Implementation of a school-based mental health promotion programme in Ireland

Abstract

This paper reflects on the challenges associated with developing, implementing and evaluating a universal curriculum-based module promoting positive mental health for 15-18 year olds in Irish schools. The module consists of 13 classroom sessions over two years, and uses experiential learning techniques to address issues such as coping strategies and sources of support. The paper is structured around the implications of a conceptual model of implementation for school-based preventive interventions developed by Greenberg et al (2001b), covering three phases of programme implementation: pre-adoption - adapting principles of best practice to local circumstances, teacher training; delivery - school ethos, stakeholder involvement, measuring implementation, selecting appropriate outcome indicators, designing an activity-based evaluation workshop for students; and post-delivery - development of quality indicators for teachers to use on an ongoing basis, scaling-up issues.