Culturally Engaged and Sensitive Approaches to Mental health Education:

C E S A M E

(Pronunciation | sesame: seh-suh-mee)

Background

The project is a collaboration between the Glasgow School of Art (GSA), De Montford University, Centre for Mental Health, and Leaders Unlocked, using a participatory design approach to work with young people from ethnically diverse groups*.

Transition from primary to secondary school can be exciting, but it can also be a stressful experience for young people and can have a negative impact on their mental health. Young people from ethnically diverse groups may be particularly poorly supported in the transition process, and we have very little knowledge of their transition experiences. A participatory design approach enables understanding by focusing on their lived experience to create rich insights and opportunities for co-designing future experiences.

This work fills a crucial gap in current knowledge and approaches to research, policy and practice across the UK that builds on lived experiences of young people from ethnically diverse groups, explicitly focusing at the intersection of ethnic identity, school transition and mental health.

*Young people from ethnically diverse groups: A note on language

The research team believe that, where possible, it is good to be specific about the ethnic group or identity rather than using umbrella terms such as ‘BAME’. The participants in this project belong to multiple ethnic groups that are minoritised, and when discussing their lived experience highlighted a need to focus on diversity. The team built on this to adopt the language used in this report when referring to participants as ‘young people from ethnically diverse groups’.

aim and objectives

The project aimed to map the experiences of young people from ethnically diverse groups (hereinafter, young people) during their transition from primary to secondary school, to:

Methodology

Collaborative activities employing participatory design methods supported by ongoing reflection and iteration enabled the research team (which includes a young person as peer researcher) to work together with seven young people across four stages of the project.

Identifying key issues and opportunities

Identifying key issues and opportunities for designing concepts for culturally sensitive approaches to support future experiences of transition from primary to secondary school for young people from ethnically diverse groups through a collaborative workshop with young people.

Participatory methods and collaborative workshops were adapted to enable remote engagement due to Covid-19 restrictions and facilitated using video conferencing (Zoom) and a virtual whiteboard (Miro). Asynchronous methods such as digital design packs were also used to capture young people’s lived experiences and enable reflection in between workshops.

Collaborative analysis and synthesis of themes and concepts

A collaborative and iterative approach involving the multi-disciplinary expertise of the research team supported thematic analysis of emerging findings at the end of each stage of the process and synthesis of the design concepts. The emerging themes and directions were reviewed with participants during each workshop to ensure that they accurately represented young people’s lived experience and voice.

Disseminating findings and discussing implications

The dissemination event aimed to initiate further dialogue with the wider community of policy makers, school staff and leaders, practitioners working in and around schools, and researchers on the implications of findings from this work for policy, practice and research in the future.

Key insights and opportunities

The importance of having language to talk about mental health was highlighted. Some of the participants used metaphors such as ‘balancing stones’ and ‘aged wooden door’ and the examples of film ‘Inside Out’ to better articulate their perceptions on mental health. Participants also highlighted that attempts by schools to raise awareness around mental health issues can sometimes come across as tokenistic if they don’t reflect the lived experience of the young people. Most participants found the transition period between primary to secondary school and beginning of secondary school challenging, and ‘feeling different’ and ‘feeling isolated’ were the two key themes that emerged. Experiences of mental health issues appeared to coincide with these stages - anxiety, eating disorders, panic attacks, depression and poor body-image were highlighted by participants. Stereotypes around mental health and ethnicity were also highlighted as problematic, for example, being Black being seen as ‘strong’ or home life assumed as ‘perfect’ because it was seen as unusual for people of some cultural or religious backgrounds to get divorced. Most participants also mentioned a period of uncertainty and confusion around expressing their ethnic and cultural identities in schools that had less diversity. Participants also shared direct and indirect experiences of racism, and uncomfortable situations where they felt it was easier to lie about their ethnic or cultural background rather than sharing something personal that could potentially prompt more invasive questions from teachers or peers (e.g., mentioning food or religious practices that may not be familiar to others).

Figure 1: An example of visual story map

Detailed visual stories capturing lived experiences and key challenges highlighted by participants can be accessed below (refer Project Outputs).

