Amman – Students’ mental health is closely linked to their ability to interact within the school environment, participate in educational activities and cope with different pressures and situations. This makes attention to their psychological well-being an integral part of a school’s educational responsibility, alongside its role in teaching and delivering knowledge.
As interest grows in the mental health and psychosocial support of children and adolescents, questions are emerging about how schools can strengthen their role in this area, what practices teachers and educational counsellors can adopt to support students, and what requirements are needed to create a school environment that promotes their psychological and social development.
Education experts say student mental health is a fundamental issue in the educational process, particularly amid changes associated with psychological and social development and increasing pressures on students. These include academic performance, examinations and grade expectations, as well as digital developments and the impact of social media on students’ relationships and social surroundings.
In separate interviews with Al Ghad, the experts stressed that supporting student mental health is a shared educational responsibility requiring qualified teachers, empowered counsellors, aware school administrations, cooperative families and effective partnerships with the health sector. Embedding these elements into school culture and daily operations helps create an educational environment that protects and supports students while promoting their psychological, social, cognitive and academic development.
Dr Nawaf Al-Ajarmeh, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development for School Affairs, made similar remarks during the opening of a recent regional dialogue on “Advancing Mental Health and Psychosocial Support for Children and Adolescents through Primary Health Care and Education.”
He stressed that investing in the mental health of children and adolescents is an investment in people, the quality of education and Jordan’s future.
Al-Ajarmeh highlighted several key educational principles and strategies, foremost among them the idea that psychological stability is the foundation of creativity. Students who feel safe, emotionally stable and included are better able to learn, participate and innovate.
He also emphasized the importance of shifting from a reactive approach that responds to crises after they occur to a proactive, preventive model focused on developing social and emotional skills, managing stress and promoting a culture of dialogue to reduce violence and bullying.
He underlined the need for direct investment in educational counsellors and teachers, equipping them to identify signs of psychological distress and provide initial support. He also stressed that safeguarding the psychological well-being and professional welfare of teaching staff themselves is an urgent necessity.
In addition, he called for institutionalizing psychological and educational support to ensure that every school becomes an inclusive environment that places students’ best interests first.
Respect Between Schools and Students
Education expert Faisal Tayeh said strengthening schools’ role in student mental health requires a change in how the issue is viewed. It should be considered an essential component of educational quality rather than a separate matter or a responsibility assigned solely to educational counsellors.
He explained that students who feel safe, valued and accepted are more willing to learn, participate and interact. Psychological pressure, fear, bullying and exclusion, on the other hand, can negatively affect academic performance, behaviour and relationships, particularly when students struggle to express what they are experiencing.
Tayeh added that building an educational relationship based on respect and trust between schools and students is fundamental to supporting their mental health. Students should feel that their opinions and emotions matter, and that making mistakes or experiencing academic setbacks is part of learning and does not diminish their worth.
He also highlighted the teacher’s role in continuously following up with students and observing any changes in their behaviour.
Among the most important warning signs are social withdrawal, a sudden decline in academic performance, repeated absences, excessive irritability, and loss of interest or participation. Tayeh stressed that these signs do not necessarily indicate a mental health condition. Rather, they call for teachers to approach the student, understand their circumstances and communicate with the educational counsellor through professional procedures that protect the student’s privacy and dignity.
He said classroom practices that support mental health should begin with listening to students without judgment or reprimand, providing a safe space for discussion, avoiding ridicule and comparisons between students, and rejecting humiliating punishment or the use of fear as a means of discipline.
Such practices should also include group activities that develop students’ ability to express emotions, manage feelings, resolve disagreements, communicate, show empathy and accept differences.
Tayeh noted that teachers should understand that students experiencing psychological difficulties may need greater understanding, support and a gradual approach rather than additional pressure over academic performance.
Regarding the role of educational counsellors, he said their work should not be limited to intervening after a problem occurs. Instead, they should participate in developing ongoing preventive programmes throughout the school. These could include awareness sessions, individual and group counselling, monitoring students who need support, and coordinating with families and relevant health authorities when necessary.
He emphasized the need for clear referral and follow-up procedures to ensure that teachers and counsellors are not burdened with responsibilities beyond their professional qualifications or expected to perform the role of doctors or clinical psychologists. School-based support is important, he said, but it cannot replace specialist intervention when a student’s condition requires it.
Tayeh added that enabling teachers and counsellors to perform these roles effectively requires investment in training on mental health and psychosocial support, communication and listening skills, identifying warning signs, and dealing with bullying, violence and crises. Their professional responsibilities and limitations must also be clearly defined.
This also requires preparing an adequate number of educational counsellors in line with student populations and schools’ needs, providing sufficient time and appropriate space for counselling, and reducing administrative workloads that limit their ability to follow up with students effectively.
He stressed the importance of building partnerships between schools, families, the Ministry of Health and relevant community organizations. Many of the difficulties students face are connected to family, social and health circumstances and cannot be addressed in isolation from these factors.
Such partnerships, he said, must be built on trust, confidentiality and respect for students’ privacy, without stigmatization or the circulation of personal information. Clear procedures should also be established for cases requiring urgent intervention.
Tayeh explained that creating a school environment that supports mental health cannot be achieved simply by organizing awareness lectures or occasional activities. It requires an institutional culture reflected in school management practices, relationships between teachers and students, approaches to student behaviour, fair distribution of attention and opportunities, and efforts to combat bullying and exclusion.
