Constructing a Crisis: Mental Health, Higher Education and Policy Entrepreneurs

Frawley, Ashley; Wakeham, Chloe; McLaughlin, Kenneth; Ecclestone, Kathryn

doi:10.1177/13607804231215943

Journal article 351 views 75 downloads

Constructing a Crisis: Mental Health, Higher Education and Policy Entrepreneurs

Ashley Frawley

, Chloe Wakeham, Kenneth McLaughlin, Kathryn Ecclestone

Sociological Research Online, Volume: 29, Issue: 2, Pages: 351 - 369

Swansea University Authors: Ashley Frawley , Chloe Wakeham, Kathryn Ecclestone

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DOI (Published version): 10.1177/13607804231215943

Abstract

In 2018, the UK Conservative government issued a firm directive, emphasizing the significance of prioritizing 'positive mental health' within universities. This directive emerged in response to mounting concerns expressed by various stakeholders, including mental health organizations, stud...

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Published in:	Sociological Research Online
ISSN:	1360-7804 1360-7804
Published:	SAGE Publications 2024
Online Access:	Check full text
URI:	https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa64755
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first_indexed	2023-10-16T13:02:51Z
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spelling	v2 64755 2023-10-16 Constructing a Crisis: Mental Health, Higher Education and Policy Entrepreneurs 9279d7a34ced689e04eb6bdc56e74a64 0000-0002-4691-4612 Ashley Frawley Ashley Frawley true false c0474f195b6ee7b0dc7577d87fc34a39 Chloe Wakeham Chloe Wakeham true false ef45d77a34d8ae6a1d30317e733f9714 Kathryn Ecclestone Kathryn Ecclestone true false 2023-10-16 SOSS In 2018, the UK Conservative government issued a firm directive, emphasizing the significance of prioritizing 'positive mental health' within universities. This directive emerged in response to mounting concerns expressed by various stakeholders, including mental health organizations, student groups, and higher education (HE) administrators. These stakeholders argued that there was a growing crisis concerning the mental well-being of students in the UK.We conducted a qualitative media analysis (QMA) to examine the public discourse surrounding student mental health as a societal concern. This analysis involved scrutinizing newspapers and policy documents produced in the UK between 2010 and 2019. We approached this analysis using a contextual constructionist method and Kingdon's policy streams framework. Our study revealed expansive interpretations of mental health issues, the presence of certain assumptions that influenced the collection of evidence, 'professional exes' acting as policy entrepreneurs, and solutions designed to distribute risk across educational institutions. In conclusion, our findings suggest a shift away from independent subjectivity toward more externally influenced constructions of mental health in higher education.This research adds valuable insights to the field of sociology by enhancing our understanding of contemporary subjectivity and social policy surrounding mental health in HE. Journal Article Sociological Research Online 29 2 351 369 SAGE Publications 1360-7804 1360-7804 Higher education, mental health, social problems, therapeutic cultures, therapy culture 1 6 2024 2024-06-01 10.1177/13607804231215943 COLLEGE NANME Social Sciences School COLLEGE CODE SOSS Swansea University Not Required British Academy SRG1920\101300 SRG1920\101300 2024-10-04T14:30:10.4142694 2023-10-16T13:37:29.5240456 Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences School of Social Sciences - Criminology, Sociology and Social Policy Ashley Frawley 0000-0002-4691-4612 1 Chloe Wakeham 2 Kenneth McLaughlin 3 Kathryn Ecclestone 4 64755__29093__17e8cf7093684b81be6b8b163f67e956.pdf 64755.AAM.pdf 2023-11-23T13:42:53.5881099 Output 279609 application/pdf Accepted Manuscript true Author accepted manuscript document released under the terms of a Creative Commons CC-BY licence using the Swansea University Research Publications Policy. true eng https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
title	Constructing a Crisis: Mental Health, Higher Education and Policy Entrepreneurs
spellingShingle	Constructing a Crisis: Mental Health, Higher Education and Policy Entrepreneurs Ashley Frawley Chloe Wakeham Kathryn Ecclestone
title_short	Constructing a Crisis: Mental Health, Higher Education and Policy Entrepreneurs
title_full	Constructing a Crisis: Mental Health, Higher Education and Policy Entrepreneurs
title_fullStr	Constructing a Crisis: Mental Health, Higher Education and Policy Entrepreneurs
title_full_unstemmed	Constructing a Crisis: Mental Health, Higher Education and Policy Entrepreneurs
title_sort	Constructing a Crisis: Mental Health, Higher Education and Policy Entrepreneurs
author_id_str_mv	9279d7a34ced689e04eb6bdc56e74a64 c0474f195b6ee7b0dc7577d87fc34a39 ef45d77a34d8ae6a1d30317e733f9714
author_id_fullname_str_mv	9279d7a34ced689e04eb6bdc56e74a64_*_Ashley Frawley c0474f195b6ee7b0dc7577d87fc34a39__Chloe Wakeham ef45d77a34d8ae6a1d30317e733f9714_**_Kathryn Ecclestone
author	Ashley Frawley Chloe Wakeham Kathryn Ecclestone
author2	Ashley Frawley Chloe Wakeham Kenneth McLaughlin Kathryn Ecclestone
format	Journal article
container_title	Sociological Research Online
container_volume	29
container_issue	2
container_start_page	351
publishDate	2024
institution	Swansea University
issn	1360-7804 1360-7804
doi_str_mv	10.1177/13607804231215943
publisher	SAGE Publications
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description	In 2018, the UK Conservative government issued a firm directive, emphasizing the significance of prioritizing 'positive mental health' within universities. This directive emerged in response to mounting concerns expressed by various stakeholders, including mental health organizations, student groups, and higher education (HE) administrators. These stakeholders argued that there was a growing crisis concerning the mental well-being of students in the UK.We conducted a qualitative media analysis (QMA) to examine the public discourse surrounding student mental health as a societal concern. This analysis involved scrutinizing newspapers and policy documents produced in the UK between 2010 and 2019. We approached this analysis using a contextual constructionist method and Kingdon's policy streams framework. Our study revealed expansive interpretations of mental health issues, the presence of certain assumptions that influenced the collection of evidence, 'professional exes' acting as policy entrepreneurs, and solutions designed to distribute risk across educational institutions. In conclusion, our findings suggest a shift away from independent subjectivity toward more externally influenced constructions of mental health in higher education.This research adds valuable insights to the field of sociology by enhancing our understanding of contemporary subjectivity and social policy surrounding mental health in HE.
published_date	2024-06-01T14:30:09Z
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Constructing a Crisis: Mental Health, Higher Education and Policy Entrepreneurs

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