Nurturing Wellbeing Development in Education

From little things, big things grow

Faye McCallum, Deborah Price, Faye McCallum, Deborah Price

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2015
• ISBN:
  9781317643357
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Educational Psychology

At the core of education, the notion of wellbeing permeates both learner and teacher wellbeing. This book explores the central role and responsibility of education in ensuring the wellbeing of children and young people. Through the employment of vignettes, proactive educational wellbeing initiatives are provided to address issues pertaining to learner and teacher wellbeing, mainstream classrooms, educational marginalisation, disabilities, cyber citizens, initial teacher education and rural education. Through employing diverging theoretical approaches of; expectancy x value theory; ecological systems theory and community practices across digital imagery; case studies; questionnaires and survey methodology, the key message of the centrality of wellbeing to educational success pervades. This book provides a critical engagement with the educational discourse of wellbeing, whilst addressing issues impacting on wellbeing with worldwide implications. It offers a unique insight into both learner and teacher wellbeing and how education can contribute to enhancing wellbeing outcomes for society in general.

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Wellbeing in Education

Deborah Price and Faye McCallum

Wellbeing is ‘wishy washy stuff’

At a recent Research in Education conference, we presented a symposium on wellbeing education from various perspectives. Our presentation included research and practitioner examples that spanned the schooling sector, higher education, collective groups in education and wellbeing for individuals.

The session was well attended by academics and researchers from various sectors. They warmly applauded and recognised the existing research into wellbeing and acknowledged the difficulty of publishing in this area in high impact educational research journals. Nevertheless, a noteworthy professor concluded the discussion by stating: ‘Well. It’s just wishy washy stuff anyway, isn’t it?’

On another occasion, we were presenting an international conference paper on wellbeing education in higher education. After keen discussion on the importance of wellbeing for learners and educators, we were challenged by the following statement: ‘Wellbeing is absolutely crucial but where do you find time in your initial teacher education programme, given the importance of the core curriculum? And where do educators find time to teach wellbeing given the overcrowded core curriculum responsibilities?’

Needless to say these comments got us thinking. Given increasing evidence that wellbeing is the most important factor for young people’s success, happiness, mental health and achievement, why is it that some key researchers and educators don’t seem to ‘get it’?

Our reflections on this attitude have taken us across the world. In places where violence, abuse, degradation, exploitation, poverty and neglect abounds, little ones grow up without love, safety, health and an education, despite the fact they have the right to do so. In more affluent places, children can also experience adversity but on a completely different level. And yet most children are happy and healthy and succeed at making a worthwhile contribution to society as adults. This analogy is reflected in our choice of book title taken from the original music track written by Paul Kelly and Kev Carmody (1991) ‘From little things, big things grow’. Through education it is our belief that we can make a difference and that education has a true role to play in the wellbeing of all children to ensure they have the opportunity to grow up well, happy, healthy and safe. That is:

1. education has a role to play in the wellbeing of all children and young people; and
2. education about wellbeing has a role to play in the wellbeing of all children and young people.

This book will explore different educational contexts in which the wellbeing of children and young people has a key role and will suggest strategies, tips and questions for us all to ponder.

Wellbeing has emerged as something everyone seemingly aims for and arguably has a right to. Nurturing wellbeing development in education: ‘From little things, big things grow’ aims to engage educators, educational curriculum and policy developers, caregivers and broader stakeholders charged with the responsibility of children and young people’s wellbeing in examining proactive wellbeing initiatives based on positive educational site/school ecology. Whilst predominantly Australian research underpins this book, the foundational approaches and models inform international wellbeing educational initiatives as the wellbeing of children and young people is of global importance. In particular, given the inextricable link between wellbeing and academic achievement, educators, policy and curriculum developers, caregivers and broader stakeholders are challenged with increasing responsibility in authentically placing wellbeing as foundational and integral to learning.

Chapter 1, Wellbeing in education, begins by critically analysing definitions of wellbeing, framing our own wellbeing definition and describing an overview of contemporary educational wellbeing initiatives. Chapter 2, Wellbeing for all, addresses how all learners require wellbeing if they are to be successful in not only education but their future happiness and positive societal participation. This notion of inclusive wellbeing is advanced in Chapter 3, Wellbeing in disability education, whereby the voice of students with disability conveys what is important to them in relation to the space and place of an educational setting and the interconnection with their own wellbeing. In advocating positive ecology, the emphasis of this chapter is on what students can do and be. Chapter 4, Wellbeing in alternative education, identifies the significant role of social interactions between learners, peers and educators in reconnecting learners verging on educational marginalisation. Proactive conceptualisation of alternative education supports the social, emotional, educational and behavioural needs of students. The increasing importance of technology and social media as a contributor to and enabler of young people’s wellbeing is addressed in Chapter 5, Technology and wellbeing. In particular this chapter highlights the tension between positive and negative effects of technology and social media on social relationships. Nurturing wellbeing development in education: ‘From little things, big things grow’ situates learners’ wellbeing as core business in education. Therefore Chapter 6, Teacher wellbeing, highlights how advancing teacher and educator wellbeing is imperative in advancing educator quality and sustainability in the profession, and also positively influences learner wellbeing and academic achievement. In supporting both teacher/educator and learner wellbeing, Chapter 7, Leading and empowering lifelong wellbeing: Well educators, well learners, well communities concludes by outlining the importance of proactive and supportive leadership which empowers and works collaboratively with the educational community by instilling a life-long wellbeing philosophy. As such, wellbeing education is everyone’s responsibility.

What is wellbeing?

What exactly is wellbeing? How do individuals or groups across diverse experiences, backgrounds, culture, associations, beliefs and values understand the term wellbeing? Does wellbeing hold the same meaning for everyone? Does the definition of wellbeing hold constant across time and events? Does wellbeing depend on foundational requirements? How do individuals assess their own level of wellbeing? Can others accurately determine your level of wellbeing? And what is the role of education in the wellbeing of learners, staff and the wider community?

Whilst some may argue the field of wellbeing research is emergent, we suggest that varying constructs of wellbeing have been central within education, family, community, health, governance and political arenas throughout history. These constructs have encompassed a range of approaches including holistic, multidimensional, agency, ownership and responsibility, active participation, connectedness, community, positive attitude and lifelong learning (McCallum & Price 2010). At any one time, the prevailing social and environmental context (i.e. wars, Great Depression, Global Financial Crisis, terrorism, drought etc.) may emphasise particular wellbeing constructs. For example, over the last few decades the focus has been on health, financial status, women’s rights and affirmative action, welfare, children and young people, safety, psychological states and community initiatives. All of these fall under the umbrella of the construct of wellbeing. So what specifically is understood by the term wellbeing?

The construct of wellbeing has emerged in tandem with positive approaches to health and psychology and counter to the predominant reactive medical approaches; that is, prioritising promotion of holistic wellbeing in contrast to solely attempting to reduce the effects of ill-health (White & Wyn 2013, p. 213). To date, differing views and definitions of wellbeing exist. For instance, over a considerable period, wellbeing has significantly been associated with health as shown in a word search for wellbeing in Figure 1.1. The authors canvassed approximately 150 final year Bachelor of Education student teachers and asked: What does Wellbeing mean to you? Their responses were collated and compiled into a wordle shown as Figure 1.1.

The link between wellbeing and health can be traced back to the World Health Organisation (WHO) which defined health holistically as ‘a state of complete physical, social and mental well-being’ (WHO 1947, p. 1). What was notable in this early definition was the focus on advocating for a positive approach to health rather than just the absence of disease (WHO 1947). Nevertheless, such early proactive and positive approaches to health, wellness and wellbeing, whilst experiencing some further advances, are still dominated by negative deficit approaches which focus on ill-health and lack of wellness and wellbeing. This is why currently there is a resurgence and naming up of wellbeing. Contemporary approaches have subsequently contributed to an increasing emphasis on holistic wellbeing, in contrast to a predominant health focus, which advance proactive and positive perspectives. WHO continues to advance its health agenda by identifying prerequisite conditions and resources that underpin health, such as peace, shelter, education, food, income, a stable ecosystem, sustainable resources, social justice and equity (WHO 1986). Similar fundamental conditions are identified in Maslow’s Hierarchical Model of Needs (1943).

Figure 1.1 Brainstorm of key words that represent wellbeing

The term wellness has been used quite interchangeably with the term wellbeing. Dunn (1959, p. 3) defined wellness as maximising one’s potential on the ‘health axis’, reinforcing the health focus of early approaches. In subsequent years, definitions of wellness have broadened to include ‘wholeness in mind, body, spirit and community’ (Witmer & Sweeney 1992, p. 1) and an individual’s active decision-making process towards experiencing more success (Anspaugh, Hamrick & Rosato 2009, p. 2).

