Plews, C 
ORCID: 0009-0004-5630-4131
(2026)
‘I was trapped in a cycle and had no choice:’ reimagining adolescent mental health in education through slow, therapeutic research and metamodern critical hope.
PhD thesis, University of Bristol.
Abstract
This thesis highlights the unique approach that slow, therapeutic research offers to the study of adolescent mental health in education. It emphasises the importance of deep, iterative cycles of relational data collection and introduces a novel image analysis framework, metamodern social semiological analysis (MSSA), to provide rigorous insight into the lived experiences of young people in education. Amid a growing mental health crisis, it is important to understand how education shapes mental health. Neoliberal influences including high stakes testing and individual resilience narratives shape educational environments and impact young people. The COVID-19 pandemic offered a unique opportunity to examine how disruptions to education illuminated these influences. This thesis adopts a critical sociological perspective and explores adolescents lived experiences of mental health in education. Drawing on co-design principles, this study employed visual and interview methods to provide rich accounts of students’ experiences in a Further Education (FE) college. Through long-term engagement, unique insights were analysed using qualitative interviews and the novel MSSA method. Analysis showed that the education system contributed to poor mental health including isolation, pressure and frustration with curriculum. Additionally, the pandemic enabled participants to break free from a rigid, pressurised system oscillating between despair and hope, moving towards a more hopeful future. These experiences prompt reexamination of educational practices that prioritise performance metrics over wellbeing and highlight the need for relational, holistic educational approaches. Additionally, this study highlights the application of metamodernism and critical hope to education, offering a multidimensional lens on adolescent mental health. This study introduces a novel approach to visual data analysis using MSSA, contributing new perspectives to the field. Emphasising slow, therapeutic research that prioritises an ethic of care and fosters deeper understanding, the thesis concludes with recommendations that centre wellbeing in education and research and suggests future research directions that explore exemplary contexts for deeper insight.
| Item Type: | Thesis (PhD) |
|---|---|
| Note: | This thesis is available to read from its awarding institution at the link above. |
| UN SDGs: | Goal 4: Quality Education |
| Keywords: | mental health, metamodernism, visual methodologies, critical hope, adolescent mental health, mental health in education, slow methodology |
| Subjects: | B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology L Education > L Education (General) |
| Divisions: | School of Sciences |
| Date Deposited: | 28 Aug 2026 14:08 |
| Last Modified: | 28 Aug 2026 14:09 |
| URN: | https://researchspace.bathspa.ac.uk/id/eprint/17854 |
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