Scoping review of positive mental health research for students in vocational education and training

Context: In this scoping review, we examine the knowledge base concerning positive mental health studies for students in vocational education and training (VET). The VET student population embraces approximately 30-52% of secondary school students in the Nordic countries, and 40% of the global student population. The risk of early school leaving (ESL) is substantially higher in VET than in general education and mental health may be a relevant factor in this matter. Yet, an overview of mental health studies in VET is lacking and therefore, this article aims to map empirical research studies that have explored positive mental health in VET students. The positive mental health framework, with its origin in Antonovsky\u27s (2002) salutogenesis and positive psychology, focuses on factors that promote mental health and wellbeing rather than taking on a pathological perspective. Methods: For our scoping review, we searched four databases, and 19 articles were found eligible for inclusion. These articles were systematically screened by means of a coding scheme to identify the following information: Country of origin of the study, its aim, research design, measures, conceptualization of mental health, and main findings. Results: The evidence suggests that positive mental health is understood as a multifaceted concept, and wellbeing is the dimension that is explored most often, followed by resilience and quality of life. The majority of the included studies used a validated questionnaire to assess various aspects of positive mental health, and most of them sought to explore correlations between different dimensions of positive mental health. Main findings of the studies suggest that a supportive school environment, physical activity, and a strong vocational identity may contribute to positive mental health for students in VET. Furthermore, correlations have also been identified between environmental factors and positive mental health. Finally, findings from the review illustrate how even small-scale interventions may have far-reaching effects, due to the interrelatedness of the different dimensions within the positive mental health construct. Conclusion: Findings from this review illustrate that numerous factors may affect the wellbeing of students in VET. In particular, a strong vocational identity, a supportive school environment, and physical activity may contribute to positive mental health. These findings suggest that VET teachers may promote the wellbeing of their students by providing a supportive psychosocial learning environment at school. (DIPF/Orig.

Scoping Review of Positive Mental Health Research for Students in Vocational Education and Training

Context: In this scoping review, we examine the knowledge base concerning positive mental health studies for students in vocational education and training (VET). The VET student population embraces approximately 30-52% of secondary school students in the Nordic countries, and 40% of the global student population. The risk of early school leaving (ESL) is substantially higher in VET than in general education and mental health may be a relevant factor in this matter. Yet, an overview of mental health studies in VET is lacking and therefore, this article aims to map empirical research studies that have explored positive mental health in VET students. The positive mental health framework, with its origin in Antonovsky's (2002) salutogenesis and positive psychology, focuses on factors that promote mental health and wellbeing rather than taking on a pathological perspective.  Methods: For our scoping review, we searched four databases, and 19 articles were found eligible for inclusion. These articles were systematically screened by means of a coding scheme to identify the following information: Country of origin of the study, its aim, research design, measures, conceptualization of mental health, and main findings.  Results: The evidence suggests that positive mental health is understood as a multifaceted concept, and wellbeing is the dimension that is explored most often, followed by resilience and quality of life. The majority of the included studies used a validated questionnaire to assess various aspects of positive mental health, and most of them sought to explore correlations between different dimensions of positive mental health. Main findings of the studies suggest that a supportive school environment, physical activity, and a strong vocational identity may contribute to positive mental health for students in VET. Furthermore, correlations have also been identified between environmental factors and positive mental health. Finally, findings from the review illustrate how even small-scale interventions may have far-reaching effects, due to the interrelatedness of the different dimensions within the positive mental health construct.  Conclusion: Findings from this review illustrate that numerous factors may affect the wellbeing of students in VET. In particular, a strong vocational identity, a supportive school environment, and physical activity may contribute to positive mental health. These findings suggest that VET teachers may promote the wellbeing of their students by providing a supportive psychosocial learning environment at school.

The association between infant salivary cortisol and parental presence in the neonatal intensive care unit during and after COVID-19 visitation restrictions: A cross-sectional study

Objectives: Parent-infant interaction in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) promotes health and reduces infant stress. During the COVID-19 pandemic, however, NICUs restricted parent-infant interaction to reduce viral transmission. This study examined the potential relationship between pandemic visitation restrictions, parental presence and infant stress as measured by salivary cortisol. Methods: A two-NICU cross-sectional study of infants with gestational age (GA) 23–41 weeks, both during (n = 34) and after (n = 38) visitation restrictions. We analysed parental presence with and without visitation restrictions. The relationship between infant salivary cortisol and self-reported parental NICU presence in hours per day was analysed using Pearson's r. A linear regression analysis included potential confounders, including GA and proxies for infant morbidity. The unstandardised B coefficient described the expected change in logtransformed salivary cortisol per unit change in each predictor variable. Results: Included infants had a mean (standard deviation) GA of 31(5) weeks. Both maternal and paternal NICU presence was lower with versus without visitation restrictions (both p ≤0.05). Log-transformed infant salivary cortisol correlated negatively with hours of parental presence (r = − 0.40, p = .01). In the linear regression, GA (B = -0.03, p = .02) and central venous lines (B = 0.23, p = .04) contributed to the variance in salivary cortisol in addition to parental presence (B = -0.04 p = .04). Conclusion: COVID-19–related visitation restrictions reduced NICU parent-infant interaction and may have increased infant stress. Low GA and central venous lines were associated with higher salivary cortisol. The interaction between immaturity, morbidity and parental presence was not within the scope of this study and merits further investigation