In response to these, participants developed a number of ideas for positive transition experiences in the future. Key themes included: supporting a longer transition period, preparing students and enforcing ethos on diversity, enabling education on ethnicity and culture, breaking stereotypes, enabling mutual learning amongst staff and students, and enabling an open and caring environment to support mental health (refer visual below).

A downloadable version of this map can be accessed below (refer Project Outputs).

Figure 2: Future experiences map capturing ideas for positive transitions from primary to secondary school

Image credit: Sneha Raman, 2022

Implications for schools

Building on key themes and concepts, the following outlines implications of the findings for schools:

LONGER TRANSITION PERIOD

Primary and secondary schools should explore ways to enable a longer transition period for students entering first year of secondary school, considering diverse and intersecting needs.

A longer transition period will develop a sense of familiarity, encourage social relationships, and facilitate feelings of predictability and safety when moving into a new environment. These will encourage identity exploration, connections, and reduced anxiety when transferring schools and having to reassert personal, social, and relationship identities for new students.

Participants described positive experiences associated with longer transition periods, which allowed them to get used to the school environment and the different way of doing things. They suggested that it’s important for all students entering secondary school to be given time to understand new, potentially stricter consequence systems and a staggered introduction to sharing break and lunchtime with older students. It was also suggested that schools work to support young people to engage in social and leisure activities in the school to make new friends and ease stress. Schools should also recognise that students with emotional needs and neurodiversity may require tailored support during the transition process and ensure that is implemented in an inclusive way to not make them feel different or isolated from their peers.

PEER-TO-PEER MENTORS

Secondary schools should facilitate a peer-to-peer mentor scheme, where older students can support students beginning secondary school in their transition.

Meaningful mentoring relationships with peers with inside knowledge of school systems and culture, will allow informal learning for new students and facilitate a sense of belonging and support crucial for mental health. Students of shared cultural background can provide insight into navigating cultural rights and representation in a school context.

Participants suggested that peer-to-peer mentor schemes would give new students beginning secondary school the opportunity to ask older students for advice on how to acclimatise to the school environment. To ensure fairness, new students could choose for school staff to allocate mentors randomly or through a system where the mentors and mentees came from the same primary school. They also suggested that opportunities should be given for these new students to speak to older mentors in private away from teachers, to make younger students feel they have a safe space to ask questions.

ETHNIC AND CULTURAL INCLUSION THROUGH CURRICULUM

Primary and secondary schools should actively promote ethnic and cultural inclusion through the curriculum and other engaging activities. As part of this, schools should identify ways to involve parents and carers.

Cultural inclusivity and a sense of belonging for mental health of new and older students needs to be reflected in whole school systems, curriculum, activities, and teaching practice. Norms and attitudes around cultural inclusion need to be shaped in classroom and across peer and teacher/student relationships.

Participants described experiences at secondary school where school systems or other students had made them feel different or isolated by asking questions about their ethnic or cultural identity or religious practices. Participants suggested that improving education overall in schools on ethnic and cultural diversity could help address this and ensure both staff and students are invested in creating a more inclusive environment for students from ethnically diverse groups. Participants felt that schools should take an active and meaningful approach to encouraging education on ethnicity and culture, making time for ‘drop-down’ days (i.e., days dedicated to activities, lessons and assemblies on a specific ethnicity, culture or religious practice), encouraging families to engage with these events, and inviting individuals with the relevant ethnic, cultural or religious background to speak about their experiences to students.

A collaborative and whole-school approach should be taken to ethnic and cultural inclusion, where staff, students and families are encouraged to learn and participate in planning and delivering activities. This would make learning more interesting and applicable, and cultivate an environment of inclusion where the principles of respect and understanding are practised and taken seriously by students.

SENSITIVE, SUPPORTIVE AND EQUITABLE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

Primary and secondary schools should foster a sensitive, supportive and equitable learning environment where students and staff can have open conversations around mental health.

Inclusive language and understanding of cultural aspects of mental health literacy needs to be integrated in teaching and pastoral care.

