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A QUALITATIVE STUDY ON HOW THE SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION ADDRESSES

THE PROBLEM ON MENTAL HEALTH AMONG SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

STUDENTS

A Research Proposal (Final Draft)


Presented to
Mrs. Melophyl C. Baguio, MA
Ateneo de Zamboanga University
Zamboanga City

In Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for


English for Academic and Professional Purposes (ENG 121)
Senior High School
Ateneo de Zamboanga University

By

Algenne Marhee P. Amiruddin, Myca Dane T. Sapitula

12 STEM E – Collins

February 21, 2019

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Table of Contents

Page No.

CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION

a. Background of the Study 3

b. Review of Related Literature 5

c. Statement of the Problem 34

d. Theoretical Framework/Perspective 34

e. Significance of the Study 9

f. Scope and Delimitation of the Study 37

g. Definition of Terms 38

CHAPTER II. METHODOLOGY

a. Research Design 39

b. Respondents 40

c. Sampling Design 41

d. Data Gathering Procedure 41

e. Data Analysis 42

REFERENCES 43

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Chapter I
Introduction
Background of the Study

Nowadays, stress is inevitably a part of human life. Anything that challenges and threats

the comfort of a person is considered to be a stressor. Subramani and Kadhiravan (2017) said

that stress, in any form, is unavoidable thus it affects any walks of life especially the students.

When stress builds up, it generates a problem on the mental health and well-being of the student

(Shadi, Peyman, Taghipour, & Tehrani, 2018). According to Adelman and Taylor (1999), mental

health includes the emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how a human

person thinks, feels, and acts. It also helps determine how one handles stress, relate to others, and

make choices. Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence

through adulthood. Therefore, the Philippine government passed the Republic Act No. 11036 or

also known as the Mental Health Act. One of the purposes of the Mental Health Act is to

enhance the delivery of unified mental health services to people who are in need of the facilities

and amenities. In the status quo, mental health is a serious matter that has been continuously

talked about especially in schools. Numerous schools have been creating programs and seminars

that promote mental health awareness however, some of these programs do not effectively

promote healthy mental state. The purpose of this study is to determine the ways and means of

the school administration in addressing the problems on mental health among senior high school

students.

Reinke and Stormont (2011) stated that there is a direct link between education and

mental health integration in which learning will be advanced when the goal of mental health

includes effective schooling and the goal of effective schools include the healthy functioning of

students. To build a solid foundation for this reciprocal agenda, especially within the recent

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educational reforms, a change in the fundamental framework within which school mental health

is conceptualized is needed. Atkins (2010) proposed a reform in which the change involves

acknowledging a new set of priorities for schools in terms of handling students to address the

issue of mental health. The reform includes the use of naturalistic resources within schools to

implement and sustain effective supports for students’ learning and emotional/behavioral health;

inclusion of integrated models to enhance learning and promote health; attention to improving

outcomes for all students, including those with serious emotional/behavioral needs; and

strengthening the active involvement of parents.

It is good to consider the fact that school nurses, school doctors, and guidance counsellors

play a vital role in assisting the students with their mental health problems. Schools should

provide mental health services that are in collaboration with other medical systems to guarantee

the students of access to facilities and amenities. Schools may offer a counselling program to

their students. It is the process of assistance and guidance in resolving personal, social, or

psychological problems and difficulties of a person. This is usually done by a guidance

counsellor if school-based. Schools may also offer therapy that treats, for example, clinical

depression.

In this research study, the goal of the researchers is to find out how the Ateneo de

Zamboanga University Senior High School Administration in collaboration with the Guidance

Office and the Office of Student Services addresses the issue of mental health among the Senior

High School community especially the grade 11 students. The researchers have seen the

intensified effects of academic stress; however, there is no evident intervention given by the

school administration in collaboration with the Guidance Office and the Office of Student

Services.

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In this study, the researchers would like to stress the importance of school intervention

especially the school administration in collaboration with the guidance office and the office of

student services on the mental health problems of the senior high school students. The

researchers have seen the effects of academic stress however there is no evident intervention

from the school. By identifying the possible ways and means that a school can offer, this study

will be of help to the school administration in enhancing their services regarding the mental

health problems of the students.

