Reimagining School-Based Mental Health: Social-Emotional Learning and Preventive Interventions in an Era of Global Transformation
A special issue of Education Sciences (ISSN 2227-7102). This special issue belongs to the section "Education and Psychology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 1 November 2026 | Viewed by 22
Special Issue Editor
Interests: school counseling; humanistic psychology; school mental health; educational equity
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
We are pleased to invite you to contribute to a timely and critically important Special Issue in Education Sciences (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/education [SSCI Impact Factor: 2.6 & Scopus CiteScore 5.5]) entitled “Reimagining School-Based Mental Health: Social-Emotional Learning and Preventive Interventions in an Era of Global Transformation.” The contemporary educational landscape faces dynamic challenges such as political polarization, technological disruption, and economic instability fundamentally reshaping the contexts in which children and adolescents develop. Rising rates of anxiety, depression, and behavioral concerns among school-aged students have intensified the urgency for comprehensive, evidence-based mental health and social-emotional learning (SEL) interventions. As educational institutions grapple with these complex societal pressures, there is a critical need for innovative research that bridges theory and practice to support student and educator wellbeing.
This Special Issue aims to advance our understanding of how early childhood, elementary, and secondary schools can adapt, innovate, and implement preventive mental health approaches while navigating rapidly evolving global circumstances. The focus aligns directly with the Education Sciences’ commitment to examining educational policy, practice, and reform through interdisciplinary perspectives. By exploring the intersection of mental health promotion, SEL programming, and contemporary challenges, this collection will contribute to the journal's scope of understanding how educational systems can respond to societal transformation. The issue seeks to generate actionable insights for transforming mental health support into educational settings, emphasizing both theoretical rigor and practical applications that can inform policy and practice across diverse educational contexts.
In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but not limited to) the following:
- Integration of digital technologies and artificial intelligence in school-based mental health interventions
- Culturally responsive and equity-focused approaches to SEL in diverse communities
- Impact of political climate and policy changes on school-based mental health initiatives
- Economic factors influencing program sustainability and resource allocation
- Innovative models for training educators in trauma-informed and preventive practices
- Cross-cultural perspectives on mental health promotion in educational settings
- Evidence-based frameworks for implementing tiered mental health support systems
- Role of family and community partnerships in school-based SEL programs
- Assessment and evaluation methods for measuring SEL and mental health outcomes
- Teacher wellbeing and its relationship to student mental health outcomes
- Abstract Deadline: May 31, 2026
- Notification of Abstract Acceptance: July 1, 2026
- Submission Deadline: November 1, 2026
We look forward to receiving your contributions.
Best wishes,
Prof. Dr. Matthew Lemberger-Truelove
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Education Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- school-based mental health
- social-emotional learning (SEL)
- preventive interventions
- K-12 education
- student wellbeing
- educational transformation
- trauma-informed practices
- mental health promotion
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