Improving Teacher Preparedness: A Study on the Role of Structured Teaching in Adolescent Crisis Management

Adolescence is a crucial developmental stage (ages 10-19) marked by significant physical, emotional, and cognitive changes, often leading to internal conflicts and behavioural challenges. Educators play a vital role in supporting adolescents, yet many lack formal training in adolescent psychology and crisis management. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of a Planned Teaching Program (PTP) in enhancing high school teachers' knowledge and responsiveness to adolescent developmental crises. A pre-experimental one-group pre-test post-test design was employed, involving a sample of 30 high school teachers from a private co-educational high school in Mangalore, selected via non-random purposive sampling. A structured knowledge questionnaire, validated by experts (reliability coefficient 0.95), was administered as a pre-test (O1), followed by the 45-minute PTP (X), and a post-test (O2) seven days later. Results indicated a significant improvement in teachers' knowledge. Pre-test findings showed half of the participants had average knowledge and 23.37% had poor understanding. Post-test results revealed none with poor knowledge, and 50% achieved excellent scores. The mean pre-test score was 15.93 (53.1%), increasing to 22.33 (71.33%) post-PTP. A paired t-test confirmed a statistically significant difference between pre- and post-test scores (t=11.25,p<0.001), validating the PTP's effectiveness. Chi-square analysis showed no significant association between pre-test scores and demographic variables. The study concludes that the PTP is a highly effective educational intervention for equipping high school teachers with essential skills to address adolescent issues and promote mental health. Findings suggest implications for nursing practice, education, administration, and research in preventing adolescent mental health issues.