It also covers values, healthy relationships and ethical behaviour: "The curriculum will include a strong focus on literacy and numeracy skills. It will also enable students to build social and emotional intelligence, and nurture student wellbeing through health and physical education in particular. The curriculum will support students to relate well to others and foster an understanding of Australian society, citizenship and national values..."
The Australian Institute's Between the Lines bulletin includes information on the Australian Wellbeing Index. This is an abstract: "One particularly strong predictor of higher wellbeing is 'community connectedness', and the researchers speculate that new Australians (who tend to settle in metropolitan areas) may find it more difficult to make worthwhile connections in their local neighbourhoods. They also suggest that the reduced sense of safety in large cities affects people's sense of wellbeing. Because of the multifaceted nature of wellbeing, it is actually a much better indicator of national progress than standard economic measures. We need to give wellbeing greater prominence in discussions about where this country is heading and what policies will bring us a better future.
The New Economics Foundation (NEF) in the UK is also asking for new measures of progress and proposing a National Account of Wellbeing
Thanks to all of those who completed the survey for the Scoping Study on Student Wellbeing. Your contributions are much appreciated. The report is now with DEEWR.
Michael Bernard has completed a study of 11,000 children which indicates a dire need for social and emotional learning. Read the report in The Age.
Members of this network have also been involved in editing an edition of the BPS journal Educational and Child Psychology entitled Psychological Wellbeing. We have had agreement for all the papers from this edition to be made available here on this site.
South Australia's Learner Wellbeing site has lots of helpful resources and vignettes from what is happening in schools. You can access this here.
Read about the innovative programs and research linked to The Catholic Education Office in Melbourne Student Wellbeing Co-ordinators. This is good practice in action!
The Victorian Child Safety Commissioner has published a booklet, Calmer Classrooms, to assist teachers at all levels to work more effectively with children affected by trauma and abuse. The booklet can be downloaded here or obtained by phoning the Office of the Child Safety Commissioner on 03 8601 5884. It is based on the principle that understanding the experience of the abused and neglected child assists us to develop compassion, patience and empathy. It is a key intervention in itself. Recovery from trauma will occur best in the context of healing relationships. It goes on to set out clear relationship based practices for the classroom including self care for the teacher.
Read about some research that Wellington University in New Zealand are doing on youth connectedness. The Events page has details of a related conference in July 2009.
The Massage in Schools Program is now available across Australia. Based on an ethos of respect and caring, it is a proactive and fun way to help children learn positive ways of relating to each other, as well as ensuring they are in 'calm space' that promotes learning. To find a MISP Instructor near you or if you would like to train as an Instructor yourself, go to www.massageinschools.com.au
The UK Government have published their Youth Action Plan - it shows a determination to stop anti-social behaviour by support action rather than punitive action and getting in early. Worth reading if you work with young people in their communities - lots of ideas to build on. A click on the link gets you onto the page and you can download the document from there.
You won't be surprised at the following! - After observing 1,000 classrooms and measuring quality teaching, Dr. Robert Pianta, director of the Center for Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning and the National Center for Research on Early Childhood Education, developed the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS). The study defined three broad domains of good teaching: emotional support, organizational support, and instructional support. Emotional support was listed first. The report concluded:
"Teachers who score high on positive emotional climate consistently demonstrate respect for their students. They are in proximity when they speak to the children in their classroom, establish eye contact before speaking to them, and address them by name. They consistently have a warm and calm tone and use language that communicates respect, such as saying "Please," "Thank you" and "You're welcome." The absence of harshness and tension is noticeable, and when conflicts arise they quickly dissipate. This type of environment is conducive to learning and allows children to feel safe to explore." Harvard Education Letter, Volume 24. For more information visit http://www.edletter.org
The Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL) is publishing a four-year meta-analysis confirming that school-based social and emotional learning programs that help students build positive relationships, develop empathy, and resolve conflicts respectfully and cooperatively also have a positive effect on academic performance. This article by Laura Mirsky provides details about the study along with a link to CASEL's preliminary report. To read the article, please click here.
Click the following link to download the first edition of a new journal entitled Advances in School Mental Health
The American Psychological Association have released a report which challenges Zero Tolerance policies in schools which increase exclusion and suspension. It makes some powerful statements about the 'school to prison pipeline' and says that restorative justice and community based approaches which connect students to school are more effective in reducing violence. You can read more about this important report on the Saner Safer Schools website here.
We were concerned about the messages on an ABC Radio National program on bullying which were not very positive nor helpful in giving guidance about how to prevent and intervene effectively. Our experience is that there is a great deal that can be done to counter bullying at every level and we have therefore initiated a section 'all about' anti bullying strategies, especially those aspects that prevent it happening. If you wish to add to this section we would be pleased to hear from you. We are also pleased to see the Beyond Bullying initiative recently published at the University of Western Sydney which focuses on the role of bystanders. The National Centre (changed from Campaign) Against Bullying in Melbourne last November was on Developing Positive Relationships. So many good speakers! The link to the papers is on the Events page. Read Helen McGrath's paper on Making Australian Schools Safer (pdf)
We have found more excellent sites which provide resources for social and emotional learning, both in Australia and elsewhere. The SEAL site in the UK is extensive and you can download many ideas and materials. Go to the Materials page.
Social and Human Capital is increasingly becoming a topic of discussion in many forums. Look at the OECD website page. We need to continue talking about the processes of education not simply the targets and outcomes.
The Hunter Institute for Mental Health are collaborating with the University of South Australia to launch the Journal of Student Wellbeing. For enquiries and contributions contact Associate Professsor Bruce Johnson: bruce.johnson (at) unisa.edu.au
Wellbeing Australia has developed a checklist for use in schools (pdf). This is intended to help identify strengths and areas for development. Let us know if it is useful to you.
The wellbeing of children, families and communities are at the heart of sustainability and are forming a central part of the development of an innovative 'whole of community' sustainability strategy for the New England Region of NSW.
A Public Forum of 101 community members and leaders is being held as part of Armidale's annual Sustainable Living Expo (http://www.slex.com.au) to provide the means for broad community involvement in the co-creation of the strategy. Eight specialist working groups have analysed sustainability from social, youth, global, Indigenous, cultural, environmental, government, and economic perspectives. The work is being undertaken by a regional consortium, nicknamed NESSiE (New England Sustainability Strategy Executive), of more than a dozen leading professionals working in sustainability, social and economic development, conservation, strategic planning and governance.
A Wiki-Community http://www.ness.wikidot.com has been created to both enable input and comment as well as provide information about the Strategy and the sustainability of the Region.
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