Mental Wellbeing Policy Addressing Anxiety Amongst Primary School Learners

Yew Chung International School of Shanghai 

Mental Wellbeing Policy: Addressing Anxiety Amongst Primary School Learners

1. Rationale for the SEL Policy Document

The Yew Chung International School in Shanghai is committed to providing a safe learning environment that is inclusive of all students, has a varied student population, and is academically demanding. Only when kids are content, comfortable, and secure, and when their school environment fosters and supports their academic goals, can they realize their full academic potential and grow into successful adults. An environment that heightens anxiety and stress is an impediment to student success. Because there is an unbreakable link between students’ feeling of well-being and their level of academic accomplishment, the school is aware of the need to promote good mental health and general well-being among its student population. Consistently going to class and retaining an interest in studying for as long as one’s circumstances permit are important elements that affect how one’s life turns out. Not only are they an important aim, but they also provide a foundation for future progression into better high schools and institutions as well as a facilitator of excellent grades. They are also a key objective for the development of a learning culture. The mental health of kids should be prioritized while trying to increase student involvement and achievement. All major stakeholders of the organization, including instructors, students, and parents, have a duty to prioritize the mental health of the kids. The Yew Chung International School in Shanghai is aware of the strong link between its students’ wellbeing and the outcomes of the educational opportunities they have been given.

A subjective feeling of dread, worry, or concern that may be accompanied by both physical and emotional symptoms is what defines anxiety as a mental health disorder (Gong, 2019). A generalized anxiety disorder is one that is characterized by anxiety brought on by a wide variety of circumstances, as opposed to an anxiety disorder that is linked to a single object or event (phobias) (Dong and Cao 2021). School counselors need to have a basic understanding of anxiety as well as the capacity to spot its signs due to the large prevalence of untreated anxiety disorders among young people. Today’s youth, in the great majority, experience anxiety. Approximately half of people who have had therapy for anxiety say that the symptoms started while they were a kid or teenager (He & Li, 2021), despite the fact that the diagnosis and treatment of anxiety disorders are often delayed until early adulthood (Hill & Seah, 2022). Approximately 50% of children with anxiety disorders have severe trouble functioning at school, according to the findings of several studies (Hill, Waite, Creswell, 2016). Although anxiety has a negative impact on productivity and academic performance, students with moderate anxiety may sometimes be able to make up for these negative effects via tenacity and hard effort. More severely anxious people are less likely to exhibit behaviors like tardiness, absenteeism, and perfectionism, all of which may raise the chances that assignments will go unfinished, tests will be failed, or grades will need to be redone (Li & Wei, 2022). Anxiety-ridden students are more prone to leave school early. People who experience anxiety while in school are often misunderstood. They could be accused of being difficult and attempting to manipulate or get attention from their parents and other people (Liu & Dong, 2020). In the confines of Chinese primary schools, children with anxiety have a hard time explaining their own actions, which makes it more likely that they will be misunderstood. These young people often exert a lot of effort to fulfill all the demands that have been placed upon them while also coping with mental health problems.

As per the wishes of this policy document, the end goal is to ensure that instead of dismissing the possibility of a problem or placing the blame on the parents, educators must understand that a student’s conduct may be an effort to deal with anxiousness. The goal of this policy is to assist the institution in creating and maintaining a learning environment that is secure, supportive, and welcoming for all students in accordance with the most recent guidelines for reducing the negative effects of anxiety and stress on children in order to elicit the highest level of performance from those learners.

2. The Aims of the SEL Policy Document

The Yew Chung International School in Shanghai is committed to providing a safe, healthy, and encouraging learning environment for all of its students. This policy serves to highlight that dedication. The institution acknowledges that the health and well-being of all students are very important, and that their improvement benefits not only the individual, but also the faculty, the other students, their families, and the larger community as a whole. In addition, the institution strives to create a constructive learning atmosphere in which individuals’ efforts to lead healthier lifestyles are acknowledged and encouraged. As a result of this, the goal of the policy statement at Yew Chung International School is to develop the community’s shared expectations in the areas of mental health, involvement, and diversity.