He concluded that student mental health is a shared educational responsibility requiring qualified teachers, empowered counsellors, aware school administrations, cooperative families and effective partnerships with the health sector. Embedding these elements into school culture and daily operations creates an educational environment that protects and supports students and promotes their psychological, social, cognitive and academic development.
Raising Awareness of Mental Health
Education expert Mohammad Abu Amarah said mental health is an essential factor in strengthening students’ motivation to learn and developing balanced personalities capable of facing and dealing with problems.
He described greater attention to this issue in educational institutions as a positive step and emphasized the importance of raising awareness about mental health. Students who enjoy good psychological well-being, he said, are better equipped to face difficulties, defend themselves and develop independent, self-aware personalities.
Abu Amarah noted that recent years have seen the emergence of psychological and behavioural problems among students, including bullying, exploitation through online networks, social withdrawal, internet addiction and low self-esteem. These are among the issues increasingly observed by school administrations, making it necessary to strengthen the role of schools, teachers and educational counsellors in awareness-raising and early intervention.
He explained that prevention should be the starting point in addressing these problems. This means educating students, training them to deal with such challenges and providing assistance and treatment for cases requiring specialist intervention through educational counselling departments and the relevant authorities at the ministry.
He proposed integrating mental health topics into school curricula and classroom lessons rather than limiting them to counselling periods. This would make mental health a regular part of discussion and interaction across different subjects.
Using bullying as an example, Abu Amarah explained that addressing the problem requires clarifying the roles of the three parties involved: the student who bullies, the student who is targeted, and the surrounding environment represented by classmates.
Students who experience bullying should be helped to defend their rights and reject abusive behaviour. At the same time, the reasons behind the bully’s conduct should be examined and addressed, while classmates should be encouraged to oppose bullying rather than simply watch without intervening.
Abu Amarah added that distributing responsibilities and strengthening each party’s role can help reduce the phenomenon. He also emphasized that school awareness programmes should address issues such as social withdrawal, internet addiction and declining participation, allowing these problems to be identified and addressed at an early stage.
He stressed the importance of opening channels of dialogue between students and schools and training students to express their opinions and concerns.
Dialogue, he explained, helps identify misconceptions that some students may develop as a result of personal experiences or exposure to content on social media. These misconceptions can then be corrected before negatively affecting their behaviour and actions.
He also called for expanding extracurricular and interactive activities that improve students’ social relationships, encourage friendships and strengthen their sense of belonging to school.
Promoting belonging through teamwork and participation, he said, has a positive impact on students’ social lives. He added that focusing exclusively on examinations and measuring academic knowledge does not fully reflect students’ abilities, particularly as some may experience exam anxiety or fear that affects their performance.
Abu Amarah highlighted the importance of taking individual differences among students into account and adopting varied teaching and assessment methods suited to their abilities. This would ensure that everyone has an opportunity to participate, rather than allowing attention to focus only on academically high-performing students.
Students who are less academically motivated should also be given meaningful opportunities and active roles in the classroom through personalized learning and the use of technology and artificial intelligence in education.
He noted that attention to students should not be limited to grades, marks and academic achievement. It should also extend to other indicators of psychological well-being, including whether students feel happy at school, have confidence in themselves, can engage in dialogue and take initiative, are able to form social relationships, and feel motivated to attend school and connected to their educational community.
He warned that neglecting students’ psychological problems, which may be accompanied by withdrawal, low self-esteem and suppressed emotions, could make them more vulnerable to bullying, exploitation and abuse.
It could also leave some students more susceptible to negative content or outside groups that exploit their circumstances and influence them toward harmful behaviour.
Psychological and Social Changes
Education expert Ayesh Al-Nawaisa said student mental health is a fundamental issue in education, given the changes associated with psychological and social development and the growing pressures students face.
These pressures are linked to academic achievement, examinations and grade expectations, as well as digital developments and the influence of social media on students’ relationships and social surroundings.
He pointed out that students, particularly those in basic education and adolescents aged 14 and above, undergo psychological and social changes that require attention and follow-up alongside their academic progress. This ensures that all aspects of their development, including mental and social well-being, are taken into account.
Al-Nawaisa noted that schools have a responsibility to promote students’ overall development. A student’s psychological well-being and the availability of a supportive environment are closely linked to their ability to learn, interact and participate in the educational process.
He explained that strengthening mental health in schools requires providing a safe school environment, improving students’ life skills and monitoring behavioural and psychological signs that may require follow-up, such as social withdrawal, isolation or changes in academic performance.
He stressed that promoting mental health is a shared responsibility within schools, involving both teachers and educational counsellors.
Teachers play an important role because of their daily contact with students and their ability to understand their developmental and psychological needs. They are also well positioned to identify early warning signs in students’ behaviour, including absenteeism, withdrawal, isolation and declining academic performance.
Al-Nawaisa highlighted the importance of teachers responding to these signs by building relationships of trust with students, treating them fairly, taking their psychological and social circumstances into account, and adopting educational approaches that recognize behavioural changes and address them appropriately.
As role models, teachers can make a meaningful contribution to easing students’ pressures and helping them remain calm.
He also called for clear protocols and procedures to address cases requiring special or urgent intervention, particularly when students show a noticeable decline in academic performance, signs of sadness, social withdrawal or other concerning changes.
Finally, he emphasized the importance of establishing a genuine partnership with families and exchanging information about students’ behaviour and circumstances to better understand their needs and provide appropriate support.
