Abstract:
Anxiety and depression have become an increasingly significant issue among young people in Aotearoa-New Zealand. Each year one in five young New Zealanders suffer from a mental illness, which has a detrimental effect on both themselves and the community. This research investigates how teachers address anxiety and depression in the classroom through the use of the New Zealand Curriculum document (2007), their teaching pedagogy and resources.
Through the interpretive paradigm, qualitative methods were employed which included participant observations, semi-structured individual interviews, analysis of the New Zealand Curriculum document and the Bellbird Intermediate school-wide handbooks known as the Curriculum and Assessment handbook and the Policies and Procedures handbook.
Research findings suggest that teachers feel ill-equipped to be teaching about anxiety and depression as a result of the lack of guidance provided by their school, the Ministry of Education, their Initial Teacher Education and their school Health Education Coordinator and Physical Education and Sport Coordinator. With the words ‘anxiety’ and ‘depression’ absent from the New Zealand Curriculum document and their school-wide handbooks, it is unclear how, or, if the participants should teach about anxiety and depression in their classrooms. This research reveals that although teachers feel ill-equipped, they believe it is important to educate their class on mental health issues. The insights from the study illustrate that more clarification is needed about how anxiety and depression should be addressed in intermediate schools. Teachers need better resources which include the words ‘anxiety’ and ‘depression’ to assist them in supporting all students in their classrooms, including those with mental illnesses.
This research provides an understanding of how students with anxiety and depression are currently being supported at Bellbird Intermediate. I argue that further guidelines are needed from the Ministry of Education. Furthermore, health education teaching needs to be prioritised in Initial Teacher Education and further counselling professional development in schools to better equip teachers to teach about anxiety and depression, and support students in their classrooms.