Disruptive behavior in school. Wired up - the relationship between disruptive behavior and new technology.

Background: The thesis is part of the research project Disruptive behavior in school, led by professor Liv Duesund at the Department of Special Needs Education, University of Oslo. Professor Duesund is the supervisor of the thesis. It is a cooperation project between University of Oslo and University of California, Berkeley and compares the educational cultures of Norway an the United States (Duesund, 2013). The focus is on disruptive behavior, and in what ways behavior can vary in the two national contexts, as well as teacher variation in identifying behaviors as disruptive (Duesund, 2013). The aim of the thesis is to discuss the relationship between disruptive behavior, interpreted as off-task behavior, and new technology. The objectives of this research are twofold. First, to observe and identify the types of off-task behavior that students display while using and interacting with new technology. Second, a thorough discussion on the relationship between the two concepts. Fischer s (1992) user heuristic framework is applied to contextualize the discussion in the thesis. Research questions: The research aims to examine and discuss the following research questions: What characterizes the relationship between technology and disruptive behavior during class? A second question is generated to serve as guideline when the collecting the data: What kind of off-task and on-task behavior does the student display while using and interacting with technological devices in the classroom? Methodology: The study undertakes a qualitative case study approach, observing one student in an American middle school classroom. The data is collected through one semi-structured interview with the student (referred to as NN). Structured observations were made on five separate occasions. During the first observation, the class as a whole was observed, whereas the next four observations were focused on NN, lasting 15 minutes each. Results and conclusions: The main focus in the thesis is disruptive behavior interpreted as off-task behavior; both passive and active (Hofer, 2007). Off-task behavior inhibits either learning or teaching. Passive off-task behavior does not necessarily disturb other than the students himself, such as, daydreaming or apathy (Charles, 2011; Hofer, 2007), whereas active off-task behavior might be disruptive to the learning and teaching of other students and teachers, such as through talking out of turn, out of seat behavior, or annoying others (Charles, 2011; Hofer, 2007; Wheldall & Merrett, 1988). Moreover, the thesis focuses on off-task behavior when using and interacting with new technology, such as, computers, smart phones, and LCD-projectors. Technology is defined as a device, an activity, and as a know-how, as well as fitting the purpose of the classroom subject matter (MacKenzie & Wajcman, 1985; Ren, 2014). Off-task behavior in relation to the use of, and interaction with, technology is, therefore, defined as students not completing the required task given by the teacher (Colvin & Horner, 2010), and/or use the assigned tool for other purposes than the specified or intended purpose (Donovan, Green, & Hartley, 2010). Of the categories generated from this research category 3 is definitely the most frequent category displayed by NN (active off task behavior in double interaction), and behavior that belongs in category 6 (on-task behavior in double interaction). The categories are theoretical in that they are not mutually exclusive. The main conclusions from the research are that technology does not make students displaying disruptive acts. It is through the use of, and interaction with, technology that disruptive behavior occurs. The relationship between off-task behavior and new technology is dynamic, in that NN would display on-task and off-task behavior interchangeably. The relationship is also characterized by inconsistency, which implies that NN displays on-task and off-task behavior at the same time. A key finding is that not necessarily all of the off-task behaviors displayed are equally destructive to NN s learning. In some situations NN seems off-task regarding the task he is assigned, but on-task regarding the learning potential (Colvin & Horner, 2010; Hofer, 2007). Additionally, the context surrounding NN is pointed out as an important factor when outlining the relationship between disruptive behavior and technology. In a dynamic environment, the individual will often be affected by the context and vice versa (Corrie, 2002; Duesund, 1995). Constraints, possibilities, and unintended consequences when using and interacting with technology are part of this contextual argument

Supporting Teachers in Their Work with Shy Students: A multi-method study of how schools and school leadership teams support teachers’ work with children who are perceived as shy

