Mental health literacy and intervention program adaptation in the internationalization of school psychology for Vietnam

Abstract

This paper discusses how school psychology technology developed in Western countries can be adapted for global contexts and “internationalized.” The article reports results of two studies, providing examples of (1) our school psychology internationalization experiences in Vietnam, as lessons hopefully useful for other professionals interested in international development, and (2) how Western researchers can learn through internalization experiences. Because mental health literacy is foundational for mental health development, Study 1 focused on assessment of mental health literacy among 353 Vietnamese teachers, with findings suggesting overall low mental health literacy among these participants. Study 2 focused on our Vietnam ACES ProS high‐school problem‐solving therapy program. We discuss the Mental Health Capacity Development Model guiding development of ACES ProS and report positive results of an evaluation of ACES ProS involving 100 Vietnamese high‐school students. Program cultural adaptation (e.g., deciding whether teacher classroom praise should be excluded from classroom behavior management because of Vietnamese students’ tendency to react to praise with increased competitive behavior) is reviewed as an example of challenges faced in school psychology internationalization. This program of research shows that school psychology internationalization can be successful but requires careful attention and close collaboration.

Internationalization within school and educational psychology: Perspectives about positive indicators, critical considerations, and needs

“…Within this special issue, Dang et al. () share similar perspectives about effective and sustainable international collaboration.…”

“…After each author of this paper learned about the project goals and process for how we would ultimately complete the paper (and after agreeing to contribute), all authors except H.S. received the following scholarly articles related to internationalization: Arfken (); Begeny (,b); Bernardo, Yeung, Resurreccion, Resurreccion, and Khan (); Bullock (); Dang, Weiss, Trung, and Ho (); Ng and Noonan (); and van de Vijver (). These articles were shared because although all contributors do work that is related to internationalization in educational psychology, there is relatively limited scholarship about internationalization in psychology—and even less within the subdiscipline of educational psychology; thus, everyone received the aforementioned articles simply to ensure they had access to recent scholarship and a range of discourses that have specifically focused on internationalization.…”

A working definition and conceptual model of internationalization for school and educational psychology

“…Regarding Goal 1A, it is important to point out that professional development—whether it be in the form of training someone else or oneself—will be enhanced and more equitable across the international discipline when everyone has access to scholarship that, as much as possible, reflects the context in which they research and/or practice (Leon, Campagnaro, & Matos, ; Leong & Ponterotto, ). In this special issue, Dang, Weiss, Trung, and Ho () offer a relevant example of this by providing information about interventions for Vietnamese students’ problem‐solving and social‐emotional skills. For relevant professionals working in Vietnam, this information will foster more context‐specific knowledge and professional development than if they were to use interventions developed from research that took place in cultural contexts vastly different from Vietnam.…”

“…In my view, although multinational collaboration is common as a type of internationalization work, it is not a requirement of doing work related to Category 1 or the other two categories described later. More specific types of Category 1 internationalization work include (1) empirical work that adapts, evaluates, and describes a school‐based intervention, assessment, or other form of practice (e.g., consultation) from one cultural or linguistic context to another (e.g., Dang et al., ); (2) scholarship that describes and utilizes theories, constructs, and/or methods that are not often described or used within Western scholarship or practice (e.g., Amesty & Paez, ; Bernardo, Yeung, Resurreccion, Resurreccion, & Khan, ); (3) scholarship focusing on topics of importance for school psychologists that come from regions or countries otherwise underrepresented in the scholarship (e.g., Amesty & Paez, ; Bernardo et al., ; Dang et al., ; Kim et al., ); (4) multi‐country collaboration that through theory, practice, or methodology utilizes values or norms that are representative of multiple cultures (e.g., Bernardo et al., ); and (5) scholarship that gathers relevant information to improve understanding about the discipline in an international context (e.g., generating estimates about the number of school psychology professionals in one or more countries, or conducting survey research about school psychology practices or needs within one or more countries).…”

An overview of internationalization and its relevance for school and educational psychology

“…">As an example of the aforementioned benefit, advancing internationalization helps with identifying, developing, and evaluating culturally appropriate, context‐relevant, evidence‐based practices and treatment programs that psychologists need as part of their domestic or international work (Arora, Nastasi, & Leff, ; Begeny et al., ; Spilka & Dobson, ; van de Vijver, ). Of course, this same benefit applies to developing and evaluating other evidence‐based tools and practices that psychology researchers and practitioners need, such as psychological or educational assessments (e.g., Dang, Weiss, Trung, & Ho, ). Many have also described how internationalization strengthens researchers’ and practitioners’ professional development in locations around the globe, including but not limited to their university training (e.g., Turner‐Essel & Waehler, ).…”