In addition to this, Yew Chung International School endeavors to cultivate an environment that places a premium on positivity, respect, justice, equality, and the acknowledgement of one’s own originality. In addition to these admirable characteristics, the institution makes an effort to include learning about one’s self and others into the academic program, as well as to enhance the students’ social and emotional competence. The overarching goal of the plan is to improve the mental health and general well-being of students, which includes addressing the widespread problem of anxiety experienced by today’s pupils. Overall, the policy ensures that families, students, and staff are key participants in improving health and wellbeing, and it engages health professionals to collaborate with the school. This is accomplished by recognizing stress and anxiety as essential mental health concerns, which is done through the use of the policy. Additionally, the method will ensure that stress and anxiety are treated as serious mental health problems in the treatment process. The policy of Yew Chung International School is to promote a safe environment for all individuals, cultivate an atmosphere in which good behaviors and learning are expected, and build a healthy school culture. It also works to reduce and manage problems associated to anxiety, with the end goal of lowering the percentage of students who experience this condition.

3. Policy Statements and Strategies

3.1 Background

There has been a lot of research linking school-related stress to anxiety since schools are the main arena where teens are exposed to expectations for both academic achievement and interpersonal relationships. This is because schools are the places where adolescents are most exposed to pressures in both areas. It is natural for children to feel anxious when they are expected to perform in class, be assessed on activities such as completing an exam, delivering a presentation in front of the class, or moving to a new school. As a consequence, feeling nervous is frequent among children and teens. The children’s mental health and academic performance, on the other hand, may suffer if their worried feelings become excessive and chronic, interfering with their normal school routines. This is because disrupting the typical school routine heightens the sensation of anxiety. It is especially important for anxious children and adolescents to seek therapy since anxiety disorders may have a significant negative influence on their academic, behavioral, and emotional development, as well as a long-term effect on their future psychosocial functioning in adulthood. Furthermore, the long-term impact of anxiety disorders may influence how people behave in social settings (Zhou et al., 2007). Recent studies have started to stress the importance of the school environment in the treatment and prevention of children anxiety disorders (Mazzone et al., 2007). Teachers may better detect pupils who have exterior behavioral issues, such as hyperactivity or defiance. However, generalized anxiety disorder, which is characterized by perfectionism and a strong desire to please others, is less often identified by teachers in children (Xiao, 2015). Teachers see indicators of anxiety in students who have social anxiety, physiological anxiety, or high levels of anxiety in general, but they are less likely to identify symptoms in students who have generalized anxiety disorder. Furthermore, teachers and others may wrongly interpret children’s nervous behaviors, such as their unwillingness to complete difficult schoolwork, as being on deliberately unpleasant, delayed, attention-seeking, disrespectful, or manipulative (Yang, 2014). Avoiding difficult homework is one example of such an activity. This topic comes up often. Although some teachers are aware of the signs of anxiety, they may still seek further professional help from local mental health specialists, such as school psychologists or guidance counselors.

3.2 Scope

Help in adhering to this policy will be provided to the whole Yew Chung International School community, which includes teachers and staff members of various school departments, as well as students, their families, and volunteers.

3.3 Engagement Strategies

To achieve the set aims, Yew Chung International School has established a range of initiatives to promote participation, excellent conduct, and respectful relationships among all of the students. We recognize that certain students, whether as a group or as individuals, may need more social, emotional, or intellectual help in order to thrive in school. As a consequence, we will devise tactics to locate these children and offer them with the assistance they need. We also acknowledge that some students may need assistance in all three of these areas. Yew Chung International School will develop fair and respectful conduct rules and procedures in conjunction with students, parents, and caregivers, based on the school’s fundamental values, required social skills, and healthy peer connections. The essential principles of the school will serve as the basis for these policies. There are additional intervention measures in place to deal with inappropriate conduct that might affect both one’s own and others’ learning settings.

