Listen to this
This small-scale exploratory research project took place in Ontario, Canada with an aim to investigate perspectives of Child and Youth Care (CYC) faculty in supporting student mental health. Using a mixed methods approach with a 25-respondent survey, followed by 12 semi-structured interviews with CYC educators from Ontario colleges, data was collected and analyzed. Three main themes were identified: 1) It’s not what I do, it’s who I am, 2) Our CYC educator approach is practice-oriented and often unacknowledged, and 3) We are the needed frontlines. The following write up is a synopsis of the dissertation completed for the requirements of a Master of Science in Child and Youth Care Studies.
Introduction
I once heard a colleague state that ‘teaching Child and Youth Care (CYC) is doing CYC practice’ and it resonated with me. As a college educator, I frequently engage students in self-reflection and hence, inevitably create space for students to potentially disclose their lived experiences. Students share in class, while others linger to share after class. I found myself pondering where, as a CYC educator, do the lines between being a CYC and teaching CYC lie? Are there clear distinctions between a CYC practitioner and an educator when it comes to supporting student wellness? Is it simply a matter of recognizing a need and then referring to other services, or is it something deeper given my CYC background?
The purpose of this project was partly in search of my own identity, but more extensively, to investigate and highlight CYC faculty experiences, perspectives, and beliefs regarding their role in supporting student mental health, across Ontario, Canada. The hope is that the findings of this research contribute to current discourses regarding educator roles, student experiences and, perhaps, the desired trajectory of CYC education and the field.
Literature review
Student mental health
Despite strategies and interventions being put into place, research suggests that the mental health crisis amongst higher education students is increasing (Chi, Larcombe & Brooker, 2019). As noted by Prince (2015), the increasing number of students seeking out mental health resources, and the level of severity of issues is unprecedented. Flatt (2013) presents the following six factors as contributors to the mental health crisis in North American education:
Canada Statistics (2022) reports that the second leading cause of death for ages 15-34 (the college age demographic) is suicide.
Given the recent global health pandemic, and consequent lockdowns at the time of this research, it is important to note the impact of this worldwide event. Surveys indicate that students were significantly impacted by the sudden shift to online learning, having to evacuate on short notice, concern about their own and loved one’s health, the loss of jobs due to lockdowns, and other impacting factors related to COVID19 (Lee, Jeong & Kim, 2021). This has compounded previously existing stressors of navigating their transition to college.
It is imperative that institutions have all those on the frontlines of assisting students be well equipped to assist with psychological and emotional struggles (Prince, 2015); especially given that, as stated by Max & Waters (2018), wait times to see a counsellor can range from 1 week to 3 months. Flett, Khan and Su (2019) note that having students feel like they ‘matter’ can be a highly significant protective factor in psychological wellbeing and that professors, amongst other faculty as well, can play an important part in creating this kind of community. Furthermore, the literature on retention suggests that “faculty relationships with students can play a key role in nurturing this connection to the campus” (Lillis, 2011, p.157).
Educator Role
College educators are often hired as ‘field experts’ and then are trained on teaching methods and strategies by the institutions. The academic expectations of the educator are generally well understood, yet relevant to add to this discussion is the task of ‘gatekeeping’ and faculty role in supporting student mental wellness. As noted by Lashuel (2020), “we learn by making mistakes that we- and to some extent our students and staff- directly or indirectly end up paying for” (p.2).
Homrich (2018) defines gatekeeping as the “approval of an individual to enter a profession that is sanctioned by appointed senior practitioners with professional experience and the credentials'' (p.1), while Vachon (2013) defines it as “controlling access. Gatekeepers determine what is, and is not, allowed to enter” (p.169). The juxtaposition of these two definitions may suggest the presence of what Sowbell (2012) notes as tension between the values of a field and the academic gatekeeping expectations of the educator. Homrich (2018) emphasizes that while gatekeeping is meant to protect the integrity of the profession and to prevent harm to the service user, it’s also in the best interest of the student, community, and/or the educational institute.
