Teachers’ Perspectives on Students’ Psychosocial Needs and School Social Work in Public Secondary Schools: A Qualitative Study from Punjab, Pakistan

Abstract

Adolescents in public secondary schools’ experience multiple psychosocial stresses arising from academic, socio-familial, peer relationships, and environmental factors. Teachers are the first responders to such problems, but they lack psychosocial skills. This study aimed to explore teachers’ perceptions of students’ psychosocial needs, existing gaps in responding to these needs, and how school social workers could intervene. The current qualitative descriptive study used a phenomenological inquiry design based on Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory and a strength-based approach. The research procedure involved sixteen teachers from two urban and two rural public boys' secondary schools located in Bhakkar and Mianwali districts of Punjab province, Pakistan. Semi-structured interviews were held to obtain in-depth information from the participants. Each interview session lasted thirty to forty-five minutes and was conducted in the Urdu language. Data analysis was done using Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis procedure and interpreted thematically. Five major themes emerged from the study, including multifaceted needs, behavioural and academic indicators of need, informal and limited teacher interventions, multiple system barriers, and appreciative perceptions of school social work. The findings highlight teachers’ limited understanding of students’ psychosocial needs and inadequate institutional mechanisms for addressing these needs. The study provides empirical evidence from four public secondary schools in the Punjab province.