Healthy minds, mighty kids: Student voice in whole-school mental health education
Background: Mitey is the first whole-school approach to mental health education in Aotearoa New Zealand for students aged 5 to 13 to be shaped by peer-reviewed research and underpinned by a bicultural framework. In response to Aotearoa’s youth mental health crisis, the Sir John Kirwan Foundation and Waipapa Taumata Rau University of Auckland co-created Mitey. The design responds to diverse school communities and includes a developmental learning progression that reflects children’s cognitive and emotional development.
Aim: Drawing on Māori concepts of well-being alongside Western perspectives aligned with the national curriculum, the aim is to explore how students describe their understanding of mental health.
Method/approach: This presentation reports findings from a four-year evaluation of Mitey, with a particular focus on student voice. Qualitative data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with 60 primary-aged students aged 5 to 13 from 10 participating schools. The schools were purposively selected to reflect variation in school type, socioeconomic context, and ethnic composition. Ethics approval was granted by the Waipapa Taumata Rau University of Auckland Human Participants Ethics Committee (reference number: 3282).
Results/findings: Students described increased awareness of emotions in themselves and others and reported being more confident naming feelings and seeking support when needed. Many noted they were more able to “check in” with classmates and recognise when someone might need help. Students also described mental health as part of everyday life rather than something separate or difficult to talk about. Across schools, students demonstrated growing understanding of coping strategies and language for well-being, and linked this learning to real-life situations.
Conclusion: Evaluation findings highlight students’ growing knowledge, understanding, skills, and confidence to talk about mental health and well-being. Student voice provides valuable insight into how whole-school mental health education can strengthen children’s understanding of mental health and well-being.
Implications for children and families: Whole-school mental health education can help children develop the language, confidence, and understanding needed to recognise emotions, seek support, and care for others. Families have an important role in reinforcing this learning through everyday conversations about mental health and well-being.
Implications for practitioners: Whole-school mental health education enables educators to embed conversations about mental health in everyday teaching and learning. Shared language across the wider school community can strengthen students’ confidence to recognise emotions, seek support, and care for others.
Keywords: mental health education, whole-school approach, student voice, bicultural framework
This presentation relates to the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: