School-based Programs/Practices for Promoting Mental Health and Socio-emotional Well-being of Multilingual Learners

• Erlande Amisial, Elementary Teacher Education, University of Delaware

• Brittany Zakszeski, School of Education, University of Delaware

The purpose of this review was to identify and synthesize research on school-based programs, interventions, and practices that support the mental health and social-emotional well-being of multilingual learners in grades K-5. A systematic literature search was conducted in EBSCOhost (using the APA PsycArticles, APA PsycInfo, and ERIC databases), which identified 10 articles meeting all inclusion criteria ([a] evaluated educational services designed to promote mental health and wellbeing [b] delivered in United States schools [c] to multilingual learners [d] in grades K–5, with [e] empirical results describing specific mental health and wellbeing outcomes for multilingual learners, [f] published between 2003 and 2023). The samples, methods, and results of these studies were evaluated and summarized to describe evidence-based opportunities for supporting multilingual learners’ mental health and well-being in schools. Most of the articles studied the effects of programs and practices on Spanish- speaking students. Some articles examined the effects of programs (e.g., Collaborative Life Skills Programs, cognitive-behavioral therapies) on reducing symptoms of specific mental health disorders. Overall, limited evidence was available to describe the effects of school-based implementation on multilingual learners’ outcomes, especially for non-Spanish-speaking multilingual learners. Additional research is needed to develop and evaluate school-based mental health programs and practices tailored to multilingual learners and their cultural identities, especially for multilingual learners who are not Spanish speakers.