Mental health education: A guide for teachers, leaders and school boards

(Background music: upbeat, relaxing music featuring piano chords and a clicking sound on the beat. White text in front of a shot of blurry plants states, ‘Mental Health Education. A guide for teachers, leaders and school boards’. The Ministry of Education’s logo is in the top right-hand corner where it remains throughout the video).

Tēnā koutou katoa. 

(Two women are walking down the beach, one in a black outfit and one in a yellow outfit).

Ko Melinda Webber tōku ingoa, nō Rotorua, nō Te Tai Tokerau hoki ahau. 

(A shot of a wave coming up the beach is seen). 

E mahi ana Māua ki Waipapa Taumatarau. 

(The two women are sitting on a large branch. A close-up shot of the lady in black appears as she smiles).

Kia ora ko Katie Fitzpatrick tōku ingoa. Nō Ōtautahi ahau. 

(The ladies look at each other and smile. A close-up of the lady in yellow’s foot displays a Māori tattoo. Both ladies turn to the camera and smile). 

We're both from the University of Auckland and we're the lead writers of a new guide for mental health education in schools.

(The two women are seen sitting across from each other on a desk with laptops. A large piece of artwork is seen in the background and flowers and pot plants are in the distance on the table. A close-up of the lady in black’s hands with navy painted nails and a jewel ring is seen followed by a close-up of the lady in yellow’s hands. Both are typing on their laptop. A close-up of both ladies' faces is seen as they talk across the table).

We were supported in the writing of this guide by Te Kawehau Hoskins rātou ko Analosa Veukiso-Ulugia, John Fennerty, Darren Powell and Nic Mason.

(A medium close-up shot of both ladies appears and they’re looking at the camera. The lady in yellow begins to speak). 

The new guide has been designed to help schools implement mental health education.

(A close-up shot of the lady in yellow appears as she continues to speak to the camera. She is wearing long, thin, gemstone earrings. A title in the bottom right of the screen appears from the right-hand side, reading: Dr Melinda Webber. Associate Professor, University of Auckland).

It's underpinned by key concepts such as haoura, mana, mātauranga Māori, it's informed by Tiriti o Waitangi and it celebrates diverse knowledge systems, values and understandings of mental health and inclusion.

(A close-up shot of the lady in black appears who begins speaking to the camera. A title appears from the bottom of the left-hand corner, reading: Dr Kate Fitzpatrick. Associate Professor, University of Auckland). 

The guide recognises that communities are facing a range of mental health education challenges.

(A shot of a diverse mix of teenagers wearing school uniforms appears. They are standing in front of a whiteboard and their teacher is facing away from the camera and looking at them. Colourful posters and artwork are seen in the background. A close-up shot is seen of the teenagers smiling in a group followed by their teacher smiling back at them). 

Young people in New Zealand have specifically requested a greater focus on mental health education in schools.

(The teacher is now standing in front of the whiteboard facing her students who are sitting at desks and facing away from the camera. A colourful title card reading ‘Mahi inaiane’ is stuck to the whiteboard with text below reading, ‘Real relationships vs relationships on screen’. A cross has been drawn as a table below the text and the teacher is holding a whiteboard marker. The left-hand side of the whiteboard reads the title ‘Nga whainga akoranga’ on a colourful card with the following text written below, ‘Understand the ways relationships are portrayed on TV, movies Netflix as opposed to real-life’. A colourful title card below this states ‘Nga paearu angitu’ followed by the written text, ‘Compare and contrast on-screen and real relationships’. 

With hauora as a foundation, quality mental health education emphasises culture, place and histories and enables ākonga to become strong in their identities.

(A close-up shot of four students is seen as they sit at their desks and look at the whiteboard. A close-up of the teacher speaking in front of her class and then directing her students to look at the whiteboard following close-ups of the students nodding in response to what she’s saying). 

It equips them with skills and strategies to meet challenges and adapt to change, they learn to develop and maintain healthy relationships and that enables them to support their own wellbeing and the wellbeing of others around them.

(A close-up of two girls sitting at their desk, smiling and speaking together. These students are now standing with a third girl and conversing. Dr Melinda Webber and Dr Kate Fitzpatrick now reappear on the screen, facing the camera. Dr Melinda Webber is speaking).

The guide takes a whole school approach which means that every member of the school community has a role to play in building policy, designing processes for ākonga, engaging community consultation and enabling student agency, leadership and activism.

(A close-up of Dr Kate Fitzpatrick appears followed by a close-up of her hand moving on her laptop. A view of the laptop screen appears. The background of the screen is white with small, colourful circles that connect with lines. The title reads, ‘Mental Health Education. A guide for teachers, leaders, and school boards. Years 1-13’. The screen scrolls downward quickly to display text and graphs).

The guide gives research-informed practical advice, links to resources and other policies and research evidence.

(A close-up of Dr Melinda Webber typing on her laptop appears followed by a close-up of her laptop screen displaying text and imagery as she scrolls down the page). 

It's also supported by the Mental Health Education and Hauora resource developed by NZCER in 2018.

(A medium close-up of the two Doctors reappears as they face the camera, Dr Kate Fitzpatrick is speaking).

The guide focuses strongly on curriculum learning for all children and young people.

(The teacher is leaning over the students sitting at their desks. Close-up shots are seen of the group as they speak together. The students are holding colourful pens and drawing on a piece of paper in the middle of the table). 

This learning should occur in dedicated curriculum time, in health education and physical education to help young people build knowledge and skills for and about mental health.

(The two Doctors reappear and Dr Katie Fitzpatrick is speaking to the camera).