This thesis is in the field of special needs education, more precisely psychosocial difficulties. The aim of this thesis is to examine how schools and school leadership teams support teachers in their work with shy students, addressing the perspectives of both school leaders and classroom teachers. The study is designed as an exploratory, sequential multi-method study. In the first phase of the study, school documents, school visits and interview data were used to examine how teachers were supported. The participants were members of school leadership teams in three schools with experiences in supporting shy students (n = 10) and classroom teachers who had recognized successful experiences with shy students (n = 19). In the second phase of the study, a questionnaire was designed based in Phase one findings, identifying teachers’ strategies with shy students, and their experiences of school-based support. The participants were teachers from elementary schools across Norway (n = 329). Five key conclusions are discussed; The importance of 1) making shy students visible in school organizational narratives and policy documents; 2) making visible the resources available to teachers as one way of supporting them in their 'first-responder' responsibilities; 3) clarifying the roles of key stakeholders for preventative work for students beneath the statutory level of intervention, for example social teachers and external agencies; 4) developing teachers’ relational competencies; and 5) researching into class size as one school feature that might impact teachers’ experiences of available support resources. In conclusion, this thesis contributes to knowledge on how schools support teachers working with students below the threshold for statutory special needs intervention. It potentially extends our knowledge on how institutions recognize and respond to the needs of teachers working with shy students. The thesis also addresses the teachers’ perspectives, revealing that although teachers indicate that they receive support from several networks of support in school, they do not uniformly seem to receive additional resources. The work in this thesis was conducted at the Department of Special Needs Education, Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Oslo

En kvalitativ undersøkelse av erfaringene med HAP i Nord-Trøndelag

Bakgrunnen for denne masteroppgaven er knyttet til min jobb som prosjektleder for Hasjavvenning i fylket jeg bor i. Oppgaven trekker frem og setter fokus på sosialarbeiderens erfaringer og opplevelser med bruken av Hasjavvenningsprogrammet (HAP) som verktøy i rusarbeidet. Problemstillingen er: Hvilke erfaringer har N-T gjort seg med HAP som hjelpeverktøy i arbeidet med rusmisbruk. I tillegg har jeg utarbeidet noen forskningsspørsmål som presiserer problemstillingen som jeg søker å finne svar på i analysen. Forskningsspørsmålene er knyttet til hvordan informantene oppfatter brukerne av Hasjavvenningsprogrammet, hvordan sosialarbeideren opplever HAP som verktøy i rusarbeidet, og hvilken betydning relasjonsbygging har i jobben med HAP. Undersøkelsen er en kvalitativ undersøkelse, og baseres på individuelle dybdeintervju av sosialarbeider med erfaring fra HAP. Jeg valgte å bruke en temasentrert intervjuguide, for å få belyst ulike tema som jeg var interessert i. Datamaterialet som jeg fikk samlet inn er analysert med et utgangspunkt der både utsagn fra informantene og undersøkelsens teori blir brukt vekselsvis og sett i lys av hverandre. For å få en helhetlig fremstilling av temaene er presentasjon og drøfting gjort i samme kapittel. Hensikten med denne undersøkelsen har ikke vært å evaluere arbeidet som gjøres i de ulike kommunene, og jeg sitter ikke på data som sier hva som er riktig hjelp for denne brukergruppen. Jeg har forsøkt og gitt en helhetlig forståelse av informantenes arbeidspraksis der deres beskrivelse av jobben de gjør er lagt til grunn. Prosjektets problemstilling har mange svar, men resultatene viser at HAP oppleves som et godt og viktig verktøy i jobben med cannabisrøykeren og dens komplekse hjelpebehov. Informantene legger vekt på tjenester som er individuelt tilpasset, og en relasjon som består av ærlighet, tillit og respekt skal man klare å skape endring. For å bygge gode relasjoner må man by på seg selv, være god på samhandling med andre, både hjelpeapparat og pårørende. Pårørende må man bygge opp slik at de kan være med som en viktig brikke i endringsprosessen

Psykisk helsearbeid i Pedagogisk-Psykologisk Tjeneste : en kvalitativ intervjuundersøkelse om forståelse og praktisering av psykisk helsearbeid hos et utvalg PP-rådgivere

