Abstract:

The need for successful school based mental health services is increasing as mental health challenges continue to rise amongst youth. Within public education, there are various types of in-school supports for students facing mental health or behaviour challenges such as social workers, child and youth workers, as well as agency school programs. Agency schools, also recognized as day treatment programs or alternative school programs, can combine treatment and education in order to meet the needs of students that are unable to succeed in regular community school settings. These settings are temporary placements with the long-term goal being a successful transition back into a community school setting. This study presents and interprets the perspectives of teachers for policy makers, administrators, and researchers to understand the structure, dynamics, and student transitions of agency school programs in order for these settings to continue to progress to meet the changing needs of students. In this qualitative case study, the lived experiences of teachers working in these day treatment settings in a region in Southwestern Ontario were investigated. Data was collected in the form of semi-structured interviews and analyzed through Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA).

Five themes emerged from an analysis of the data:
1) Teaching the Whole Child;
2) Communication;
3) Collaboration and Team Dynamics;
4) The Present Role of Parents and Guardians; and
5) Successful and Adaptive Transition.

The themes present a general understanding of the way that teachers identify their role in agency schools, as well as provide evidence of the success of day treatment programs and student transitions.

Keywords:

Risk, mental health, agency schools, alternative schools, teachers, interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA).