Wellbeing in Schools

What is wellbeing all about in our schools

Wellbeing is a much discussed concept in education circles. The notion of being well does not imply only physical and emotional but there is also a spiritual more deeper aspect which schools/teachers don't often contemplate. We live in a society where secular values have risen and many people do not want to talk, discuss religion or spirituality yet it is these two spheres or phenomena which define who a person is, how he/she behaves, what he or she values. In our multi-ethnic and multi-faith environment , spirituality seems to be disappearing from being discussed in schools especially Government schools. While it is every person's free choice to believe in something or someone, there are common themes in all religions that should be explored and promoted in all schools like respecting one another, helping those in need ie due to hunger and poverty, saying no to any kind of violence etc. Schools shy away from incorporating these content themes into their busy curriculums and seem to focus more on teaching to the NAPLAN test just to keep school boards happy and parents. Education is more than simply being good at Maths or English (which are important) but also means being a compassionate , kind, truthful and simple person who doesn't have to meaure him or herself according to material possesions.

1 month ago

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Michael Cowley • I think it's okay to analyse the NAPLAN data as a community of teachers, but do keep it in its place! Do not allow it to become the high stakes item in your school. If enough schools keep it so then perhaps the trend will follow. The pro-teachers know what NAPLAN is, and it should be kept it in its place for the students. Improve their literacy in all of life and you'll have graduates with the skills to be life long learners. In support of the teachers in our school, to help them with the students in their care, as well as add value to aligning parent understanding, we embedded and are integrating the 'Bounceback' programme into our PDHPE scope and sequence. It does seem to be effectively increasing the teachers' sense of purpose, in this field of wellbeing, as well it resources the wider school community under the larger banner of Kidsmatter, (search the web for Kidsmatter). It helps to maintain a balance between child development and academic learning in our changing society. Our school has also invested not only in IT devices for learning and pedagogical restructuring, it has done so in the Creative Arts, particularly drama and the playing of musical instruments. I mention this to say: 1) it is working in our school, the students are engaging and 2) as workers in our schools once we realise the types of challenges Kon has mentioned we have the positions of power to generate inertia and make momentum happen. Schools can further the students' resilience and their wellbeing despite the obstacles.

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Tom Benjamin • Unfortunately, I'm too personally familiar with the hypocrisy in a lot of this 'happiness' and 'wellbeing' mantra in mental health. Initially I liked it as it didn't stigmatise people for attending me for counselling. But later in my forensic career I found it too often used against people in courtrooms so I've become one of the few staunch critics. If you type 'tom benjamin' in Google you'll see the Rev Dr Benjamin from USA whose message is 'It's all in your mind'. I'm sort of the antidote to him as my mantra has become 'The doctors and insurance company wants you to believe it's all in your mind'. Too often this well-intentioned movement becomes yet another 'blame the victim' tool.

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Michael Cowley • Sorry Tom, don't get that. There is too much evidenced based data demonstrating that there are skills and experiences required to graduate successful students. It does involve wellbeing is linked to academic success. The role of the educator to be proactive, active and driven afresh by the end result data. Student wellbeing may be in 'fairyland' from passed experiences, however, the last three years has altered the playing field. One of the key principles in primary schools is the 'No blame approach' and 'the method of shared concern' both have been around for years and where practiced consistently achieve the intended results. And yes it is deliverable, as deliverable as anything else in education. Perhaps there lies the difficulty who bothers to learn much about the other in the 'i' driven society?

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Tom Benjamin • I was referring more to adults than school kids. And even with schools we need not just 'evidence-based' but 'controlled evidence based'. Education is even more confusing than clinical research because kids are constantly learning whatever we do or don't do and the limited amount of difference attributable to particular methods has been well studied, particularly by the USC Centre for Cognitive Science.

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Michael Cowley • Thanks Tom, good point: 'controlled evidenced based'. Cheers

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Nicky Sloss • Thanks for your comment, Kon and your post, Michael.

Yes - more and more schools (in particular staff welfare teams or 'pastoral carers') are looking towards all teachers and staff recognising the importance of student wellbeing.

Of course, Schools always want results.
Yet, as you say, students are more than their NAPLAN or ATAR results.
Viewing their care broadly/wholistically including; academic, social, emotional, physical and spiritual dimensions is encompassed by the broad term, 'wellbeing.'
Developing genuine, positive connections between students + students/staff and parents is so important for both personal and educational outcomes.

In our student program (as well as in PDHPE), we are underpinning much of what we do with Positive Psychology interventions and also linking this to our school values. I am not suggesting this will solve all the world's ills however; we are attempting to nurture our students as compassionate, caring young people who strive to reach their personal best in all areas of their lives. So far, this has been well-recieved.

Michael, we also look at Mind Matters and Bounce Back.
Reachout.com have recently added some terrific resources around resilience and student/staff wellbeing to their website. They are also running regular useful webinars for teaching staff.
There's also some good information and evidence based research results for young people, teachers and parents on The Smiling Mind along with Stanford University's Centre for Compassion and Altruism (check out James Doty).

Regards, Nicky

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David Ball • While I broadly agree that there is a social dynamic that needs to be addressed by educational institutions, I think it confuses teachers and students to place it among academic rigour. Students have diverse learning styles and many things motivate them. It confuses them when teachers shift goalposts in terms of reward behaviour. Students need to discover what works for them and need teachers to point the way up. Resources like NAPLAN are very useful for this, retaining for students a stunning clarity not seen from their teachers struggling to be all things to all people. Which isn't to say teachers should not be wise, kind or compassionate. But there is a mistake in failing to let children know what is beneficial.

