Teacher’s knowledge regarding mental health issues of school-going children in tehsil Bhimber

Abstract

Research Background: Children in the age range of 3-17 years face higher emotional, mental, and behavioral issues. The prevalence of mental health problems in children in Pakistan is much higher (35%) in children and adolescents compared to 10% to 20% around the globe. This invites to research this area in depth. Research Objectives: This research has been carried out to investigate the teachers’ knowledge about mental health issues of school going children in tehsil Bhimber, AJK. The aim of the study was to investigate the association between the demographics of teachers and their knowledge about the mental health issues of school going children. Research Methodology: This study has been a quantitative cross-sectional study carried out in high schools of Bhimber district of AJK. The study has selected stratified random sampling technique to collect data from 384 respondents using a structured questionnaire consisting of two parts where part A asks for demographic questions while part B consists of questions on mental health awareness of teachers. The analysis of collected data has been performed in SPSS 21 using demographic analysis, frequency distribution of responses, t test and one way ANOVA tests. Research Results: The results of study have provided significant difference in mental health awareness of teachers in both public and private schools where p = 0.05. on the other hand, no significant difference for mental health awareness of teachers has been found in terms of age (p = 0.389 > 0.05),experience(p=0.234>0.05), gender (p = 0.83 > 0.05), education level (p = 0.172 > 0.05) and previous workshop experience (p = 0.801 > 0.05). iv Conclusion: This study concludes that the type of school makes a difference for mental health knowledge and awareness of teachers in Bhimber, AJK while age,experience, gender, education level, and prior workshop experience on the topic do not influence the level of mental health awareness of teachers. Thus, it is recommended that the schools should focus more on providing training to their teachers from within the staff to enhance their mental health knowledge. Key words: high school teachers, mental health awareness, public and private schools