View Issue: Education

Increasing educational opportunities for individuals with serious mental illnesses is critical to community integration. Data from the National Co-Morbidity Study conducted in the early 1990s indicate that the early-onset of psychiatric disorders has an adverse impact on educational attainment. Data from the earlier Epidemiologic Catchment Area (ECA) study conducted in the 1980s showed that persons diagnosed with schizophrenia had lower graduation rates from high school than the general population (57% versus 66%) and much lower college graduation rates (5% versus 17%). 

Higher educational attainment is highly valued by our society and has significant financial benefits. Those with less than a high school diploma have lower rates of participation in the labor force (44%) than those with a high school diploma (65%), some college (73%), or college graduates (78%). Education also dictates the types of jobs that can be sought, with lower educational attainment associated with entry-level jobs known for rapid turnover-the same types of jobs that people with psychiatric disabilities frequently obtain. Not surprisingly, education also significantly influences wages and earnings. 

Over the past decade there has been an increased recognition that people with psychiatric disabilities have the cognitive capacity to be successful in post-secondary education. Moreover, one study found that 62% of 300 individuals with a mental illness would like more education (Rogers, Walsh, Masotta, & Danley, 1991). However, many people with psychiatric disabilities who enter post-secondary education find that they lack the confidence and supports needed to complete their academic programs.

A recent book reviewed the academic support needs of people with psychiatric disabilities and describes the growing number of supported education programs that have been started around the country (Mowbray et al., 2002). One person with a psychiatric disability cited in Mowbray et al. wrote that they began to see "that my problems in completing school were not intellectual. They were the result of the lack of supports (p. 63)." This lack of support also prevents people with psychiatric disabilities from even attempting or re-attempting to enroll in post-secondary education. Carol Mowbray warns, "The consequences of this lack of support in the educational system (have) long range, long reaching, and detrimental effects. Consumers who attempted college and failed, in society's and their own eyes, (have) their self-esteem so destroyed that they never (attempt) college again and (retreat) into a life of low-paying jobs or disability insurance (p. 29)." 

Legislation and Supported Education 

• extended time on exams,
• course incompletes rather than failures if relapse occurs
• special re-entry classes
• taking exams in separate rooms with fewer distractions, or
• tape-recorded lectures. 

Requesting accommodations requires disclosure of the disability. This raises concerns about stigma that may result in administrators, teachers, and other students treating these students differently. Each student has unique considerations and may benefit from connection to some type of supported education services program. 

In 1993 the New Jersey state office that serves people with mental illnesses developed and distributed a guidebook providing an overview of the many steps to navigate the college systems that were based for a great part on directives from both the ADA and Section 504. Indeed the early 1990s with the passage of the ADA encouraged the development of formal supported education research and services development. 

Supported Education Services 

Supported Education services are currently in the design and development stages with some services research having been completed. Karen Unger, an early researcher on this topic, reports that "existing evidence indicates that programs and services that facilitate the participation of people with a psychiatric disorder in postsecondary education can produce positive outcomes."

The University of Michigan School of Social Work offers an interesting overview of supported education. This overview of supported education includes a look at the conceptual framework and values, the types of services that can be offered, and model programs. 

There has been some research over the past decade to examine the impact of supported education programs. These programs generally focus on providing supports to students to help them enter post-secondary educational programs, increase retention and success, and address stigma on campus. Nonetheless, supported education programs are relatively rare and more research demonstrating the success of such programs is needed.

Links to learn more about supported education:

http://www.bu.edu/cpr/reasaccom/educa-read-suppor.html 

http://www.bu.edu/cpr/reasaccom/whatlaws-adaleg.html

http://www.psych.uic.edu/mhsrp/supp__ed_res.htm

References 

Fishbein, Steven M. and Betty Holland (1993) "So You Want to Go to College: A Guide for Individuals Diagnosed with Severe Mental Illness Who Are Thinking About College." Published by the Dept. of Human Services, Division of Mental Health & Hospitals, Office of Human Resource and Rehabilitation Development, Trenton NJ.

Mowbray, C.T., Brown, K.S., Furlong-Norman, D., Soydan, A.S. (Eds. (2002) Supported education and psychiatric rehabilitation: Models and methods. International Association of Psychoscial Rehabilitation Services: MD.

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