McCallum and Price (2012) advocate the importance of broadening definitions to include social, emotional, physical, spiritual and cognitive dimensions which promote an individual’s holistic wellbeing. Globally, the terms health and wellbeing are used together as evidenced by the Public Health England report (2013) on how healthy behaviour supports children’s wellbeing. This report describes how healthy childhood behaviours—including physical activity, healthy eating and limits on screen time—are associated with wellbeing outcomes in adulthood. They continue by defining wellbeing in terms of being more than absence of illness and moving beyond life satisfaction, thereby being linked with individual’s health, health behaviours and resilience (Public Health England 2013, p. 5). Wellbeing is characterised as more than just the absence of illness and includes life satisfaction, healthy behaviours and resilience. In her definition of wellbeing, Ryff (1989) identifies six dimensions of wellbeing: self-acceptance, positive relations with others, autonomy, environmental mastery, purpose in life and personal growth. An international literature review for the Australian Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) considered a range of definitions of wellbeing in order to identify shared characteristics. These characteristics included: the emotional component of positive affect, resilience, satisfaction with relationships and other dimensions of one’s life, effective functioning and the maximising of one’s potential (Noble, McGrath, Wyatt, Carbines & Robb 2008, p. 5). This literature review also specifically considered student wellbeing, which was defined as ‘a sustainable state of positive mood and attitude, resilience, and satisfaction with self, relationships and experiences at school’ (Noble et al. 2008, p. 5).

As can be noticed, an early emphasis on individual wellbeing has shifted to include social, relational, contextual and community wellbeing. That is, one’s individual happiness, life satisfaction, resilience, self-esteem, optimism, quality of life and so forth, are strongly associated with one’s circumstances in life. This view is supported by Van Petegem, Aelterman, Rosseel and Creemers (2007, p. 448) who describe wellbeing as situationally oriented, and feeding from experience, satisfaction and feelings. In particular, White and Wyn (2013) describe the social and relational notions of wellbeing whereby ‘identities are experienced and actively produced by young people but these productions and experiences are contingent on social and institutional relationships’ (2013, p 12). These broader constructs point to the subjectivity of wellbeing (Eid & Larsen 2008) and suggest that ecological systems can influence how wellbeing is defined for individuals and community groups (Price & McCallum 2014).

Ereaut and Whiting (2008) situate wellbeing within broader discourses, including the discourses of medicine (the health dimensions of wellbeing), operationalisation (measurement of wellbeing); sustainability (enabling the wellbeing of future societies); holism (mind, body, environmental and social wellbeing); philosophy (ideal state); and consumer culture and self-responsibility (resilience, independence). Wellbeing is different for each individual and the communities they occupy (McCallum & Price 2012). Ultimately, the definition of wellbeing has been highly debated due to the multiplicity of approaches (Forgeard, Jayawickreme, Kern & Seligman 2011), elusive nature of the construct (Pollard & Lee 2003), lack of specificity (Fraillon 2004) and complexity (Foresight Mental Capital and Wellbeing Project 2008). Wellbeing can be viewed as:

a dynamic state, in which the individual is able to develop their potential, work productively and creatively, build strong and positive relationships with others, and contribute to their community. It is enhanced when an individual is able to fulfil their personal and social goals and achieve a sense of purpose in society.

(Foresight Mental Capital and Wellbeing Project 2008, p. 10)

One might suggest that embedded in this definition is the necessity for people to feel connected and experience a sense of belonging within their community. In defining wellbeing it is important to recognise the fluidity of the notion and to exercise care if applying one’s own preconceived notions of wellbeing to others. Wellbeing could be understood as an extremely personal construct and whilst there is general consensus that it takes on a more positive, optimal and desirable definition than narrow, generic and deficit constructs, one’s perceptions are extremely personal and need to be respected. It has also been contested that efforts to define the construct of wellbeing ‘must go beyond an account or description of wellbeing itself, and be able to make a clear and definite statement of the exact meaning of the term’ (Dodge 2012, p. 222). However what we propose in this book is that in defining wellbeing, the exact meaning of wellbeing is not a fixed entity, it is dynamic and fluid, and until it is viewed as such efforts to promote wellbeing inclusive of all individuals may well fall short or potentially undermine one’s wellbeing.

Therefore our definition of wellbeing for the purpose of the book is outlined as follows:

Wellbeing is diverse and fluid respecting individual, family and community beliefs, values, experiences, culture, opportunities and contexts across time and change. It encompasses intertwined individual, collective and environmental elements which continually interact across the lifespan. Wellbeing is something we all aim for, underpinned by positive notions, yet is unique to each of us and provides us with a sense of who we are which needs to be respected. Our role with wellbeing education is to prov...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• CONTENTS
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• 1 Wellbeing in education
• 2 Wellbeing for all
• 3 Wellbeing in disability education
• 4 Wellbeing in alternative education
• 5 Technology and wellbeing
• 6 Teacher wellbeing
• 7 Leading and empowering lifelong wellbeing: Well educators, well learners, well communities
• Index