The Future of Education

The relationship between effective teaching and learning and student wellbeing has gained increasing recognition, with various programs being developed that aim to identify and assist individual students ‘at risk’. In contrast to individualised approaches, this presentation reports on a school-wide ‘classroom as community’ approach to sustaining wellbeing through the employment of complementary pedagogies that address the issues faced by children whose lives are being shaped by trauma or chronic stress. Strategies include education in emotions (Kimochis 2011), pro-social games (McCaskill 2007), enlisting students as wellbeing agents and involving parents in wellbeing activities (Whitington & McInnes 2017). The community approach is founded on Vygotsky’s (1978) notion of the socially formed mind in which children’s minds are formed in interaction with those around them, becoming participating and contributing community members (Rogoff 2001). By skilling the whole school community regarding emotions and safe relationships, including the inculcation of a shared language of respect, the approach creates a culture where students who have struggled socially and emotionally gain confidence in forming peer relationships and participating successfully in group activities (McInnes, Diamond & Whitington 2014). The approach has been adopted in over 50 primary classrooms in South Australia. With approval from the participants and the site and relevant education department, the approach is now being evaluated using longitudinal methods in one school to test its impact on the incidence of bullying over the three year period of implementation. Measures include annual school data on attendance, academic achievement, bullying incidence, suspensions and expulsions from 2014, before commencement, to 2018. These data will be presented in a preliminary analysis in June, with the findings from other measures regarding mutual peer relationships, student and teacher interviews, and emotional knowledge available later in the year.

Keywords: Well-being; Community Approach; Primary School; Bullying Reduction; Trauma informed pedagogy;

References:
[1] McCaskill, W (2007). Play is the way, Greenwood WA, The Game Factory.
[2] McInnes, E., Diamond, A. & Whitington V. 2014. Embedding Wellbeing and Creating Community in Classrooms, Adelaide, Schools Ministry Group. http://www.thewellbeingclassroom.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/The-Wellbeing-Classroom-Report.pdf
[3] Rogoff, B., Goodman Turkanis, C., & Bartlett, L. (2001). Learning together: Children and adults in a school community. New York: Oxford University Press.
[4] Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher mental processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
[5] Whitington, V. & McInnes, E. 2017. Developing a ‘classroom as community’ approach to supporting young children’s well-being. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, Vol. 42 No. 4, pp. 22-29.