2019 News Stories
USF researchers host panel discussion to discuss mental health well-being in schools
by Chelsea Grosbeck
A panel of researchers from the USF College of Education discussed strategies and recommendations for how educators and families can promote social, emotional, and behavioral well-being in schools. From left to right: Shannon Suldo, PhD; Sarah Kiefer, PhD; Jose Castillo, PhD, and Nathaniel von der Embse, PhD.
In light of recent events, mental health and the well-being of students has been a focus of many K-12 schools across the state of Florida.
To share about relevant research and insights in this area, the University of South Florida (USF) College of Education hosted a panel discussion titled, 鈥淧romoting Social, Emotional and Behavioral Well-Being in Schools: A Critical Conversation.鈥� During the discussion, experts in both school psychology and educational psychology shared their research in supporting student well-being and how their work can be utilized by school districts to improve the services and support provided to their students.
鈥淚n education, we all know it鈥檚 important to create research,鈥� said College of Education Dean, Robert C. Knoeppel, PhD. 鈥淚t really doesn鈥檛 matter unless it reaches into communities, into classrooms and into families.鈥�
Keynote speaker Shannon Suldo, PhD, a professor of school psychology at USF, began the evening with presenting her research to students, teachers, faculty, staff and community members.
鈥淭he Student Life Satisfaction Scale (SLSS) assesses the student鈥檚 subjective well-being, or happiness,鈥� Suldo said. 鈥淭he Scale is numbered from one through six, with four being the neutral point.鈥�
Suldo explains, in elementary school the average SLSS score is a five. As the child gets older, their number drops. It was found every time a student begins middle or high school, an immediate drop happens, with the score falling by half each time.
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