Assessing the Influence of Mental Health Education on Students' Learning Behaviour in Public Secondary Schools in Temeke Municipality

Shabia Chalido; Georgina Mugisha

doi:10.61227/jtlc.v1i2.227

Authors

Shabia Chalido Faculty of Education Foundation, St. Augustine University of Tanzania
Georgina Mugisha Department of Education Foundation, St. Augustine University of Tanzania

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.61227/jtlc.v1i2.227

Keywords:

Leadership styles, Teachers’ professionalism, Democratic leadership, Autocratic leadership, Transformational leadership

Abstract

The study aimed to assess provision of mental health education as an intervention influence learning behaviour among students in secondary schools in Temeke Municipality. This study was guided by the Ecological Systems Theory by Urie Bronfenbrenner in 1979. A convergent parallel research design was employed in this study, where both quantitative and qualitative data were collected through closed-ended questionnaires and an interview guide, respectively. The study sample size was 114 respondents (4 heads of school, 4 school counsellors, 19 teachers, and 87 form four students). Quantitative data collected through closed-ended questionnaires were analyzed by descriptive statistics techniques into percentages and frequency distribution and presented in charts and tables. Qualitative data collected from semi-structured interviews were thematically analyzed. Generally, heads of schools, teachers, and school counsellors reported that learners who are provided with mental health education demonstrate active participation in the class, they increase their level of confidence and show improvement in coping mechanisms for depression or stress, which is translated into classroom engagement. However, respondents uncovered challenges they experience when implementing mental health education, including the absence of sufficient training, limited access to relevant teaching materials, large class size, limited time, and negative cultural beliefs.. The study recommended that the ministry of education should incorporate mental health education into the formal curriculum as part of secondary school subjects to be taught in schools there should be an introduction of a formal subject related to mental health education, efforts should be made to reduce the level of student-teacher ratio, and in-service training should be implemented for teachers for professional development.

References

Adeniyi, I. S., Al Hamad, N. M., Adewusi, O. E., Unachukwu, C. C., Osawaru, B., Onyebuchi, C. N., & David, I. O. (2024). Educational reforms and their impact on student performance: A review in African Countries. World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 21(2), 750-762.

Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The Ecology of Human Development: Experiments by Nature and Design. Harvard University Press.

Casale, G. & Reyes, A.L. (2023). An integrated model for school-based mental health assessment in inclusive education. Empirische Sonderpädagogik, 15. 214-233. Retrieved from DOI: 10.25656/01:29027; 10.2440/003-0008

Clement, S., Schauman, O., Graham, T., Maggioni, F., Evans-Lacko, S., Bezborodovs, N., & Thornicroft, G. (2015). What is the impact of mental health-related stigma on help-seeking? Psychological Medicine, 45(1), 11-27.

Costa, N. R. (2024). Mental Health Education in Secondary Schools in Uganda. Strategies to use and Way Forward. International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, 8(3), 2367-2378.

Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research Design: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approach. 4th Ed. SAGE Publication India Pvt Ltd. New Delhi.

Dumbuya, E. (2024). Integrating mental health support into secondary school curriculum in sub-Saharan Africa: Challenges and Opportunities. International Journal of Science and Research Archive (IJSRA). Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.30574/ijsra.2025.28.7.2481

Durlak, J. A., Weissberg, R. P., Dymnicki, A. B., Taylor, R. D., & Schellinger, K. B.(2011). The impact of enhancing students’ social and emotional learning: A meta-analysis of school-based universal interventions. Child Development, 82(1), 405–432.

. Freeman, J., Yell, M. L., Shriner, J. G., & Katsiyannis, A. (2019). Federal policy on improving outcomes for students with emotional and behavioral disorders: Past, present, and future. Behavioral Disorders, 44(2), 97-106.

Greenberg, M. T., Weissberg, R. P., O'Brien, M. U., Zins, J. E., Fredericks, L., Resnik, H., & Elias, M. J. (2003). Enhancing school-based prevention and youth development through coordinated social, emotional, and academic learning. American Psychologist, 58(7), 466–474.

Jabbarov, R., & Azimzadeh, N., Namazova, G., Abbasova, N., & Guliyev, C. (2024). The Impact of Mental Health on Students' Academic Performance. SEEJPH Volume XXV S1, 2-13.

Johnson, R., and A. Onwuegbuzie. (2004). Mixed Methods: A Research Paradigm Whose Time Has Come. Educational Researcher. 33(7), 14 – 26. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3700093

Jones, S. M., & Kahn, J. (2017). The evidence base for how we learn: Supporting students’ social, emotional, and academic development. The Aspen Institute.

Kutcher, S., Wei, Y., & Coniglio, C. (2016). Mental health literacy: Past, present, and future. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 61(3), 154–158.

Mwakabala, J., Ndalichako, J., & Mtaita, H. (2018). The influence of peer pressure on students' classroom behaviour in public secondary schools in Temeke, Dar es Salaam. Tanzania Journal of Education and Development, 8(2), 115-130.

Naqvi, S. A. H., Ahsan, H., Aslam, S., & Hassan, A. (2025). The Role of Political Instability in Shaping Pakistan’s Education Policy: Challenges and Opportunities. Social Science Review Archives, 3(1), 1122-1134.

Nguvumali, F. (2020). Factors contributing to students’ misbehaviour in urban secondary schools in Tanzania: A case of Dar es Salaam. African Educational Research Journal, 6(1), 45-55.

Polanczyk, G. V., Salum, G. A., Sugaya, L. S., Caye, A., & Rohde, L. A. (2015). Annual research review: A meta-analysis of the worldwide prevalence of mental disorders in children and adolescents. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 56(3), 345–365.

Robinson, M. (2024). Supporting Mental Health Education in Ontario Secondary Schools: A Cross-Curricular Handbook for Ontario Secondary Teachers.

Salmela-Aro, K. (2022). Holistic education and student well-being in Finland. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 66(5), 677-690.

Taherdoost, H. (2021). Data Collection Methods and Tools for Research: A Step-by-Step Guide to Choosing Data Collection Techniques for Academic and Business Research Projects. International Journal of Academic Research in Management (IJARM), 2021(1), 10–38. Accessed at https://hal.science/hal-03741847

Troy, D., Anderson, J., Jessiman, P. E., Albers, P. N., Williams, J. G., Sheard, S., & Kidger, J. (2022). What is the impact of structural and cultural factors and interventions within educational settings on promoting positive mental health and preventing poor mental health: a systematic review. BMC Public Health, 22(1), 524.

United Republic of Tanzania. (2014). National Education Policy. Ministry of Education and Vocational Training.

Wignall, A. L. (2021). Evaluating the Impact and Implementation of Whole-School Mental Health and Wellbeing Programmes. The University of Manchester (United Kingdom).

World Health Organization (WHO). (2021). Promoting Mental Health in Schools: Global Perspective. Geneva: World Health Organization. Retrieved at https://www.simplypsychology.org/bronfenbrenner.html.

Zada, S., Wang, Y., Zada, M., & Gul, F. (2021). Effect of mental health problems on academic performance among university students in Pakistan. International Journal of Mental Health Promotion, 23, 395-408.