Date of Award

Fall 2021

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Committee Chair

Karen Sumner

Abstract

The purpose of this quantitative study was to describe North Carolina charter school principal perceptions of school-based mental health services in their buildings. The research used an online survey instrument and descriptive statistics to gather and analyze data. Principals of all 182 North Carolina charter schools (excluding the state’s two virtual schools) were asked to complete the survey. Through this study, 52 current North Carolina charter school principals completed a 36-question survey. The original survey instrument was designed jointly by the University of California San Francisco and the California Department of Education. It was modified for use with this study through permission granted by the survey’s creators. The instrument measured principal perceptions of mental health care service availability, barriers to service provision, and staff professional development needs to identify and address student mental health issues. Four themes emerged from surveying principals: (a) students with mental health concerns are common in North Carolina charter schools, (b) charter schools lack adequate mental health staff, (c) significant barriers exist to the provision of mental health services, and (d) charter school teachers have a high need for professional development.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License

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