While navigating the task of gatekeeping, Kalkbrenner, Jolley and Hays (2021) emphasized that faculty members are “vital in supporting student mental health, including recognizing and referring students to resources” (p. 638). Boston University School of Public Health’s (BUSPH, 2021) survey found faculty associated with “social sciences and public policy, education and humanities, the arts, and cross-disciplinary programs appear to be the most likely to engage with students regarding student mental health” (p. 8). Mazza’s (2015) research on the responses of Social Work faculty to student needs, found the educators had an awareness of stressors, recognized warning signs, approached students relationally and connected students with counselling and/or discussed accommodations via the appropriate pathway.
The CYC Context
CYC values and principles are deeply embedded in relational care (Fraser & Ventrella, 2019) and fall under the umbrella of ‘Social and Community Studies programs’ which are noted as departments more likely to reach out and respond to student needs (BUSPH, 2021). Mazza (2015) notes that faculty with greater mental health literacy are more likely to feel comfortable assisting students with mental health struggles. As noted by Garfat, Freeman, Gharabaghi, & Fulcher (2018), whether one is a CYC instructor or a CYC practitioner, what binds us together is our approach to what we do, “or a way of being in the world with others” (p. 12). So, what is this way of ‘being in the world’? “CYC’s ontology is informed by the belief that knowledge is embedded in social relationships and is contextualized within one’s social and cultural environment” (Stiller, Masson, Neuman, Drynan, Feehan, Coombs, Smith, West, Bellefeuille & Stiksma, 2015, p. 77) and the scope of practice is within the context of relational engagement with children and youth.
While there have been critical discussions on the role of theory and practice in CYC education (see Mann-Feder, Scott, & Hardy, 2017), the place of relationships and the use-of-self in CYC has remained fundamental and central to our ‘way of being’.
CYC Students
The broadening accessibility of higher education in North America has increased enrolment of historically disadvantaged minorities, who may be at a higher risk for mental health disorders (Flatt, 2013). Furthermore, those with lived experience of mental health struggles may be drawn to the helping professions due to a desire to ‘self-heal’ and to “resolve difficulties originally encountered in early childhood” (Conchar and Repper, 2014, p. 39). Vachon (2020) highlights that, despite a lack of statistics, there is a perception that there is a prevalence of lived experiences amongst CYC students. Sago and De Monte (2017) note that a “majority of them appear in our education rooms with personal trauma histories, potential mental, cognitive, emotional or physical health difficulties, familial stressors, financial distress, or other, just as significant, concerns that add challenge in participating in post-secondary education” (p.132). Ward (2011) confirms that CYC “students have often had histories entrenched with adversity and oppression” (p.53) that are reflective of service users in the field. Additionally, the content of the CYC program may provide a basis of mental health literacy that can lead to help seeking behaviour (Gulliver, Farrer, Bennett & Griffiths, 2017).
CYC education and the educators
Bellefeuille, McGrath and Jamieson (2008) stress that the “global trajectory our society has taken over the last few decades has dramatically altered the practice context of child and youth care work, calling into question not only what we teach but how we teach our students.” (p.717). Shaw and Trites (2013) highlight an alignment between the practitioners and educator struggles, noting that they “struggle to practice in a way that they interpret as ethically responsive, citing institutional policy or a workplace culture that is not supportive of their understanding of CYC practice” (p.12).
The discourse on the importance of congruence, also referenced as praxis and theory-in practice, is one often reflected upon by various authors. Bellefeuille and Bekikoff (2020) state that embracing a relational ontological approach could contribute to dismantling the “antiquated higher education system that is predicated on a Newtonian/ Cartesian ontology” (p 14) and shift learning to emphasize “the totality of the learning process in which the student’s mind, body, emotions, and spirit are jointly considered as components of the learning process” (p.16).
It is important to note that “caring does not require emotional involvement or love, but rather identification with the other as a valued subject who is important to us” (Austin & Halpin, 1989, p.2). This is noteworthy, as research indicates that faculty fear that ‘care’ leads to emotional entanglement (Mazza, 2015). As noted by Sago and De Monte (2017), “some learners may not have experienced this type of caring in their own upbringing, or haven’t felt it in quite some time, and this may add additional layers of learning when then attempting to apply program knowledge in practice” (p.133).
