According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, one in four secondary students and one in seven primary school students in Australia suffer from mental health conditions, worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Anxiety and stress, largely driven by academic pressures and body image issues, are especially prevalent, with nearly half of all Australian students reporting that their wellbeing programs are ineffective, highlighting a critical need for better support systems.
To better understand the concerns and needs of young people, and how schools can help improve their wellbeing, one of Australia’s leading banks surveyed more than 400 secondary students from public, private independent, and Catholic schools about how they are feeling about their lives.
NAB's Education Insights Special Report, titled: ‘Part 1: Wellbeing - How do high school students really feel about their lives?’ revealed mixed results.
While Australian students report improved emotional and mental wellbeing and less loneliness, LGBTIQ+ students and boys show concerning trends, with worries including schoolwork, body image, and family finances. Many students consider skipping exams for mental health, and more than 50% consider their school’s wellbeing programs ineffective.
Below, The Educator speaks to Dean Pearson, NAB Head of Behavioural and Industry Economics, about the report’s findings, and what they mean for Australia’s schools moving forward.
TE: Looking at the report’s findings, what kind of picture do you think it paints of student wellbeing in Australia’s schools?
I think broadly a more positive one. Compared to a year ago young people are more upbeat about their emotional and mental wellbeing and a growing number believe they’re coping better with managing their mental health. There are numerous reports suggesting Australia's young people are struggling with resilience and wellbeing. But our research suggests the story is far more nuanced. While on average the story is more positive, with more younger Australians identifying as LGBTIQA+ or gender diverse, this appears to have significant implications for wellbeing with disparate outcomes across many aspects of school life for this community of students. There was also a noticeable fall in self-reported wellbeing among boys more generally and the while girls still report lower wellbeing than boys, the gap is narrowing.
TE: What strategies can school leaders implement to increase the effectiveness of their student wellbeing programs, especially given that a significant number of students currently rate these initiatives very low in terms of support?
It’s all too easy to criticise school wellbeing programs. Only 15% of students said their school wellbeing initiatives were very helpful, falling to 3% among those who identified as LGBTQI+. A program may not in itself change behaviours and is just one aspect of supporting wellbeing. And the reality is there’s little conclusive research on the effectiveness of specific mental health and emotional wellbeing initiatives in schools. I recently read an interesting article in the Washington Post about a school in Ohio which like many schools in Australia had seen an uptick in mental health and wellbeing concerns among students. In response, the school tried everything including more therapists, a new social-emotional learning curriculum, music therapy and horses for children to pet. The point of the article was that no one really knows what the answer is, so schools are having to take multiple approaches at once. In terms of increasing the effectiveness of current programs I think there’s real merit involving students themselves in their design and to give them some agency in terms of managing their own wellbeing. At the end of the day, I think it will require a joint effort.
TE: Following on from the above, how can leaders tailor their school’s wellbeing programs to better support the different needs of boys and girls, particularly in areas such as social media use, homework, and extracurricular activities?
Our research shows young people on balance, view social media as having a positive impact on them and others their own age and plays a key role in helping them stay connected, included, and accepted in life. Recognising this, something needs to change. Around 1 in 2 teens also told us they strongly believe social media is not a place where they feel supported during tough times (particularly among girls), nor that it makes them feel better about their lives. So perhaps the best approach is to continue to focus on helping young people build resilience, provide a safe place for them to talk and particularly for girls, continue messaging around body positivity and challenging unrealistic images and lifestyles often presented on social media.
Interestingly students report spending less time on social media albeit still a substantial amount - on average 98 minutes a day, down from 113 minutes in 2023. Girls continue to spend more time on social media (113 mins v 83 mins for boys) and doing homework (98 mins vs. 74 mins for boys), while boys spend substantially more time gaming (60 mins v 27 mins for girls) and to a lesser extent playing sport. The research on the harm of video games on boys also appears to be inconclusive, except for heavy users.
More generally, I thought it was very interesting that students at boys only schools were much more positive about the effectiveness of school wellbeing programs than those at girls only schools.
TE: Looking ahead, what are some important considerations for school communities and education policymakers when it comes to what approach they should be taking to ensuring student wellbeing initiatives are reflective of students’ concerns and needs?
Only 2% of students said there was nothing the school could do to help, which begs the question what do they believe might work? The top five responses from students were: teachers who are more calm, honest, and caring; less strict policy on unforms and appearance (particularly among girls); more feedback of their progress and academic performance (particularly among public school students); less emphasis on grades and scores; and different school times (particularly among girls). It’s clear from this list just how important teachers are in their student's lives, so it would suggest wellbeing initiatives must also address teacher empowerment and workload. Interestingly, this year’s survey also revealed significantly lower numbers of students who thought fewer tests and exams would help most with their worries (26% of students identified this as a way of helping them versus 41% in 2023).