24 days ago

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Kon Bouzikos • I appreciate everyones comments on this huge topic which will never go away. My closing remarks are that well being applies to all (students, teachers, parents). Teacher stress and dissatisfaction and low staff morale are signs that well being of teachers is not being properly addressed. The fast paced environment of teaching in schools does not always allow moments of contemplation, self reflection and authentic teacher conversations because we are all hurrying to do this or finish that errand and many times our conversations are not deep and lack insight and good probing. This can lead to teacher frustration, low staff morale. I forgot to say the most important thing, politics and power struggles in schools don't help teacher well being in schools . Unhappy teachers can lead to unhappy students. There is a strong connection. Many schools parade themselves in having well being committees or teams but how effective they really are in creating happy teachers who feel reinvigorated everyday is what really matters. I wonder what well being looks like and feels like in schools in other countries like Singapore, Finland, Hong Kong, Japan which have scored high in world rankings based on students results in Maths, Science, Reading . I gathered you all heard the media report this week about Australia's poor education ranking on the world wide stage. If a country is going to produce quality teachers then well being cannot be ignored by governments or schools.

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David Ball • A good friend of mine was recently promoted to a junior executive position. He is a lovely person who works on loyalty and inspires his students. However, his position was created in division with a junior disappointed at missing out and a senior disagreeing with the majority decision. So when my friend began he was undermined from below and put through the wringer from above .. and so resigned after 6 weeks. Now his papers are marked never to be promoted again. I believe in training and I am disappointed that my friend was not trained or inducted. But it was ever thus. Some 'know the secret' and get admin positions. Well being is an important aspect of schooling. It is like democracy .. it cannot maintain itself, it requires eternal vigilance on the part of the stakeholders. But the primary focus of education should be teaching and learning. Get that right and most else functions.

23 days ago

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Nicky Sloss • Food for thought from the GGSC at Berkeley;
http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/caring_teacher_student_relationship

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David Ball • Yes, Nicky. However, by contrast (not to disagree) I have had the privilege to work in schools with many exceptional high achieving students. Adored and highly respected older teachers don't directly exhibit those behaviours. Those dinosaurs know their work and aren't diverted except with a redirect back to work with intense focus. Eg An old boy school allowed girls into its senior years and a forty year practising teacher addresses a girl, whose older brother had attended and whose name was Ian Muddle "I hope you won't muddle through all your subjects like your brother" Arch reply "I'm sure I don't know what you mean" "As a new junior student, Ian would write his first initial and last name on each book for each subject. I Muddle Math. I Muddle English.." These students fondly remember thirty years later to a gathering of students. Students will delight in the freedom they have with the cantankerous and expert who control and direct as benevolent dictators.

19 days ago

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Michael Cowley • There is certainly something 'secret' in that David. Students innately build personal wellbeing by being able to communicate with 'the wise experts' in any particular field, even able to enjoy recognition given as the butt of their jokes. It goes to show we all could benefit from recognising the 'village' we live in and can, if in the position of employing, architect.

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David Ball • Michael, I feel it illustrates that students 'like' direction and despise insipid weak and sanctimonious hypocrites. It is important to address a student so as to include them in the class, but it needs to be purposeful or the student will feel patronised. Beginning teachers don't know the correct weight they need to address class needs. Students are not dumb or docile, and will seek to manipulate things to their perceived advantage if direction is lacking. They don't like to be dominated. They like to be freed of the burden of restrictions lack of knowledge and experience weighs on them. Note, any new packaged classroom experience is viewed positively initially ..

19 days ago

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Ann Nadge • A powerful framework for exploring wellbeing in academic settings is the resilience work stimulated by research into risk and protective factors. By asking "What is the classroom's impact on resilience?" we can begin to see the impact of pedagogy, language, classrrom dynamics and assessment procedures, not only on learning but on wellbeing and mental health. The NSW Independent schools Academic Care Charter came out of action research in this area.

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David Ball • Excellent Ann .. links? Pedagogy is praxis ;)

18 days ago

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Barry McGaw • I am sorry to be joining this discussion so late but do so now to make two general points in response to the opening question.

The first is on the nature of well-being. When I was Director for Education at the OECD we published a book, "The Well-being of Nations: The Role of Human and Social Capital", that included considerable discussion of how well-being can be conceptualised and how it is related to education. A particularly important feature was the role of social capital, defined as "trust and reciprocity". Communities high on social capital contribute substantially to individual well-being.

The second is on the question of how religion or spirituality might be dealt with in schools. The paper, "Shape of the Australian Curriculum: Civics and Citizenship" which is accessible via the ACARA website at http://www.acara.edu.au/curriculum/curriculum.htmlprovides for some study of religion to be dealt with in this subject area. The F-10 curriculum is currently being drafted and is expected to be available for review and comment in June 2013. Anyone wanting to be sure not to miss the invitation to comment can register at http://www.acara.edu.au/news_media/subscribe.html to receive updates from ACARA.

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David Ball • I feel privileged for Dr McGaw's input. An excellent systemic view. My view is coloured by the intimate and petty workings at a local school level. I was shocked by the related issues surrounding the death of school child Hamidur Rahman. Kon's question touches on that kind of personal experience. Dr McGaw's input is at the other end. The one that excuses such tragedy because the acute is the exception. Which isn't to criticise Dr McGaw, but only to highlight how the broad thrust gets subverted by fine detail. And that is why NAPLAN is such an easy target. Cultural assets can be sidelined when the primacy is on the individual trumping the class. Trust and reciprocity founders in betrayal and blind obedience.