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Teacher Perspectives on Their Role and the Challenges of Inter-professional Collaboration in Mental Health Promotion

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Abstract

This paper explores the teacher role in inter-professional collaboration in mental health promotion and identifies teachers’ perceived challenges to collaborative work in this field. Data are derived from a mixed method design, with three focus group interviews (n = 15) and survey research (n = 771) conducted with Norwegian K-12 teachers. The findings show that teachers perceive their gatekeeping role to be prominent, in that they are front line professionals to identify students’ mental health problems and, if necessary, make referrals to mental health services. However, teachers realize that mental health promotion encompasses more than the assessment of difficulties, and they call for more support and information through inter-professional collaboration in order to extend their engagement in student mental health beyond the gatekeeping role. Based on this, six main challenges to inter-professional collaboration are identified. These are the challenges of: (1) communication and confidentiality, (2) time constraints, (3) contextual presence and understanding, (4) cross-systems contact, (5) school leadership and (6) teacher competence in mental health.

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Notes

  1. In Norway, 83 % of municipalities use inter-professional ‘responsibility groups’ to coordinate services for children and adolescents with mental health needs (Helgesen & Myrvold, 2009).

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Acknowledgments

The research presented in this paper was funded by grants from Volda University College, (Project No. 75019). I would like to acknowledge the six teachers who piloted the survey, the 771 teachers who took part in the survey, and the 15 teachers who provided insight into teachers’ lives through their participation in focus group interviews. I would also like to thank the reviewers for their insightful comments on the manuscript, and Dr Trond Eiliv Hauge and Dr Ingrid Lund for their valuable support.

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  1. Department of Teacher Education and School Research, Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Oslo, Moltke Moes vei 35, Blindern, P.O. Box 1099, 0851, Oslo, Norway

    Stine Ekornes

  2. Faculty of Humanities and Education, Volda University College, P.O. Box 500, 6100, Volda, Norway

    Stine Ekornes

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Ekornes, S. Teacher Perspectives on Their Role and the Challenges of Inter-professional Collaboration in Mental Health Promotion. School Mental Health 7, 193–211 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12310-015-9147-y

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