As Philip Capobianco, EdD'24, enters his 30th year of teaching, he's optimistic about how his school and others can support students' mental health.
"It has been a calling and a vocation. I always wanted to be a teacher," he said of his career. "I would say it is a far-reaching profession in the world."
Capobianco grew up in Ontario's publicly funded Catholic education system, where he recalls constantly being challenged to build community within his neighbourhood and surrounding area.
Philip Capobianco, a principal in the Ottawa Catholic District School Board, investigated how to strengthen youth mental health in the Catholic education system during his EdD in educational leadership at Western. (Submitted)
Now serving as a high school principal in the Ottawa Catholic School Board, the veteran educator decided in 2021 to go back to school himself.
Pursuing a Doctor of Education
More than 20 years after he obtained his master of education, Capobianco returned to the post-secondary world, choosing Western in pursuit of a doctor of education (EdD) in the field of educational leadership.
He was admitted into the program during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, a period that left him feeling alarmed about the lack of support in place for the mental health of learners.
"My motivator for entering the program was witnessing the global pandemic's chaos in schools, students and families. I wanted to generate interventionist strategies we could use to repair the damage done to children and youth," Capobianco said.
Philip Capobianco (far right) is joined by classmates in his Educational Leadership cohort. (Andrew Graham/Western Education)
A fully online, three-year graduate program that allows students to learn while maintaining their careers, Capobianco soon found himself surrounded by like-minded individuals from accomplished backgrounds.
Capobianco credits professors and instructors like Katina Pollock, Dianne Yee, Erin Keith and Scott Lowrey for fostering a supportive, informative, and inspiring learning space.
"With my cohort across the country and worldwide, I learned much about other schools, systems and challenges," Capobianco said.
He also discovered he wasn't alone in his worries.
"Youth mental health struggles are very much a global issue."
Supporting youth mental health
A hallmark of the EdD program is the dissertation in practice (DiP), a final project that tasks candidates with creating a scholarly, applied organizational improvement plan in response to a problem of practice in the student's workplace.
Capobianco published his own DiP in 2024, "Improving Teacher Preparedness and Capacities: Narrowing the Gap to Support Youth Mental Health in a Catholic High School," examining how to best prepare Catholic teachers and improve their abilities to provide youth mental health support.
"The school principal and the administration must be at the heart of any transformative change. In my problem-solving, I discovered school administration is central to organizational improvement. We must practice activism, leadership and wellness for staff and students," he said.
Capobianco recommends developing professional learning communities in high schools. School administration would chair these groups, exploring best practices, research and data to ensure teachers are well-equipped to address mental health issues. These professional learning communities would collaborate with community partners, including system leaders, consultants, Catholic school councils and School Mental Health Ontario.
"I have surveyed my teaching staff, and many have told me that they would appreciate further training and support in youth mental health," Capobianco said. "We must approach youth mental health from an area of strength, equipped with the tools and strategies to help students manage, achieve and succeed. What we do today affects their lives in the future."
Filling in a research gap
Capobianco's work is unique because it's framed within the context of Ontario's Catholic education system. During the early phases of his research, Capobianco found most existing research examined the issue from a secular perspective.
"There was a research gap in the Catholic school system. I hope that moving forward, we can fill that gap," Capobianco said. "Our Catholic school system is unique and requires us to look at strategies that mesh within the dynamics of a faith-inspired system."
Along with more research on the topic, Capobianco also hopes to see Catholic schools across Canada adopt what he refers to as an interventionist caring adult model. This model draws on a transformative leadership style, where the leader's primary role is to serve others. The model is strengthened by a focus on transparency and Catholic Social Teaching, which ensures students are served in a caring environment and feel comfortable sharing mental health issues.
"Every educational leader must build resilient relationships with their community so that learners can come forward confidently when struggles are encountered," Capobianco said.
"Addressing these issues safely with teachers who are better trained is something that I champion."
