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School inclusion for children with mental health difficulties
- Author:
- HOLTTUM Sue
- Journal article citation:
- Mental Health and Social Inclusion, 19(4), 2015, pp.161-168.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to highlight research on the exclusion from school of children with disabilities, and especially those identified as experiencing emotional disturbance. Two studies of schools that are inclusive are then described in order to examine how they achieve good results. Design/methodology/approach: Three papers are summarised. The first examines things that predict children with disabilities being excluded from school, including characteristics of children and of schools. The second is a qualitative study of four English schools involved in a national programme aimed at improving children’s mental health. The third is a case study of one American school identified for its high inclusivity and excellent educational results. Findings: In the first study, children with emotional disturbance, and African-American children were most likely to be excluded from school. The study of four English schools suggested that implementation of the national programme was variable but leadership and planning seemed vital, as well as whole-school commitment. The high-performing inclusive American school had whole-school commitment, high quality planning alongside flexibility, on-going further training for teachers, and close pupil tracking. Originality/value: The study of school exclusion was the first to examine children and schools together, as well as different disabilities and ethnicity. The study of English schools highlights the experiences of those directly involved in implementing a national programme to promote children’s mental health. The study of a high-performing inclusive school in America discovered much in common with inclusive high-performing schools in England, suggesting that some practices can be identified across the two cultures that aid successful inclusion of children with disabilities including mental health difficulties. (Original abstract)
Do clinicians and clinical researchers do enough to foster social inclusion?
- Author:
- HOLTTUM Sue
- Journal article citation:
- Mental Health and Social Inclusion, 19(1), 2015, pp.5-11.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to raise questions about the social issues involved in mental and physical health. It highlights how, even where social issues are evident, clinicians and clinical researchers often focus mainly on individual people and what has gone wrong with them. This has the effect of making it less likely that social exclusion and adversity will be taken into account or that clinicians will help to change these. Design/methodology/approach: Three journal papers are summarised. The first one reports an attempt to test whether depression is a result of people feeling defeated and trapped. The second paper reports the results of analysing medical writing about domestic abuse. The third paper discusses the need for trainee clinicians to be made more aware of social conditions that affect people's lives. Findings: It does appear that people who feel defeated and trapped are more likely to become depressed. However, the life circumstances that lead to feeling trapped need more attention. Medical writing about domestic abuse may need to incorporate the broader context so that it is not just seen as a “women's problem”. It may be worth training clinicians about social conditions and how they might help to change them. Originality/value: These papers highlight important links between social exclusion and mental and physical health. There is a key role for clinicians and clinical researchers to be more part of the solution where they sometimes unwittingly help maintain the problems. (Publisher abstract)