Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
6843723 | Journal of School Psychology | 2018 | 15 Pages |
Abstract
Recent studies have established connections among teachers' mental health and student outcomes, however there is limited understanding of how these teacher characteristics manifest in the classroom to affect students. The present study informed this gap by examining the associations among third grade teachers' (Nâ¯=â¯32) self-reported symptoms of clinical depression and their students' (Nâ¯=â¯326) classroom instructional experiences. Eight student experiences described by the Individualizing Student Instruction framework were investigated, including academic instruction facilitated by the teacher in various student groupings, students' independent and group work, teachers' planning/organizing instruction, and students' time off-task and in transitions. Multilevel modeling revealed negative associations between teachers' depressive symptoms and (a) teacher-facilitated academic instruction provided to the whole class and (b) teachers' planning/organizing instruction. Results suggest that teachers experiencing more symptoms may under-utilize instructional approaches that require more effort on their part. We discussed the implications of our findings for students' academic and social-emotional learning, and the potential benefits of incorporating mental health support components into teacher training and professional development aimed at improving instructional practices.
Related Topics
Social Sciences and Humanities
Psychology
Applied Psychology
Authors
Leigh McLean, Tashia Abry, Michelle Taylor, Carol McDonald Connor,