Participants felt that schools could do more to encourage a safe and supportive environment for students to talk about and seek help for their mental health. Schools should take a whole-school approach to mental health, including supporting staff to share their experiences (if they want to) to make lessons around mental health more relatable for students. Lessons and assemblies around mental health should be delivered sensitively, and time made for students to speak to staff about their experiences if they need to.

Implications for research

The following outlines implications of the findings for future research. It includes research gaps identified in the literature review, points raised by participants which were outside the remit of this work but nevertheless important findings.

DIVERSE APPROACHES, INCLUDING PARTICIPATORY METHODS AND PEER RESEARCH

More research using diverse approaches is needed on the mental health experiences of students from ethnically diverse groups, with an emphasis on participatory methods and peer research.

FOCUS ON HETEROGENEITY

Research and research methodology should focus on distinct ethnic groups rather than homogenising all ethnically diverse groups into one, including ways of improving data collection that represents heterogeneity.

INCLUSIVE APPROACHES FOR RECRUITMENT AND ENGAGEMENT

Researchers need to identify and address barriers to participation, and follow inclusive approaches for recruitment and engagement with diverse cultural communities that promote learning and respect heterogeneity.

IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT DURING SOCIAL TRANSITION FROM PRIMARY TO SECONDARY SCHOOL

Research needs to focus on how social transition from primary to secondary school impact the identity development of students from ethnically and culturally diverse groups.

EXPERIENCES OF NEURODIVERSE STUDENTS FROM ETHNICALLY DIVERSE GROUPS

Research needs to focus on the experiences of neurodiverse students from ethnically diverse groups during the transition from primary to secondary school.

UNDERSTANDING PERSPECTIVES OF SCHOOL STAFF

Research needs to focus on school staff’s perspectives on how well primary and secondary schools support students from ethnically diverse groups during transition from primary to secondary school.

INTERDISCIPLINARY KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE

Research needs to focus on how interdisciplinary knowledge exchange can be integrated in children and young people’s mental health research.

Implications for policy

Building on the findings, the following questions have been identified as key for policy considerations in the future:

• How can the learnings from CESAME be incorporated into a whole school approach to mental health?

• How can cultural education and inclusion be better embedded in both primary and secondary schools?

• What potential barriers might schools face in delivering on the changes proposed by CESAME? What could governments across the UK do to better support them?

• The Covid-19 pandemic has made transitions between educational settings even more challenging and evidence suggests that students from ethnically diverse backgrounds have been disproportionately impacted by the effects of the pandemic. Do education recovery plans sufficiently recognise this? What more can be done?

• What can we do to ensure a smoother transition for young people from ethnically diverse groups with additional learning needs, such as those with neurodiverse conditions or learning disabilities?

Watch this space!

This is an evolving document. Watch this space for further updates.

CESAME dissemination event: 27 January 2022

A recording of the presentations and key insights from the panel discussion will be made available soon.

PROJECT OUTPUTS

• Project summary

• Visual stories capturing lived experiences of young people from ethnically diverse groups

• Future transition from primary to secondary school for young people from ethnically diverse groups

Project team

Sneha Raman, The Glasgow School of Art

Andrea Taylor, The Glasgow School of Art

Abdul Moiz Siddiqi, Leaders Unlocked

Emily Cunningham, University of Glasgow

Nadzeya Svirydzenka, De Montfort University

Kadra Abdinasir, Centre for Mental Health

Raghu Raghavan, De Montfort University

FOR FURTHER INFORMATIOn

Sneha Raman, s.raman@gsa.ac.uk

Andrea Taylor, a.taylor@gsa.ac.uk

Acknowledgement

We are deeply grateful to the young people who participated in CESAME for sharing their experiences and ideas, and to Rose Dowling and Anna Crump (Leaders Unlocked) for supporting recruitment of, and engagement with, the young people. Special thanks also to Androulla Harris and Thea Joshi (Centre for Mental Health), and to Jo Inchley and Christina McMellon (TRIUMPH Network), for their valuable contributions.

Funding

This work was supported by the TRIUMPH (Transdisciplinary Research for the Improvement of Youth Mental Public Health) Network which is funded by the Cross-Disciplinary Mental Health Network Plus initiative supported by UKRI under grant ES/S004351/1.