Author: Hena Ahmed

Managing Stress in Secondary SchoolsA Whole-School Approach for Staff and Students by Anthony James

Hena Ahmed

Anthony James is qualified as an educational psychologist at The University of Sussex, became very aware of a need for support in stress management among students and school staff and developed stress management skills for students. He introduces a stress management program used for schools and colleges. Many practices and lesson plans are given to students to help them develop management skills to reduce the amount of stress they have. You learn the variety of strategies that are used, such as increasing awareness of stress and this gives students a positive outlook on school. This book teaches you the coping mechanisms and how to manage your workload. The book’s main goal is to lower tension levels through the implementation of these skills. This book is very useful because we know that stress levels among students and staff in schools have increased, so reading about the solutions and skills can help decrease the amount of stress. Finally, students will feel that school is a supportive domain that cares about your mental well-being.

1.“The unique selling point of this manual is founded on the belief that, in order for any stress management program to have an impact, tuition needs to move beyond merely giving students information about stress, to direct training in stress reduction skills.”

2.“Parents and school staff are concerned about anxiety and stress in youngsters but there are limits on what they can do to help.”

Mental Health in Schools Where We Stand by NAMI

Hena Ahmed

“Mental Health in Schools.” NAMI. Web. 24 Mar. 2023.

 The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is a nationwide, grassroots mental health organization. NAMI offers educational programs. They also advocate for individuals and families that are affected by mental illness. NAMI believes that public policies and practices should promote greater awareness in mental health conditions and should be identified earlier. They explain the ways in which schools can work together to support the mental health of students because many students experience a mental health disorder each year, especially at a young age. This is very useful to read about because it teaches you that students with Undiagnosed mental illnesses can have a hard time learning because it interferes with their learning process. Having early identification while creating treatment for children, will decrease the chances of a student struggling in school. It will make a huge difference in children who are suffering from mental health conditions for the better.

1.“Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), behavior problems, anxiety, and depression are the mostly common diagnosed mental disorders in children. Yet, about half of youth with mental health conditions received any kind of treatment in the past year.”

2.“Since children spend much of their productive time in educational settings, schools offer a unique opportunity for early identification, prevention, and interventions that serve students where they already are.”

 Should Students Be Allowed to Miss School for Mental Health Reasons? By Shannon Doyne

Hena Ahmed

Doyne, Shannon. “Should Students Be Allowed to Miss School for Mental Health Reasons?” The New York Times. The New York Times, 13 Sept. 2021. 

  Shannon Doyne – Contributing Writer/Editor/Producer in The New York Times, received a B.A. from King’s College and M.A. from Bucknell University, both in English, and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the University of Notre Dame says that new laws in several states have now allowed children and adolescents to have a mental health day. She asks the question, Is this a good trend? Do you wish your school gave you the option? Students will miss a day of school to take care of their mental health. This is important to know about since many people believe that mental health should be a reason to miss a day of school. Students can take that time to work on their mental health, manage their time and focus on themselves. Finally, mental health issues are usual among students, and can affect the academic performance in a student. Students taking a day off school to focus on their mental health can help reduce the chance of a bad mental health and academic performance.

  1. “In the New York City school system, which has more than 1 million students, a day off for mental or behavioral health reasons “would be treated like any other sick day,” Nathaniel Styer, a New York City Department of Education spokesman, said.”
  2. “Faced with high stress levels among adolescents and a mental health crisis that includes worsening suicide rates, some states are now allowing students to declare a mental health day.”

Teaching Teenagers to Cope with Social Stress by Jan Hoffman

Hena Ahmed

Hoffman, Jan. “Teaching Teenagers to Cope with Social Stress.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 29 Sept. 2016

 Jan Hoffman is a features reporter for The New York Times, with a long-time focus on adolescents. She says that new research suggests that students can find ways to deal with their stress and insecurities by learning effective coping skills. David S. Yeager, an assistant professor of psychology at the university of Texas at Austin preforms a study on students where they participated in a reading and writing exercise. This was done to instill a basic message to help them manage tension. The group of students who participated in this exercise had a decrease in stress levels, expressed greater self-assurance in managing stress and developed more confidence. The students were first presented with an article on brain science explaining the chance of personality transformation and then read former highschoolers stories where they discuss their experiences in school. Many former highschoolers who went through a lot of conflicts but overcame them. Finally, the students were asked give advice to younger students about overcoming difficulties and conflicts. This is so important to know about because it shows that coping skills do exist, and it can transform students into feeling more confident and less stressed. 

