Developmental Resilience: A Global Case for Mental Health through Extended Education

#OST #GELYDA #mentalhealth #practice #resilience #ExtendedLearning

About the Author: Gil G. Noam is Founder of The PEAR Institute: Partnerships in Education and Resilience at McLean Hospital, Faculty Member at Harvard Medical School.

In a world increasingly marked by uncertainty, stress, and division, it has become clear that addressing youth mental health requires more than traditional approaches. Extended education—known variously as afterschool, out-of-school time, or summer learning—has emerged not only as a crucial educational setting but also as an under-recognized front line in the global mental health response. The developmental potential embedded in these informal learning spaces makes them uniquely suited to nurture what I call developmental resilience.

A Movement from the Margins

During the COVID-19 pandemic, two truths became glaringly evident: schools dominate the public discourse around education, and extended learning is dangerously underfunded—even though, in times of crisis, it’s often these programs that maintain critical relationships with youth and their families. Whether through mentoring, arts, sports, or science exploration, afterschool programs sustained connection, engagement, and hope when formal schooling often faltered, or had great difficulty maintaining productive learning environments over Zoom or other platforms.

This insight fueled the creation of GELYDA, a global initiative launched in Bern, Switzerland in 2023, to place extended learning squarely on the map as a developmental powerhouse. GELYDA’s goal is to elevate this peripheral field to the center of youth development and educational innovation—through research, practice, policy, and international collaboration.

From Upstreaming to Resilience

The global youth mental health crisis, exacerbated by COVID-19, has only grown more urgent. Diagnosable disorders among youth in the U.S. jumped from 20% to 30% during the pandemic, a seismic shift by any public health standard. But focusing solely on treatment pathways and clinical professionals—though essential—misses the larger opportunity: upstreaming mental health interventions before clinical diagnoses emerge.

Here’s the core idea: learning supports mental health, and mental health supports learning. Engaged, curious young people immersed in meaningful learning experiences are not just building knowledge—they’re practicing wellness. This is why extended learning matters: it creates safe spaces for young people to be seen, to belong, and to explore identity.

The Case for Developmental Resilience

Traditional definitions of resilience focus on “bouncing back” after adversity. But what if we aimed higher? Developmental resilience asks not just how young people recover from difficulty, but how they grow from it. This is the heart of the extended education advantage. It’s not merely remedial or supportive—it can be transformative.

Programs can structure themselves around a tiered public health approach such as the Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS), a framework used to provide support for students based on their individual needs. 

• Tier 1 (Universal): All youth benefit from environments rooted in belonging, creativity, and voice. Activities are strength-based, relational, and engaging—critical for preventing disengagement and alienation.

• Tier 2 (Targeted Support): For those showing early signs of distress—like persistent sadness, anger, or anxiety—non-clinical, small group interventions provide reflection and expression. Programs like “PhotoJustice” from PEAR’s Clover Groups curriculum where students document via photography and discuss perceived injustices, allow youth to express emotion, explore values, and reframe their experiences as art and activism.

• Tier 3 (Referral & Inclusion): When clinical needs arise, extended education becomes a vital partner in the care ecosystem. While not providing therapy, educators can recognize red flags, connect families with services, and maintain inclusion and normalization for youth in treatment.

  
  

This is not a soft argument. It’s a hard claim: extended education can reduce the prevalence of chronic disorders, such as depression, social isolation, anxiety, etc. by acting early, relationally, and creatively. And this isn’t unique to the U.S. Global partners—from Finland’s arts-based programs to Japan’s culturally infused community models—are showing how youth can thrive despite adversity when high-quality, relationship-rich programs are in place.

A Call for Paradigm Shift—and Investment

We must reposition extended education as more than supplemental education. It is core to youth well-being. This requires both mindset and system change. Policymakers need to recognize extended learning as a dual-impact sector: promoting educational equity and serving as a public positive mental health intervention. And crucially, they must fund it accordingly—in a braided manner from multiple funders.

The field’s periphery status is, paradoxically, its strength. Like many paradigm-shifting ideas—from Piaget’s developmental biology to Freud’s psychoanalysis—insights from the margins can challenge and transform entire systems.

So let’s stop thinking of extended education as a supplement.  Let’s recognize it for what it can be: a global movement for belonging, identity, and developmental resilience. Because today’s adversity does not have to become tomorrow’s disorder. It can become the soil where stronger, more self-aware, and more connected young people grow.

To learn more about GELYDA and join the global conversation, visit GELYDA.org