Review of Related Literature

Children have been attending school for some time in their lives; therefore, schools

should be a safe and healthy venue in order for them to grow holistically. Holistical growth

involves development in the facets of cognitive progress, emotional control, behavioural

expectations, and physical and moral development. The mentioned aspects are all affected by

one’s mental health. A study conducted by Swick and Powers (2018) found out that

approximately 25% of school age youth face mental and behavioral health challenges. The vast

majority of these youth are insufficiently treated, leaving them vulnerable to negative school

outcomes such as attendance, behavioral, and academic problems.

Furthermore, a study conducted by Capp (2015) found out that schools face increasing

demands to support the mental health needs of students and families; some estimate that 80

percent of students receive mental health services at school. Thus, schools face two daunting

challenges: (1) to provide effective mental health support to students and (2) to address how

mental health needs affect other students, teachers, and academic priorities. In line with the said

study, independent school services that do not fit the school organizational chain of command

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gain difficulty with their program. With this, they have to seek help and support from the higher

authorities such as the principal and other school officials to champion their program. If mental

health services are successfully integrated into the program of the school, there should be

collaboration. A collaborative systems approach is needed in order to successfully deliver mental

health services. The school staff, including the teachers, must be involved in the planning and

implementing of such services. These staff members know very well those students who are in

need of the services. Therefore, there should be collaboration from the teachers up to the highest

possible position that there is, including the guidance offices (Massey, Armstrong, Boroughs, &

Henson, 2005). According to Swick and Powers (2018), a School-Based Support Program can

largely mitigate problems with access to care and can make a positive impact on school

outcomes for youth. Their study on the field describes the consequences of untreated mental

health problems among children, barriers to receiving mental health treatment, and ways student

mental health needs are currently addressed in schools.

Moreover, a student’s social anxiety is a contributing factor on the impairment of his or

her mental health. Students with social anxiety are often the ones experiencing challenges in

school therefore needing assistance through mental health services. When a student is being

stressed caused by different factors such as peer pressure and poor speaking in class

presentations, the more they will be needing mental health services. Students who are

experiencing social distress are reported to seek mental health services, however only a few of

them reached out. (Brice et al,. 2014)

In order to enhance the mental health services of a school, school psychologist should

undergo training sessions. High percentage of youth experiences mental health problems, thus

needing the expertise of a school psychologist as a mental health service provider to provide and

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respond to the needs of the students. Didactic and field-based experiences need to be examined

in order to prepare the school psychologist in the near future. There are different ethical issues,

however familiarity to this and adherence to the professional standards of a psychologist is a

great help in order to provide the best service to the students who are in need (Perfect & Morris,

2011). In addition to this, it has been found out that expanded School Mental Health (SMH)

programs have become prominent, involving community mental health systems and staff

augmenting the programs and services provided by schools and professionals such as school

psychologists and counselors, making the mental health system more accessible and increasing

resources to schools. These programs have been shown to improve access to care for students

and families and, when implemented appropriately, are associated with positive outcomes for

students (“Expanded School Mental Health Services: Development of the Southeastern School

Behavioral Health Community”, 2018).

School nurses are aware of their role in the life of students who needs assistance with

mental health problems. They acknowledge this important role and work with the students.

These nurses admitted that they lack confidence and training that concerns the mental health of

the students. Due to these, they have requested more knowledge about inter- and

multidisciplinary cooperation that is concerned with the follow-up of students’ mental health.

(Skundberg-Kletthagen & Moen, 2017).

