Promoting Mental Health at Schools. An evidence-based curriculum to shape policy across Europe

Mental health problems amongst children and young people have been increasing over the past decades with a growing demand for schools to take preventive actions. This study describes PROMEHS, an Erasmus project co-funded by the European Commission (2019-2022) aimed at developing, implementing and evaluating a mental health curriculum in schools. PROMEHS places particular emphasis on the acquisition of those emotional, relational and civic competencies that sustain mental health promotion at school so as to address the needs of all children, including those from marginalized backgrounds, and contribute to their social inclusion as young adults in the society. The partnership consists of 20 research institutions, public authorities and scientific associations from 7 EU Countries. The experimental curriculum will be applied in 6 Countries. Using a repeated measures design, field trials will evaluate the curriculum’s impact on students’ academic and social behavior and achievement, and decreases in conduct problems and emotional distress. Additionally, PROMEHS aims to measure any improvements in teachers’ social and emotional competencies and mental health and wellbeing. The main project outputs include: training and instruction manuals for teachers, activity handbooks for students and guides for parents, with practical activities to support mental health promotion at school and at home. PROMEHS is aimed to provide a systematic framework for the development, implementation and evaluation of a universal mental health curriculum at school and to deliver high-quality training for school staff. Furthermore, it will serve to create a bridge between evidence-based school programs and educational Institutions, thus linking research, practice and policies.