It's not about trying to solve mental health problems but about creating learning opportunities and taking an educative approach.

This is not about health promotion, but about mental health education.

(A white screen appears with a black Ministry of Education logo with the following website beneath: education.govt.nz).

(Background music: upbeat, relaxing music featuring piano chords and a clicking sound on the beat. A beige colour background with the following text in green reads “The Mana Model. Webber and Macfarlane (2020)”. The Ministry of Education logo is in the top right-hand corner where it remains throughout the video. A shot of a middle-aged women appears, sitting behind a desk. She is wearing a mustard colour top and is wearing long, thin, gemstone earrings. A title on the bottom right of the screen appears from the right-hand side, reading: “Dr Melinda Webber. Associate Professor, University of Auckland”.)

The Mana model is a research-informed approach that considers the personal home, school and community factors that enable ākonga to thrive.

(A shot of a teacher wearing eclectic clothing appears. She is standing in front of a whiteboard and teaching her students who are sitting at their desks and are looking toward her. A close-up shot of the teacher is shown as she directs her students to look at the whiteboard followed by a close-up shot of the students nodding in understanding.)

So mana is a concept from te ao Māori which refers to our sense of self-worth or belonging.

Everyone has mana, we're born with it, we inherit it from our ancestors, however, it's also developed through our positive interactions that we might have with other people.

(The teacher is seen leaning over her students who are sitting at their desks. Close-up shots of the students and teacher appear as they converse. The students are holding colourful pens and are writing on a piece of paper in the middle of the table.)

Mana is also a relational concept so it's as much about how we feel about ourselves as it is about how we impact those around us.

(Dr Melinda Webber reappears as she speaks to the camera. A beige screen appears with a simple black icon image of a group of people of different sizes. One person is very little and is holding hands with a bigger person while another is holding a walking stick. The following text below the image reads, "Mana whānau. Connected to whānau and aware of collective agency". This infographic reappears throughout the video with additional graphics and texts being added.)

So there are five types of mana discussed in the Mana model, the first type of mana is Mana Whānau which is about a student's sense of connectedness to others, how important they feel in a particular context.

(Dr Melinda Webber reappears as she speaks to the camera.)

It's an understanding that somebody in that context knows what their strengths and interests are.

(The infographic which was previously seen is minimised on the screen. Two green lines at 45 degrees head diagonally upwards and outwards from the people. A green, curved bubble above the people reads, ‘Belonging to places and spaces’. The text "Mana Ūkaipō" is written above. Dr Melinda Webber reappears and is speaking to the camera.)

The second type of mana is Mana Ūkaipō, and Ūkaipō is a really beautiful metaphor in te ao Māori quite similar to the concept of tūrangawaewae where we plant our feet, where we feel like we belong, but ū is a breast, kai is to feed and pō is in the night.

So the notion of Mana Ūkaipō refers to a sense of contentment in the world much like a mother and child breastfeeding in the middle of the night when everything feels good and feels settled.

We want students to have a sense of Mana Ūkaipō when they come to school.

We want them to know that they can be safe, that they're nurtured and that they feel secure in that context.

So, Mana Ūkaipō is about a student's sense of belonging to place, it's when they know what their whakapapa is, when they know their history and how they've come to be and occupy a particular place.

(The infographic reappears and a green bubble is added on the left-hand side of the people that reads "Positive self-concept in relation to learning and success" with the heading "Mana Moutuhake" written above. A circle starts to form as each type of mana is introduced.)

The third type of mana is Mana Motuhake, and Mana Motuhake is about a student's positive sense of identity and belonging and group membership.

(Dr Melinda Webber reappears and is speaking to the camera.)

It's also about a positive sense of academic efficacy, so it's when students tie being a member of their group to success, to goal setting, to achievement, to feeling good about themselves and having positive role models.

(The infographic reappears and a green bubble on the right-hand side of the people is added that reads, "Persistence and determination", with the title "Mana Tū" written above. Dr Melinda Webber reappears.)

The fourth type of mana is Mana Tū and the word tū in te reo Māori means to stand upright, to stand tall and students can stand tall in this world when they develop particular psychosocial skills like tenacity, the ability to be humble, to be persistent in the face of difficulties and to engage a range of metacognitive kind of approaches to problem-solving.

(The infographic reappears and the last green bubble at the bottom of the people, forming a circle, reads "Confident and open to appreciating differences" with the title "Mana Tangatarua" written below. Dr Melinda Webber reappears.)

The fifth type of mana is Mana Tangatarua, and tangatarua is a metaphor for two or more knowledge systems, peoples and skills.

So when students have Mana Tangatarua they know who they are and how they belong but they also are really curious about who others are and want to learn about their knowledge systems too.

Young people who have Mana Tangatarua know that they have something meaningful to contribute to the rest of the world so they're tuakana, but they also know that they have something to learn from others so they're also teina.

Students who have Mana Tangatarua show gratitude and make decisions with moral integrity.

So the Mana Model has been developed for all students and emphasises the idea that all students have mana, they're born with it and a teacher's role is to acknowledge, affirm, and grow that mana.

(A close-up of Dr Melinda Webber is shown.)

So what we're hoping schools will do with the Mana model is to think about ways students can understand who they are, where they come from and what they bring to the learning context and that teachers can incorporate that information into their planning, teaching and assessment to increase the mental health and wellbeing of students.

There's an important proverb in te reo Māori, a whakataukī that says 'he mana tō te tamaiti, every child has mana, he mauri tō te tamaiti, every child has a burning energy and life force about them', and that's what the mana model emphasises.

(A white screen appears with a black Ministry of Education logo with the following website beneath: education.govt.nz.)