According to Perfect and Morris (2011), the need for school psychologists to be mental

health service providers is supported by the fact that a relatively high percentage of youth in

schools experience mental health problems. Although the concept of the school psychologist as a

mental health service provider has been espoused for decades, it has not been until more recent

years that school psychologists have been more clearly included in this role. Perfect and Morris

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(2011) have also identified several key areas in which they believe training is necessary for

school psychologists to provide School Mental Health Services or SMHS. Perfect and Morris

proposed that the next steps are for state agencies and/or professional school psychology groups

to develop a series of task forces to more clearly outline specific competencies associated with

SMHS delivery and types of graduate level courses that school psychologists should take in

order to be prepared to provide SMHS. These task forces should consider which services could

be provided by both doctoral and/or non-doctoral professionals. In addition to coursework,

students and school psychologists who are retraining need opportunities to practicetheir skills

under the supervision of qualified school psychologists (or licensed psychologists) who have

expertise in providing SMHS (Perfect & Morris, 2011).

The services that are offered by the school in order to cater mental health problems are

not just limited to the involvement of healthcare providers such as nurses, psychologist, and

counsellors. Individual counselling is a primary part in fulfilling the roles of the school social

worker and the students having problems with mental health. The provisions of the individual

counselling are very critical because it has an impact to both of the groups involved in this study.

There are several schools that partnered with other agencies in order to respond to the needs of

the students even better. The collaboration with teachers is an important contributor in the

improvement of students’ mental health problems and this has proven in prior studies.t Support

system is a very important factor in this study. Therefore, school social workers should not only

be the ones providing support to the students, it should be a hand-in-hand job with teachers and

school staff as well. This is possible through collaboration of the two groups (O’Brien, Berzin,

Kelly, Frey, Alvarez, & Shaffer, 2011). According to a study conducted by Atkins and Rodger

(2016), pre-service teacher education in mental health and mental health literacy is essential to

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creating the conditions necessary to support the mental health and wellness of children and youth

in schools. The researchers found out that 45% of teachers report of never having received any

education about mental health, but recognize the importance of this knowledge in meeting the

needs of their students in regular classrooms. The research study also indicates the efficacy of

programs to shift in-service teachers’ knowledge, beliefs and attitudes about mental health, but

there are important reasons— including the efficacy of such efforts—to provide this learning to

teacher candidates in their initial teacher education programs. The researchers recommends the

developing of a mental health literacy course in response to this urgent need with a combination

of content, pedagogy, and opportunity that allows teacher educators to provide candidates with

the best possible foundation to a teaching career. The results showed that teacher education

course on mental health is a valuable response to a need for more knowledge, awareness, and

resources for teacher candidates to support their own and their students’ mental health (Atkins &

Rodgers, 2018).

Significance of the Study

The study will greatly contribute to benefit the society and the institution of the Ateneo

de Zamboanga University Senior High School given that the study tackles on an important topic

in the status quo which is mental health that concerns their students. This study will provide a

baseline regarding the mental health services delivered in schools to students who have been

experiencing mental health problems.

Firstly, the result of this study will have a beneficial impact to the student body of Ateneo

de Zamboanga University Senior High School by identifying the ways and processes on how the

school administration address the problem on mental health among their students. Through this,

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the study will be able to assess the effectiveness of how the school administration addresses the

problem on mental health and its effect to the students.

Secondly, the value of this investigation to the school administration is to improve their

services that are in line with the concerns of the student body’s mental state. To be specific, the

Guidance Counseling Department of the Ateneo de Zamboanga University Senior High School

will be able to get the necessary data from the students that can assess their current program

regarding mental health. The study will also be able to give recommendations for further

improvements or additional programs to be made that may help their department to promote

better services for the students. On another perspective, the value of this investigation to the

student body is to improve their way of expressing issues and problems regarding on their mental

health knowing that there are enough and proper services that the school offers them.

Thirdly, the study will be able to provide more information regarding the quality of

mental health services in school as well as the assessment of how the school administration

address mental health problems which may help other schools and influence them to provide

better services for their students as well. The researchers believe that the study is very

detrimental because of the issue of mental health at hand and that it will greatly create an impact

to the students, the institution, and the whole society because of its relevance that can create a

ripple effect.

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Statement of the Problem

This research paper aims to answer the following questions:

1. How does the Senior High School Administration address the problem on mental

health among the Senior High School students?

2. What kind of services should the school offer for students with mental health

problems?

Theoretical Perspective

Graham (2016) stated that almost all children are attending school for some time in their

lives; therefore, schools should be a healthy avenue to implement collaborative interventions that

aim to improve and develop a child’s mental health and emotional development. There were six

main themes that was identified in this study: (a) Relationship, (b) Current Needs and

Assessment, (c) Interventions, (d) Staff and Parent Development, (e) Coordination of Care, and

(f) Funding and Liability Dynamics. The themes that were developed in this study showed some

similarities and some differences in comparison to the existing literature on mental health

services offered by the schools. The differences included unique models of intervention that is

not present and mentioned in the literature.

Scope and Limitations

The study involves the Grade 11 Senior high school students of Ateneo de Zamboanga

University and is conducted solely for identifying how the Ateneo de Zamboanga University

Senior High School Administration addresses the mental health of the said respondents and its

overall effectiveness for the students.

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To gather the needed information, the researchers are only up to collating the necessary

data that will aid them to attain the needed information through a survey-questionnaire as well as

gathered data from the Guidance Councilor regarding their programs about mental health.

Furthermore, the study is limited to a qualitative-investigation covering the programs or steps

done by the SHS Administration regarding mental health and its effectiveness to the Grade 11

students.

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Definition of Terms

Mental Health is defined as a state of well-being in which every individual realizes his or her

own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully,

and is able to make a contribution to her or his community (World Health Organization, n.d). In

this study, the researchers define mental health as how the World Health Organization defined it.

Address is defined as to give attention to or to deal with a matter or problem (Cambridge

Dictionary, n.d). In this study, address is used to define the ways and means that the

administration is doing in order to talk about the mental health problems among the senior high

school Grade 11 students.

School Administration is defined as the overseers of the daily operations of schools, colleges,

universities, day care centers and preschools. A school administrator’s specific responsibilities

differ between organizations, but often these administrators are an important link between

students and local communities.

School Administration Offices is defined as advocates for the students with their communities to

set goals and objectives to further children’s education.

School Services includes (a) therapy and (b) counselling.

a. Therapy is a school service that can be offered to students who are in

need of physical, social, and emotional treatment.

b. Counselling is a school service that can be offered to serve as a guide

and as an assistance to students who needs someone to talk to or to listen

to.

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Chapter II
Methodology

The methodology encompasses and describes the methods to be used in an investigation. It seeks

to identify data gathering methods, sampling techniques, and the locale as to where the study will

be conducted.

Research Design

This paper is a descriptive qualitative research. A qualitative data is a scientific method

of observation to gather non-numerical data that are significant to the study (Lambert &

Lambert, 2012). The researchers takes qualitative research because this research is to identify the

ways, services, and processes on how the school administration address the mental health

problems of the Senior High School students.

Research Locale and Respondents/Participants

The research will be conducted within the vicinity of the Ateneo de Zamboanga

University Senior High School, Fr. Eusebio Salvador, SJ Campus located at La Purisima Street,

Zamboanga City. The participants who will be the respondents of the research will be the grade

11 students of the Ateneo de Zamboanga University Senior High School. Respondents must be

currently enrolled in the said school for the academic year 2018 to 2019.

Sampling Technique

The researchers will be utilizing purpsive sampling. Researchers use this in order to

recruit participants who can give in-depth and comprehensive information about the

phenomenon that is being studied. The participants must be part of the Ateneo de Zamboanga

University Senior High School unit specifically the Senior High School Administrators. The

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students that will be chosen to participate in the study must be entitled as a certified student of

the school.

Data Collection and Procedure

The technique of collecting data is through a survey. In order to conduct a survey, the

researcher must go through the steps as follows:

1. Make a survey questionnaire for the respondents and have it approved by the teacher and the

school administration.

2. Make a letter for the respondents to read so that they understand fully the said research before

participating and have them sign a waiver for documentary purposes.

3. Collect answered survey questionnaires for coding and data analysis.

Data Analysis

In doing the data analysis, the researcher must go through the steps as follows:

1. Classifying the data per year level which is Grade 11 and Grade 12.

2. Analyzing the data by categorizing the answers of the respondents in the questionnaire

through charts and/or interpretations.

3. Drawing conclusion and suggestion based on the data analysis.

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