 22p.
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  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Education+policy%22">Education policy</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Qualitative+research%22">Qualitative research</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Secondary+school+teachers%22">Secondary school teachers</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Mental+health+promotion%22">Mental health promotion</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Well-being%22">Well-being</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Adolescent+health%22">Adolescent health</searchLink>
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  Data: Teachers and other school staff are increasingly relied on to address student mental health in secondary schools in Ireland. As part of the Wellbeing Policy Statement and Framework for Practice (2019), the Department of Education set out the ambition to place the promotion of wellbeing at the core and ethos of all schools in Ireland by 2023. This study investigates secondary school staff's experiences of addressing mental health in schools through qualitative analysis of open question data provided by n = 359 school staff. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to analyse the data, resulting in three themes. The themes highlighted the salience of mental health in schools, the wide variety of ways mental health is integrated in Irish secondary schools, and how mental health in schools can be a source of pressure for staff. The findings of this study suggest that staff, while generally positive towards mental health engagement in schools, do not feel adequately prepared to deliver this content to the extent expected of them. Findings are discussed in relation to the Wellbeing Framework as well as the existing international literature on school based mental health content, and implications for policy and practice are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Irish Educational Studies is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Value: 10.1080/03323315.2024.2430298
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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        PageCount: 22
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      – SubjectFull: Education policy
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Qualitative research
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      – SubjectFull: Secondary school teachers
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      – SubjectFull: Mental health promotion
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      – SubjectFull: Well-being
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      – SubjectFull: Adolescent health
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      – SubjectFull: Ireland
        Type: general
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      – TitleFull: Secondary school staff experiences of supporting and promoting adolescent mental health in Ireland.
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            NameFull: Blix, Anna
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            NameFull: Dwan-O'Reilly, Maeve
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              Text: Jun2026
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              Y: 2026
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