The CYC lens
If a CYC lens was applied to the four steps in supporting student mental health, previously highlighted, as part of an educator role by Mazza (2015), it would be evident this falls naturally into the realm of CYC practice.
1. Being aware of stressors
An awareness of interconnectedness and how “the developmental ecological perspective emphasizes the interaction between persons and their physical and social environments, including cultural and political settings” (Mattingly, 2010) can contribute to engaging and supporting the student. This can be seen in efforts to create trauma-informed classrooms, which can be aligned with Ward (1998) and Steckley’s (2010) work on creating supportive environments that reflect the field.
2. Recognizing the warning signs
CYCs are equipped and knowledgeable in identifying and noticing when a person may be struggling and responding with flexibility and individuality, remaining focused on the ‘here and now’ (Garfat et al, 2018). Charles and Anderson-Nathe (2019) emphasize the importance of noticing and showing young people that they matter by examining “how we do what we do and the underlying messages we may be providing young people” (p.118).
3. Approaching and building relationships
With firm grounding and understanding of relational approaches, Mann-Feder and Litner (2004) share, ‘‘students are engaged in a collaborative process in which their contributions are highly valued and shape the instructor’s interventions in much the same way that CYC workers engage successfully with clients’’ (p. 279).
4) Connecting students to supports
Being mindful of our own needs, alongside the student’s, requires that we role-model when we know we will not be the effective helper needed by the young person and refer onwards. As noted by Garfat et al (2018), “The more everyone is working together, unified and not ‘us and them’, the more successful everyone will be in supporting developmental outcomes for the people with whom we work” (p.31).
Research Methodology
Quantitative data was collected using an 18-question survey targeting faculty teaching in CYC programs across Ontario, Canada. The surveys (N=25) were completed via SurveyMonkey, using a multiple-choice format and the Likert scale and created to elicit feedback (Davies & Hughes, 2014) on how/if CYC faculty are engaged in supporting student mental health, and the characteristics seen as helpful in being able to help. Additionally, semi-structured interviews were conducted with faculty (N=12) to gather qualitative data that may offer a reflection of the larger population (Bell & Waters, 2014) to provide some context.
Findings and discussion
It is important to note that all the research participants felt that student mental health is a critical issue in CYC education (88% ‘Strongly agree’ & 12% ‘Agree’). Using a thematic analysis, three themes were identified as being the most prominent:
It’s not what I do, it’s who I am
A significant theme that was deciphered early in the conversation was belief that one is not an educator ‘or’ a CYC, rather identity is ‘fine balance’ depending on the need and deeply ingrained in who they are. Embracing multiple roles in the classroom, in addition to being an educator, perpetrated these discussions and are noted in Figure 1.
Figure 1: CYC educator other ‘selves’
Stuart and Fryer (2022) note that “self is not objective and separate; self exists only in relationship to our being with others” (p. 153). The listed identities tie into the various ‘selves’ that exist in relationship with the students. Furthermore, a significant number of participants felt a sense of identity with CYC as a way of being. One educator explained, “I belong here … I think that CYC is a way of being in the world”. The embodiment of CYC values by the educators, aligns with Stuart and Fryer’s (2022) statement about CYC “more than something that you learn about and then do, it represents who you are, in every moment of your day” (p. 8).
Every participant shared that they practice CYC skills in the classroom as part of their teaching philosophy; ‘modeling’ the skills, and ‘mirroring’ what is done in the field.
“Relational approach is an embodied approach… it is through that, in which people grasp concepts that are nuanced… To teach relationship practice, we have to engage relationally with our students... Students learn being engaged in relationships… teaching CYC is doing CYC. I don’t think that those things can be separated.”
This concept of strengthening student learning by ‘mirroring’ what they can expect in the field, aligns with Ward’s (1998) ‘matching principle’. Ward notes that “in all professional training, the mode of training should reflect the mode of practice” (p. 75) to enrich the learning. As noted by these participants, there is a need for congruence in how we teach what we teach in CYC education.
Our CYC approach is practice-oriented and often unacknowledged
Overall, the CYC educators’ approach can be broken up into three stages:
The commonly used phrases to highlight each stage can be seen in Figure 2 below.
