A RESEARCH EVALUATION OF AN ACTION APPROACH TO SCHOOL MENTAL HEALTH

WORKSHOP, 1960

W. MASON MATHEWS, PH.D., Chairman*

1. INTRODUCTION TO THE ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT

JAMES F. KIPFER Coordinator, School Mental Health Project, Michigan Society for Mental Health, Detroit

CTION research in any setting may be precarious; in public schools to- A day this is more often than not the rule. I t seems appropriate therefore to provide some historical perspective to the initiation and rationale of the action research which will be described in the papers to follow.

In general our efforts are aimed a t maintaining and developing an optimal emotional climate for learning and growth in the school classroom through the provision of planned, meaningful experiences for the classroom teacher and other school personnel.

It would be presumptuous to proceed without first acknowledging that educators and mental health specialists have, for many years, sought com- mon ground upon which to achieve the goals we are still seeking. That we, in this country, have not achieved these goals or even broad acceptance of significant new knowledge about learning and behavior in spite of many worth-while efforts, is testimony to certain paradoxical forces in American education. The forces which produce inertia, perpetuate the status quo, and retard the acceptance and operational application of what we believe to be good for children have become our primary target for attack.

The story of this Project began with the conception of an idea in August 1954, when the McGregor Fund of Michigan proposed a three-year project aimed a t “helping the schools of the state make the learning environment and conditions such as to insure the development of mental health among children and youth. This goal to be sought chiefly through the provision of special training and assistance in mental health education for teachers and other school personnel.” Birth of the Project took place one year later, on August 1, 1955.

No long periods of planning nor well-thought-ou t organization and time- table existed a t the outset. Here was simply a “carte blanche” gift of $25,000 per year to a voluntary citizens’ mental health organization with the very general directive to do something with teachers that would ultimately make the school classroom a better place for children to learn and grow. The

* Chairman of Laboratory Teaching, Director of Summer Camp Program, Merrill-Palmer School, Detroit, Michigan.

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Michigan Society for Mental Health had no prior experience with such generosity and little experience with teachers.

We did not possess profound insight about the task ahead, nor were we stocked with any new or ingenious knowledges of procedure. We did create an advisory committee to the Project. This action seemed necessary and proper in terms of the experimental approach we had chosen in this pursuit for ideas and know-how for better mental health in the classroom.

The Advisory Committee make-up, however, was not without motive or intent. For example, the chairman selected was an assistant superintendent of schools in the City of Detroit, a member of the McGregor Fund board, and a person who carried a long history of interest and involvement with mental health concerns in education. Psychiatry, psychology, the Michigan Education Association, the Michigan State Department of Public Instruc- tion, public school administration and higher education were all categorically represented on the committee.

The first thing the Advisory Committee did was to hire a Project Co- ordinator and lay down some general ground rules for operation. Here are those rules:

1. The primary focus of the program would be directed toward classroom teachers because of the length and intensity of their contact with children and the real and potential influence the teacher has on the individual child and the group climate. Programs for other school personnel would receive attention as the Project saw need.

2. The work would be carried on with teachers in areas away from Metropolitan Detroit where psychiatric and clinical resources were nonexistent, or not as readily available. Groups ultimately considered and selected would be involved on the basis of their request and an evidence of interest and need.

3. No direct clinical treatment service would be provided to any school or individual.

Now, a brief look a t the basic rationale which evolved and which we currently believe and accept as a guide:

1. School is the place to learn things necessary for our way of life. There are those who hold a more dilute view of school’s purpose.

2. Learning takes place more effectively under circumstances where children are under- stood, accepted and comfortable.

3. School offers a dynamic setting, well suited for fostering and accepting change in the major dimensions of growth (emotional, social, psychological and physical).

4. Most of the children and the adults in the school setting are getting along pretty well, but some need special attention and special help in the day-by-day management of the classroom.

mate change is largely within their power to effect and control. 5. Administrators and teachers must believe that things can be better and that ulti-

As we moved from the planning stage to the operational stage and began to test our perceptions of what schools and classrooms were really like, there

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was concomitant experimentation with methods and procedures which we hoped would help us move effectively toward the goals we had in mind.

Through this process of trial and error certain factors and conditions moved into sharper focus. These were:

1. The need for careful planning to cope effectively with the wide geographical range of centers of operation. Time, energy and costs consistent with realities of budget and securing resource people were and are a constant factor.

2. The availability of qualified resource personnel to do the on-the-line consulting and teaching brought about a “talent” hunt which has continued throughout the life of the Project.

3. A careful assessment of applicant schools was necessary to determine the degree of interest, need and teachers’ perception of problems. This task, which ultimately involved selective interview and extensive data collection, looms as perhaps the most important preoperational undertaking and is significant in terms of our thesis that in-service programs should be tailor-made to fit the clientele and circumstances.

The experiences encountered during the first three years of the Project served to recast my role as coordinator of the Project and the role of the resource consultants. We now view the total operation in terms of three phases :

Phase 1 relates to the responsibility of the Project Coordinator for: (a) screening and selection of centers for work; (b) recruitment, scheduling and evaluation of resource personnel; (c) continuity and balance of program in terms of the prescribed policies and goals of the Project; (d) liaison with the Project Advisory Committee; and (e) provision and follow-through of evaluation and research.

Phase 2 concerns itself with the actual on-the-scene operation of the program by the resource people. This operational undertaking varies in accordance with the specific problems, concerns, climate and clientele of each setting and group, plus the personality and skills of the resource people working on the scene.

Phase 3, research, is correlated with the first two phases through appraisal, constant technique evaluation and program impact measurement. Research efforts are largely action oriented.

Before moving to the details of the problem as we view it, the action program as we developed it, and the research attempted, I should like to enumerate statistically the scope of Project programs which provide the basis of our discussion here. First, though, I should tell you that in 1958, the McGregor Fund saw fit to renew their grant for an additional three years. Keep in mind that for purposes of this discussion we are dealing with material that has come to us only through four of the six years of this study.

In the four years completed JuIy 31, 1959, our major emphasis was di- rected toward in-service activities with teachers in 20 Michigan commun- ities. There were, however, other efforts of short duration to stimulate con- cern and action with various teacher groups. For example, there were 3 county teacher institutes, 2 preschool conferences, 6 credit course offerings under an off-campus course enrichment program and 3 television courses.

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The other avenue of approach to teachers, which deserves mention here, was through three annual week-end conferences involving key staff persons from Michigan colleges and universities. The conferees on these occasions were people who were largely responsible for mental health education in the teacher education schools. In all, some 4,000 teachers and administrators have been participants to a greater or lesser degree in Project programs.

We are convinced from the experiences of these past four years that schools, regardless of the availability of the school psychologist, school social worker and other special service personnel, can do much more in the way of self-help by reinforcing the confidence and management skills of their present teacher staffs.

If we can accept this as fact, we are then confident that teachers so armed will create classrooms where learning will take place more effectively in a climate of greater understanding, acceptance and comfort for pupils and teachers alike.