  1. “If you’re an adolescent and you experience social harm, it’s not fixed that you will always be a target. You can change,” he said. “And over time, others can change, too. They may mellow and not be so cruel. That’s an interesting twist for kids to learn, and a good one.”
  2. “But it does boost kids’ self-confidence by changing their belief in their own ability to change.”

Academic Stress and Mental Well-Being in College Students: Correlations, Affected Groups, and COVID-19 by Georgia Barbayannis, Mahindra Bandari, Xiang Zheng, Humberto Bacquerizo, Keith w. pecor and Xue Ming

Hena Ahmed

Barbayannis, Georgia, Mahindra Bandari, Xiang Zheng, Humberto Baquerizo, Keith W Pecor, and Xue Ming. “Academic Stress and Mental Well-being in College Students: Correlations, Affected Groups, and Covid-19.” Frontiers in Psychology. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 23 May 2022. 

  Each Author works in the Department of neurology in New Jersey, and all discuss how academic stress is present among college students. They think that there is a big correlation between academic stress and mental well-being in college students. Many factors are examined that create academic stress, one being financially but they also look at the impact of the COVID-19 and try to examine the academic stress it caused in which it did cause much more stress and mental health worries. This is very important to know about because realizing the impact of academic stress during pandemic and then addressing it to colleges and universities might just solve the ongoing issue. 

  1. “The coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic is a major stressor that has led to a mental health crisis”
  2. “Second, to identify groups that could experience differential levels of academic stress and mental health. Third, to explore how the perception of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic affected stress levels. We hypothesized that students who experienced more academic stress would have worse psychological well-being and that certain groups of students would be more impacted by academic- and COVID-19-related stress.”

 School-Related Stressors and the Intensity of Perceived Stress Experienced by Adolescents in Poland by Maria Kaczmarek and Sylwia Trambacz-oleszak

Hena Ahmed

Kaczmarek, Maria, and Sylwia Trambacz-Oleszak. “School-related Stressors and the Intensity of Perceived Stress Experienced by Adolescents in Poland.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 10 Nov. 2021.

Maria Kaczmarek is a research scientist and program supervisor at EcoHealth Alliance with expertise in evolutionary biology and virology. Sylwia Trambacz-Oleszak works in Institute of Human Biology and Evolution, Faculty of Biology at Adam Mickiewicz University. They examine the relationship between school-related stressors and the degree of perceived stress that young people in Poland experience. 1846 adolescents between the ages of 13 and 18 were used as a sample and given questionaries. It is to be that girls are more likely than boys to experience higher amounts of perceived stress.  School environments are a big element in predicting high levels of perceived stress. This information is useful because it can create interventions for each gender and manage the stress they are given.

  1. “Moreover, girls appeared to be more vulnerable than boys to school-related stressors and weight status, while boys to stressors that can arise from interpersonal relationships.”
  2. “Gender was found to be a significant predictor of high perceived stress; therefore, in the next step, gender-stratified adjusted analyses were performed using multiple logistic regression analysis (MLRA)”“Gender was found to be a significant predictor of high perceived stress; therefore, in the next step, gender-stratified adjusted analyses were performed using multiple logistic regression analysis (MLRA)”

The Impact of Stress on Students in Secondary School and Higher Education by Michaela Pascoe

Hena Ahmed

Pascoe, Michaela C. “The Impact of Stress on Students in Secondary School and Higher Education.” The Impact of Stress on Students in Secondary School and Higher Education. 

Michaela Pascoe who is a Senior Research Fellow in the Institute of Health and Sport at Victoria University. Her research expertise is in mental health, mindfulness, physical activity, stress, and science communication. She explains the factors that lead to academic stress; however, she also discusses how a student can lead to academic performance. She creates an interesting review of studies that were published between 2008 and 2018. The study showed that earlier stimulus, time management skills are important to know about to have good academic performance. This information is very useful because many universities and educators can use this information to develop techniques that will hopefully improve a students’ academic performance. Finally, this information can also be used to find out if students are at a risk of academic failure and poor mental/physical health. 

  1. “Academic-related stress can reduce academic achievement, decrease motivation, and increase the risk of school dropout”
  2.  “School dropout is associated with a lifelong reduction in earning capacity and secure employment”.