Key Quotes & Images

1. What does it mean to be well in school? An exploration of multiple perspectives on wellbeing Anne K. SoutterUniversity of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand Key Themes in the Literature 7 themes were identified in the review of the empirical and theoretical literature on wellbeing and related constructs. Introduction Despite recognition that wellbeing and academic achievement are compatible educational goals, few education systems have clearly established the role of wellbeing in meaningful and purposeful educational experiences. However, a framework that integrates the multi-disciplinary research, education policy, and students’ understanding of and experiences with wellbeing may offer a useful communication and planning tool for teachers seeking to make wellbeing central to the experience of education. Emerging Patterns & Findings Figure 1: The Student Wellbeing Model Figures 4 & 5 Representation of student 8- (Fig. 4) and NZC 6- (Fig. 5) data through the lens of the literature-derived conceptual framework Figure 1: Multiple perspectives on wellbeing exist Key Quotes & Images And what I hope I provide them is an oppor— like an environment that they feel safe to take risks. Because if somebody puts them down, I’ll deal with it so that they don’t have to. But … If they can’t stand as an individual, strongly, they sink. - Y13 English teacher Through visuals and quotes, students and teachers offer their perspectives on what it means to be well. Materials and methods Three different perspectives – the scholarly academic, curricular, and experiential – informed the question of how wellbeing is defined and experienced in relation to senior secondary educational experiences. These were gained through: • What is your definition of wellbeing? • Things that make you happy • Good life e.g. healthy, wealthy • Having friends and family with you no matter what you are going through • Being well, happy, body image, the way someone lives and feels; sexually active • Career, what you are doing; the environment around you; wealthy, poor, crowd – hanging out with the wrong crowd; who you’re with: supportive people, non-supportive • Hauora– different aspects of your life – family, social, etc. … and how you feel about them. • What’s the best things for you to get on with family, friends • Makes you think; friendship; knowledge • Being pleased and happy with all aspects and dimensions of your life Well, when my parents were at school, you didn’t, like, if you dropped out at 15, there’s a possibility you could get a good job. But not these days, the way the economy is going, and you actually have to get, like, they’re not going to take a bum over someone who went to Uni. So it’s about your qualifications, really. At the moment it is. – Year 13 student, female A way forward? • A multidisciplinary review of the wellbeing literature in economics, psychology, sociology, and health sciences 1 • 2) A critical content analysis of how wellbeing is conceptualised in the formal education mandates across all levels of learning2-6 You know, and who is it – and for any other person – who is it for me to judge if you are? The only judge if you are doing a lot of these things is if you believe it. And if you generally believe it, well, then that is your reality. Where’s my place to actually then say that you’re not? So that, in itself, requires a lot of the questioning and conversation and skills to really develop the student’s concept in their own mind of where they’re at … Yeah, and if that’s where they’re at, that’s where they’re at. - Health and Physical Education teacher Figure 6 The Student Wellbeing Model9 Figures 2 & 3: The New Zealand Curriculum and cross-sector alignment of key competencies 3 3) Naturalistic Inquiry methods guided classroom observations of Year 13 classrooms7 4) Interviews and focus groups7 5) A three-day teaching and learning experience that focused on what wellbeing means to youth today8 I care about the credits. But I also care about how fun learning is. Like we said before, the more fun it is, the more I get out if it [sic]. I find that if you just go to school just to get credits or just to sit there and listen, it’s boring. Then, you’re not going to be, you’re just going to be, ‘oh yeah, I passed’. You’re not going to be over the moon about it. As much as if you have fun and then, like, do all that kind of stuff then you get to your exam and you’re like pass, you feel like so over the moon and then you start to think on how fun it was to get it. Where if you just get it, you don’t really just remember. – Year 13 student, female Literature cited 1Soutter, A., Gilmore, A., & O’Steen, B. (2011). How do high school youths’ educational experiences relate to well-being? Towards a trans-disciplinary conceptualization. Journal of Happiness Studies, 12(4), 594-631. 2Ministry of Education (1996). Te Whāriki: He WhārikiMātaurangamōngāMokopuna o Aotearoa. 3Ministry of Education (2007). The New Zealand Curriculum for English-medium Teaching and Learning in Years 1-13. Wellington: Learning Media. 4Ministry of Education (2010). Tertiary Education Strategy 2010-2015. Retrieved 14 Dec., 2010 from http://www.minedu.govt.nz/theMinistry/PolicyAndStrategy/TetiaryEducationStrategy.aspx. 5Ministry of Education (2008). Te Mārautanga o Aotearoa. Wellington: Learning Media. 6Soutter, A., O’Steen, B., & Gilmore, A. (2012). Wellbeing in the New Zealand Curriculum. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 44(1), 111-142. 7Soutter, A., O’Steen, B., & Gilmore, A. (in press). Thoughts and experiences of New Zealand senior secondary students and their teachers regarding what it means to be well in school. Journal of Student Wellbeing. 8Soutter, A. (2011). What can we learn about wellbeing in school? Journal of Student Wellbeing, 5(1), 1-21. 9Soutter, A., O'Steen, B., & Gilmore, A. (2013). The Student Wellbeing Model: A conceptual framework for the development of student wellbeing indicators. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth. doi: 10.1080/02673843.2012.754362