Mental Health Promotion in Schools: Cross-Cultural Narratives and Perspectives

The narratives of the children and young people, school teachers and school leaders, parents and carers, policy makers and service managers, and mental health workers and professionals, presented in this book, should provide an invaluable resource for all those involved in mental health promotion in school. The insights drawn from these direct field experiences may help to inform policy and good practice and serve as an inspiration to schools in their efforts to introduce and promote mental health for their communities. Most of the chapters present original research carried out in schools, services, universities and other contexts across different cultures. Through various qualitative studies carried out in different cultural contexts, Mental Health Promotion in Schools provides a platform for children, teachers, school leaders, parents, professionals, policy makers and teacher educators, to express their views on what works and does not work in mental health promotion in school. In our continued quest for evidence based research, we may tend to underestimate the value and significance of capturing the views and experiences of those most directly involved in mental health promotion, such as children and young people, school teachers and parents/carers, in seeking to enhance policy and practice in the area. This book should be of particular interest to those involved in mental health promotion in school at practice, training and research levels and we are sure that among these chapters, they will discover many new and stimulating insights into the promotion of mental health in such complex systems as schools.