Figure 2: The CYC process of supporting student mental health
1. Proactive measures
Creating a ‘safe’ and ‘trauma-informed’ classroom environment was noted by all participants and is reflective of the literature regarding the need to create ‘trauma informed classrooms’ (Stephens, 2020) and ‘trigger warnings’ (Boysen, Wells, & Dawson, 2016) in educational settings. All participants highlighted their concerted effort in noticing, observing, and perceiving things that may need to be checked in with; missed assignments, lack of communication, decrease in class engagement, commentary, or disclosures in reflections/assignments, and then following up with a check-in. These proactive measures show students that they matter (Flett et al, 2019), and foster supportive messages in how we do what we do (Charles & Anderson-Nathe, 2019).
2. In-the-moment support
A common highlight by the participants was that it felt inauthentic to not respond with care, and ‘practice what we preach’. Many referenced the 3-year relationship with the students, their own mental health literacy, and the genuine desire to foster wellness. One educator shared physically holding and rocking an extremely distressed student until she was able to regain her stability, after sharing her incredibly traumatic past with the faculty. As Austin and Halpin (1989) note, a “caring person is prepared to adapt to the needs of the person being cared for if that is necessary” (p. 3). Garfat et al. (2018) notes terms such as ‘counselling on the go’ and ‘meeting them where they are at’ as characteristics of ‘being, doing, and interpreting’. Such references were mentioned by 83% of the participants with words such as ‘sitting with’, ‘staying with’, ‘walking with’ and ‘creating a space’ for the students to feel supported, in the moment, until bridged to an effective resource or support system. While colleges have struggled to keep up with the demand for counseling services (Flett et al, 2019), the educators have been filling the gap. While many CYC educators may be comfortable providing this, the need for increase in counselling support, especially after hours, cannot be emphasized enough.
3. Post-interaction
All participants noted a follow-up email that acknowledged student strengths in seeking help, reminder about the plan moving forward, noting any resources, and an invitation to check-in, as needed. While some participants made mention of debriefing with their coordinator, a few made mention of feeling isolated and not knowing if their way of teaching and supporting students was in line with what others were doing. This is an important note, given that college faculty are often placed in classrooms straight out of the field, expected to learn on the job, and this lack of support and mentorship can contribute to taking a toll on educator mental health (Lashuel, 2020).
Another post-interaction process mentioned was a personal self-reflection to evaluate their use-of-self. While this was not highlighted in the literature review, such a reflection on oneself is a cornerstone of CYC relational work. The educators are demonstrating an incredible amount of care in their support of the students and with such clear intention in wanting to know how to do better.
The unacknowledged role
While, perhaps, not unique to CYC educators, the intentionality of responses to student needs was significant. 92% of the survey participants felt that supporting student mental health is part of their educator role. A shared perception was that the CYC approach goes deeper than the typical ‘recognize’ and ‘refer’ to services, yet there remains a lack of understanding, by the bigger institution, and little acknowledgement for how much time and care is spent in supporting students with mental health struggles. This supports what Shaw and Trites (2013) note about the parallels between practice and education; in that both groups feel that workplace culture shows little support and understanding of CYC practice. 42% of participants did note the valuable support received by their specific program coordinators. While there are likely many highly empathic and understanding supervisors across departments, the participants stressed the incredible value of having these supports be specifically well-versed in CYC philosophies and relational ways of being. While this may not be necessary, it seems clear that relational support from the higher levels of management is meaningful.
Challenges
Of the participants, 42% noted the difficulty in balancing the needs of the curriculum, alongside the mental health needs of students. Glance, Flanning & Schoepke (2012) note the potential vulnerability of facing litigation, personal attacks, the emotional toil, vicarious trauma, and the unclear measures/protocols involved in the process of supporting students. For those who felt well-connected to their program coordinators and team, debriefing was key to feeling supported. Garfat et al (2018) notes that working together leads to greater success of “supporting developmental outcomes for the people with whom we work” (p.31). While these faculty interventions and counselling support is incredibly vital and commendable, it is not necessarily sustainable, and nor should it be, given that counsellors and educators have significantly different tasks.
