School based stressors
Author: Tiffany Westphal
57 school based stressors identified in the 2022 members survey.
In December 2022, School Can’t Australia (SCA) conducted a survey of members, to inform a submission to the Federal Senate Inquiry into The National Trend of School Refusal and Related Matters.
441 parents responded to the survey. Approximately 70–80% of those surveyed were caring for students with diagnosed or suspected disabilities.
The survey asked about three different categories of stressors that may have impacted a student:
School based stressors,
Stressors experienced in the context of family, and
Stressors associated with COVID
This article highlights SCA’s research findings related to school-based stressors.
Key Points
Over half of those surveyed indicated that 44 out of the 57 school-based stressors listed by School Can’t Australia were factors that contributed to, or likely contributed to, their child’s experience of school can’t.
On average, parents and carers identified 8 school-based stressors that applied to their child, showing that students often face multiple school-based stressors simultaneously.
The top four stressors identified, highlighted difficulties associated with communicating distress, having stress noticed by others and difficulties accessing people or places that provided relief from stress.
Challenges in noticing signs of distress or communicating stress mean students are less likely to receive timely support from adults.
It's crucial to ensure students don’t experience ongoing or severe stress, to protect their mental and physical health, and to create an optimal learning environment.
A series of survey questions asked participants to consider a list of stressors that apply in the context of school, and to nominate which of these stressors contributed to their own child’s experience of School Can’t. The response to these questions suggests that many students who experience school can’t, face high levels of chronic or persistent stress within the school environment.
The 57 School-based stressors, listed in Table 1 below, were categorized as one of: Environmental, Sensory, Emotional, Social/communication, Cognitive, Academic, Disability accommodations, Structural or Physical stressors. Respondents were asked which of the 57 stressors contributed to their child’s experience of school can’t. They could respond with “Yes,” “No,” or “Maybe.”
Top Ten Factors Contributing to School Can't
It is especially concerning that the top four stressors; limited safe spaces and people at school, inability to recognize signs of distress, challenges in communicating distress, and masking emotions, describe barriers to both addressing stress and seeking relief. These barriers can perpetuate chronic or persistent stress among students. When teachers are not aware that a student is struggling, they will not recognise that the student requires adjustments and needs support, and may dismiss parental reports of a child’s difficulties, because from their perspective, the student is doing just fine in class.
While stress is a normal part of life and our bodies are equipped to respond to stress, chronic or persistent stress can harm both mental and physical health over time. Students facing ongoing stress are at greater risk of developing mental health issues and experiencing difficulties learning and engaging at school.
Identifying chronic or severe stressors, addressing and reducing them, is protective of mental health and directly impacts student capacity for learning and engagement. School Can’t Australia’s lived experience suggests that by the time students stop being able to attend school they have often already experienced prolonged stress. It is important that we identify and address the barriers that impact early identification of chronic or severe stressors.
Students require support from adults to reduce stressors, as they often lack the power to change their own circumstances without assistance. Adults play a crucial role in helping identify and address the stressors that are impacting a student. Schools, families, and students must work collaboratively to identify and reduce these stressors, ensuring student well-being and capacity is supported and protected.
Support for stressed students should focus on identifying and reducing stressors, not solely on improving coping strategies. Common psychological interventions, such as Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) or Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), often assume the student’s response to stress is disproportionate, unwarranted, or due to faulty thinking. Failure to recognize and respond to stressors leads students to internalise the reasons for their distress (the problem is me), and they do not receive the support or adjustments that they need to feel safe and competent at school. This increases the risk of worsened mental health and disconnection from school.
What can you do?
Reframe - school can’t is most often a stress response,
Be curious about the sources of stress the CYP is experiencing,
Validate that the student is having a hard time,
Respond by seeking to reduce/address sources of stress,
Remember chronic stress is not healthy and there are often multiple stressors impacting a student,
Be patient, the longer or more severely a student has been distressed, the slower recovery will be,
Enhance nervous system awareness. Learn to notice the signs of stress,
Address barriers to communicating about stress,
Balance demands with the student’s capacity,
Prioritise wellbeing rather than attendance,
Work collaboratively, respecting student voice and agency.