Effective Elements and Gaps in MHPSS Interventions in Education in Burkina Faso and Ethiopia

Abstract

Burkina Faso and Ethiopia both suffer from armed conflicts causing thousands of civilians to flee (Human Right Watch, 2024a; 2024b). The crises impacts students and teachers by mental health and psychological consequences. These consequences call for the integration of Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) in education, since research has shown that education fosters normalization and stability in children’s life (Barenbaum et al., 2004) and that teachers play a pivotal role in fostering MHPSS in class (Malik et al., 2025; Yule, 2002). Therefore, in this explorative research, due to a lack of research on effective elements of teacher-centred interventions in the context of Burkina Faso and Ethiopia, potential effective elements are explored based on lived experiences of both regional and international experts and local teachers. Therefore semi-structured interviews were conducted with international experts (n=3), regional experts (n=7) and a survey was distributed among teachers in Burkina Faso (n=31). The data from both the interviews and survey indicate the need of systemic change consisting of institutionalization of MHPSS, addressing a whole school approach and providing follow-up trainings. The results also showed that these trainings should consist of teacher-wellbeing, contextualization, theoretical and practical knowledge. The need for theoretical knowledge complemented by practical knowledge is a new outcome of great importance since experts noticed a lack of this among local teachers. Further research should be dedicated to an understanding on how to measure effectiveness from both scientific and practitioners view and a deeper exploration of the results found in this research.