We are the needed frontlines, and our students are worth it
CYC faculty frequently refer to themselves as the ‘frontline’ of responding to the student mental health needs; the first point of contact in a bigger system. This key positioning of staff in supporting and bridging students to mental health supports, is supported by the literature (Sago & Demonte, 2017; Kalkbrenner et al. 2021; Mazza, 2015). This vital work is highlighted in the words of the participants, “I don’t know how many times I have literally walked people to the counselling center” and “I always say, I cannot be your counsellor, really clear of my boundaries…but I do want to do whatever I can to help you”.
While the needs may not be unique to the CYC student population, they do reflect what the literature has noted about the increase of mental health concerns amongst the general student group (Albright & Schwartz, 2017). Figure 4 reflects the needs most frequently addressed by faculty (survey, N=25):
Figure 3: Faculty Experience
The ‘other’ response section of the survey included: self esteem, identity, relationships, stress, past or present trauma/PTSD, grief/loss, critical health issues, homelessness, pregnancy/birth & postpartum, newcomers, human trafficking, and “pretty much anything that could happen in a person's life!” Participants also pointed out an increase in accommodation letters citing mental health needs, supporting the observations made by Gotlib, Saragoza, Segal, Goodman and Schwatz (2019). Two participants stated the same phrase of feeling “inundated with student mental health needs”, and while the discourse on student needs is prominent, it’s important to reiterate that many of these observations are anecdotal reflections (Vachon, 2020). Academic concerns, anxiety and depression were the most highlighted issues, which was noted in the literature as being increasingly prevalent among college students (Shah & Titiksha, 2020). Having ‘academic concerns’ be the top concern alongside these mental health needs demonstrates how education and mental health concerns are frequently being ‘balanced’ by the educators.
Given that a sense of belonging and mattering can have beneficial impacts on student wellbeing (Flett et al., 2019), it may be time “to rethink the ontological foundations upon which CYC education is currently constructed and to explore the potential of an ontological revolution in CYC teaching and learning pedagogy” (Bellefeuille and Bekikoff, 2020, p.23). Furthermore, reconsidering how we recruit, select, and train/mentor faculty, while considering the trajectory of our field and teaching practices, may strengthen our abilities to tap into student strengths and the ‘embodied wisdom’ of their lived experiences (Snell, 2016).
The data indicated that faculty are already doing a lot of this work. Almost every participant reflected on the strengths of their students instead of solely discussing the needs. As noted by one participant, equal to supporting the needs, was a need to support celebrations, “that pat on the back, that hug, that high five…it doesn’t all have to be challenging”. This is representative of what is noted about the CYC way of engaging being based in relationships with a focus on strengths and assets (Stuart & Fryer, 2022). The participants emphasized the value of students with lived experiences, highlighting the skills and assets these students can bring to the field. As Snell (2016) phrases it, honouring the student voice and referencing lived experiences as ‘embodied wisdom’. They emphasized that if these students can engage in self care, get help, and find their own healing, they can be considerable assets to the field.
Conclusions
With a growing number of historically disadvantaged groups now in our classrooms (Flatt, 2013), with care leavers, first generation college students, minority groups and many others in our increasingly diverse student group; perhaps there is value in reconsidering our traditional approach to education. If CYC practice is an approach, a way of being (Garfat et al, 2018), then perhaps we can create an educational culture in which “the way in which we choose to be with others, meaningful interpretation of what is occurring, and intentionality in what we do can become our central ways of living out relational care on a daily basis” (Freeman, 2019, p.10). Within the boundaries of our role in our institutional policies, there is room to embody relational care and these practices must continue to be explored and investigated. While this research is small-scale in nature and limited to colleges in Ontario, Canada, it may be representative of the broader population of CYC educators. Investigating the student and the counselling staff perspective in future research would provide valuable depth to this discussion. The findings of this research illustrate that there are needs present in our student population and the CYC faculty are responding with care, within the boundaries and expectations of their educator role.
References
See PDF version for full reference listing.
From: Relational Child and Youth Care Practice, 36, No.3 pp 74-92