3.3.1 Actions for Teachers

To make it simpler for students with anxiety and mental health needs to get an education, Yew Chung International School will provide efficient, helpful, and up-to-date leadership, guidance, and information. These needs fall within the categories of social, emotional, physical, intellectual, and behavioral needs, and they will be addressed in a domain built expressly for instructors. In terms of anxiety, the educational institution will employ a wide variety of tools to identify and assist pupils at either extreme of the inclusion spectrum. Attendance and engagement in class, as well as the assignment of interesting tasks for admittance, the provision of specific instructions and learning goals, and the encouragement and monitoring of student involvement, will all be considered. Furthermore, throughout the course of the lectures and classroom time, instructors will check over the students’ projects and give comments and modifications.

3.3.1 Actions for Parents

One of the primary responsibilities of parents and other caregivers is to connect a kid with a member of the staff whom the youngster respects and feels comfortable speaking with. At addition, a kid would benefit from having trustworthy adults there in critical moments of his or her life, such as at the beginning or end of the school day. This would provide a supportive environment. One further duty that falls on the shoulders of the parents is to find a friend or a guide among the child’s peers. The primary objective of these types of techniques for parents is to establish an atmosphere conducive to the provision of a secure location, such as a mentor’s office or a wellness room, for use during breaks or other challenging periods such as when a child gets a panic or anxiety attack (Śniadach et al., 2021). It is crucial to have parents find methods for kids to feel more connected in the school community, such as by having them join a club or taking on a duty such as becoming a library monitor. In the near term, parents and other caregivers may work toward the objective of reducing the kid’s anxiety by breaking down the child’s day and asking the child what could assist them through each step, such as having a buddy meet them at the gate (Su et al., 2006). Last but not least, significant activities for parents that are recommended by this policy statement include having a flexible start-time or schedule, help for transitioning between classes, and having a “exit card” so a kid may leave a course if they get too concerned about it.

4. Evaluation

As part of the school’s two-year review cycle, the school management board and the Ministry of Education in China will both go at this policy to determine whether or not it should be implemented.

References

Dong Y, Cao X. (2021). Investigation of the emotional status of primary school pupils in Nanqiao Community of Fengxian District. Shanghai Medicine, 10,7-10.

Gong Y. (2019). Research on the Significance, Background and Countermeasures of Social Emotional Learning. Mental Health Education in Primary and Secondary Schools, 14-003,15-18.

He, Y. & Li, Y. (2021). An investigation of anxiety and depression among Chinese primary school students after the resumption of school post-COVID-19. Vulnerable Children and Youth Studies. 1-16.

Hill, J. L., & Seah, W. T. (2022). Student values and wellbeing in mathematics education: perspectives of Chinese primary students. ZDM–Mathematics Education, 1-14.

Hill, C., Waite, P., Creswell, C. (2016). Anxiety disorders in children and adolescents. Paediatrics and Child Health, 26(12).

Li, C., & Wei, L. (2022). Anxiety, enjoyment, and boredom in language learning amongst junior secondary students in rural China: How do they contribute to L2 achievement?. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 1-16.

Liu W., & Dong X. (2020). The anxiety state and intervention of primary school students. Educator (36), 2.

Mazzone, L., Ducci, F., Scoto, M. C., Passaniti, E., D’Arrigo, V. G., & Vitiello, B. (2007). The role of anxiety symptoms in school performance in a community sample of children and adolescents. BMC Public Health, 7, 347.

Śniadach, J., Szymkowiak, S., Osip, P., & Waszkiewicz, N. (2021). Increased depression and anxiety disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic in children and adolescents: a literature review. Life, 11(11), 1188.

Su L., Gao, X. Jin Y., Liu J., Luo X., Wen H. (2006). Investigation on the current situation of coexistence of anxiety and depression in primary school students.Chinese Journal of Mental Health.20(1),1-4.

Xiao Q. (2015). Research on the current situation and countermeasures of social-emotional learning of junior high school students: Based on a survey of junior high school students in Chongqing. Chongqing: Chongqing Normal University.

Yang Q. (2014). Research on the application strategy of social-emotional learning in schools in China: Taking the project school in Yanchi County, Ningxia as an exampleYinchuan: Ningxia University.

Zhou H., Li D., Song Y., Zong C., Wu J., Lu H. (2007). Epidemiological survey of anxiety among primary and middle school students in China. Journal of Shanghai Jiaotong University: Medical Edition,27(11):1379-1381.