EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP FOR STUDENT MENTAL HEALTH IN CHINESE HIGHER VOCATIONAL COLLEGES: THE BOUNDARY-SPANNING ROLE OF STUDENT AFFAIRS COUNSELORS

Abstract

Student mental health is a strategic concern for educational administration because psychological distress affects participation, persistence, belonging, and learning continuity. Recent Chinese policy calls for universal mental health education, coordinated services, monitoring, early warning, and stronger institutional responsibility. This conceptual article examines educational leadership for student mental health in Chinese higher vocational colleges, focusing on the boundary-spanning role of student affairs counselors (fudaoyuan). Using a structured conceptual review, it integrates international and Chinese scholarship and policy through whole-institution health promotion, distributed leadership, and ecological systems theory. The synthesis identifies recurring implementation problems involving fragmented responsibility, stigma, access, referral continuity, role overload, privacy, and vocational transitions. These themes are consolidated into six administrative domains: strategic accountability; supportive learning and placement environments; mental health literacy and anti-stigma work; accessible tiered services; ethical information governance; and continuous quality improvement. The article further analyzes tensions between centralized accountability and student confidentiality and uses an evidence-informed internship vignette to demonstrate how the framework can guide referral, information sharing, and placement adjustment. Student affairs counselors should not act as substitute clinicians; their distinctive contribution is to build trust, recognize concerns, coordinate warm referrals, connect organizational units, sustain continuity across campus and placements, and communicate systemic needs to decision makers. The framework offers a transparent conceptual architecture for policy translation and future empirical testing while protecting professional boundaries, privacy, equity, and student dignity.