Bakgrunn, beskrivelse og problemområde Psykisk helse er et stort og omdiskutert område som berører mange aktører fra flere hold. Det stilles større krav enn før, når det kommer til å ta ansvar for sin egen helse, og en hører oftere prat om hvor viktig det er å ta vare på den mentale helsen. Studier viser en økning i omfang av psykiske helseplager på tross av et voksende velferdssamfunn. Denne tendensen ser en også hos barn og unge som opplever å ha større utfordringer knyttet til emosjonelle vansker nå, enn tidligere. Dette understreker hvor viktig rolle helsetjenestene har i helsearbeidet. Pedagogisk-Psykologisk Tjeneste (PPT) er underlagt et mandat som pålegger tjenesten å aktivt arbeide med å fremme god helse for barn og unge. I denne avhandlingen tar jeg sikte på å belyse hvordan rådgivere i PP-tjenesten forstår og praktiserer psykisk helsearbeid. Jeg søker å få innsikt i hvilke erfaringer de har, hvordan de tenker og hvordan det legger føringer for praktisereringen av det psykiske helsearbeidet i PPtjenesten. Jeg har tatt utgangspunkt i følgende problemstilling; «Hvordan forstås og praktiseres psykisk helsearbeid i PP-tjenesten?» Metode Avhandlingen tar sikte på å få fram PP-rådgiveres opplevelser og erfaringer knyttet til psykisk helsearbeid i PP-tjenesten. Jeg har i denne forbindelse foretatt en kvalitativ tilnærming med intervju som datainnsamlingsmetode. Jeg utformet intervjuguiden etter «trakt-prinsippet», med forhåndsbestemte kategorier. Utvalget av informanter var kriteriebasert ved at de alle var pedagogisk-psykologisk rådgivere i PP-tjenesten. Til sammen ble det i utvalget intervjuet tre PP-rådgivere fra ulike PP-tjenester. Alle de tre intervjuene ble tatt opp på lydbånd for videre transkribering, analyse, presentasjon og drøfting. Dataen er presentert i form av sitater fra informantene, da hensikten er å få fram informantenes «stemme». Resultater Funnene i avhandlingen samsvarer med hva rådende teorier sier om helsearbeidet i PPtjenesten. PP-rådgiverne uttrykte en positiv opplevelse av hvordan økt fokus på psykisk helse har bidratt til å styrke det psykiske helsearbeidet. Psykisk helsearbeid refereres for å være komplekst og omfattende i PP-tjenesten. Resultatene fra funnene viser imidlertid at enkelte PP-rådgivere ikke klarer å ivareta ansvaret med psykisk helsearbeid i den grad de er pålagt. De peker selv på tidsfaktoren som en årsak til dette. PP-rådgiverne har opplyst at de har behov for bedre rutiner når det kommer til systemrettet arbeid. PP-rådgivere gir uttrykk for at PP-tjenesten praktiserer psykisk helsearbeid i et forebyggende og helsefremmende perspektiv. Noen rådgivere peker imidlertid på at praktisering av forebyggende arbeid oppleves som utfordrende. Det uttrykkes at årsaken oppleves av rådgivere å være et resultat av et svekket tverrfaglig samarbeid med skolehelsetjenesten

Reengaging in their future: Students’ experiences of preparedness for education and training after attending a transitional school year

This study aimed to explore how students describe their preparedness for education and training after attending the additional school year following lower secondary school. The main purpose of the additional school year is to prepare youths for upper secondary school. The aim is to increase their chances of completion by providing students with an adapted and flexible schooling arena. The target group are students who have completed lower secondary school but are at risk of early school leaving (ESL) due to numerous risk factors, such as low academic achievement, lack of a sense of belonging to the school, or lack of parental involvement. Little is known, however, about how students experience preparedness for future education after attending an additional school year. Drawing on the theoretical underpinnings of disengagement and re-engagement, the present study addressed this gap by examining how 17 youths (age 16) attending the additional school year experienced readiness for future education and training. Data comprised individual interviews with youths in the target group. The reflexive and thematic approach to analysis indicated that students’ experiences of preparedness were characterized by a process of re-engagement in the present and for the future, including social, academic, and practical preparedness. Preparedness is discussed as many-faceted, intertwined with affordances of alternative schooling, and a process of re-engagement. Implications for alternative and conventional schooling are discussed

Stable increase in profitability and future stock market return

Masteroppgave i finansiering og investering - Nord universistet 201

Leading for School Inclusion and Prevention? How School Leadership Teams Support Shy Students and Their Teachers

School shyness may have immediate and long-term detrimental effects. Drawing on cultural-historical understandings of motivated actions and conceptual and material tools, the study examined how ten school leaders in three Norwegian elementary schools interpreted and responded to the demands on the school in their work with shy children. Data comprised individual interviews and concluding school-based group conversations with leaders. The schools were recognized as enabling teachers’ responsive work with shy children in classrooms and presented a useful tension between central direction by school leaders and the professional discretion that enabled teachers’ responsive pedagogies. The leadership teams’ focus was school inclusion through adaptive pedagogies. This strong focus on inclusion emphasized classroom-based Tier 1 universal interventions. There were Tier 2 targeted interventions with shy children undertaken by social teachers, but they could seem ad-hoc by depending on teachers’ capacity to identify the need for them. The implications for school leadership are discussed