Discovering Resilience and Well-being in School Communities

2021 ◽  
pp. 65-88
Author(s):  
Kathy Marshall
Keyword(s):  
Well Being ◽  
School Communities

Key aspects for the sustainable coordination of a process to facilitate holistic well-being in South African schools

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 692-701 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ansie Elizabeth Kitching ◽  
Bianke van Rooyen
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Action Learning ◽  
School Context ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
School Communities ◽  
Action Research Approach ◽  
Clear Vision ◽  
Key Aspects

AbstractA holistic well-being approach, understood as an approach that pays attention to the promotion of individual, relational and collective well-being in a particular context, is proposed as a way to address the fragmented nature in which mental health and well-being programmes are implemented in school communities in South Africa. The goal of this paper is to indicate key aspects for sustainable coordination of a process to facilitate holistic well-being in South African schools. Research was conducted in six South African schools with the aim of developing an integrated, multilevel process to facilitate holistic well-being in these contexts. A participatory action learning and action research approach was applied. As part of this research, key aspects that could contribute to the sustainable coordination of holistic well-being were identified. The research comprised a cross-case analysis of the data gathered, as well as a focus group that was held with the coordinators who facilitated the development of the process in each school. In addition, the school principals completed a semi-structured questionnaire, and Skype interviews were conducted with four international experts. The five aspects identified as key to the sustainable coordination of well-being are: that ownership and responsibility should reside in the school context; that there should be a clear vision for the promotion of holistic well-being; that the connections between all involved should be deepened; that all efforts to promote holistic well-being should be integrated, and that the complexity of the process should be acknowledged.

Promoting the Well-Being of School Communities

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chryse Hatzichristou ◽  
Konstantina Lykitsakou ◽  
Aikaterini Lampropoulou ◽  
Panayiota Dimitropoulou
Keyword(s):  
Well Being ◽  
School Communities

The Australian Context

2016 ◽  
pp. 289-309 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiffany Jones ◽  
Lynne Hillier
Keyword(s):  
Research Work ◽  
Strong Relationship ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Cultural Changes ◽  
School Communities ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Gender Diverse ◽  
And Gender ◽  
New Policies

This chapter explores the strong relationship between research and policy for same-sex attracted and gender diverse (SSAGD) youth in Australian education. It outlines the first phases of Australian research on the experiences of SSAGD youth and their corresponding well-being, particularly in school contexts over the past 20 years. It then describes how cultural changes in broader Australian society, strategic advocacy, and the promotion of Australian research findings have contributed to policy and practice changes around SSAGD youth issues within government and school communities. Specifically, it shows how particular policy documents and intervention initiatives in Victoria and New South Wales stemmed from research work. It also shows the value of shifting the research lens onto the impacts of these new policies.

scholarly journals A Restorative Trail: Restorative Practice - opening up new capacities of hearts and minds in school communities

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 368-381
Keyword(s):  
Learning Community ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
School Change ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
School Communities ◽  
Whole School ◽  
The Impact

The aim of the action project outlined in this article was to set up a Professional Learning Community (PLC) in a school with teachers who were interested in inculcating the practices and principles of Restorative Practice in their classrooms. My intention in forming such a PLC was to establish, explore, evaluate and maximise the use of Restorative Practice in participants’ classrooms. I wanted to investigate the impact of such engagement on relationships, teaching practices and approaches, and how it could offer a stimulus for whole school change. Our investigation found that the implementation of Restorative Practice did improve relationships. It promoted empathy and encouraged teachers and students to work together. It developed emotional literacy skills among the participants. Participants gained a sense of ownership over behaviour. There was a change in approach to misbehaviour that had a positive effect on learning and on teachers’ feeling of well-being. The evidence shows that improved relationships often had a positive impact on the work ethic within the classroom. Teachers enjoyed working as a solution focused community of teachers, it helped to reinvent and enhance their best practice through the sharing of ideas. The evidence also showed that the implementation and positive impact of Restorative Practice is a process. It is something that requires repeated, structured and reflective engagement, such as that offered by our PLC.

A Call for Compassion and Care in Education

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brooke D. Lavelle ◽  
Lisa Flook ◽  
Dara G. Ghahremani
Keyword(s):  
Positive Impact ◽  
Social And Emotional Learning ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Ethical Aspects ◽  
Social Emotional ◽  
School Communities ◽  
Social And Emotional ◽  
Prosocial Development ◽  
The Social ◽  
Health And Well Being

Students are challenged by stressors that negatively impact their physical health and well-being as well as their ability to thrive in school. Many educators have mobilized to address these issues, as mounting evidence suggests that enhancing the social, emotional, cultural, and ethical aspects of schooling improves student well-being. These movements have stirred a variety of prosocial education initiatives—including Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) and mindfulness-based programs—which have been shown to make a positive impact. Yet in spite of this growing interest in prosocial education, these movements have proceeded largely independently of one another and without a comprehensive theoretical model of prosocial development. In this chapter, we review the evidence of compassion-based interventions and offer a compassion-based framework as an organizing principle for the field that may help integrate diverse prosocial approaches and help educators respond most effectively to needs of our school communities.

scholarly journals Impacts of school shooter drills on the psychological well-being of American K-12 school communities: a social media study

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mai ElSherief ◽  
Koustuv Saha ◽  
Pranshu Gupta ◽  
Shrija Mishra ◽  
Jordyn Seybolt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
School Safety ◽  
School Administrators ◽  
Interrupted Time Series ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Interrupted Time Series Analysis ◽  
School Communities ◽  
Media Study ◽  
K 12 ◽  
Do So

AbstractThe toll from gun violence in American K-12 schools has escalated over the past 20 years. School administrators face pressure to prepare for possible active shootings, and often do so through drills, which can range from general lockdowns to simulations, involving masked “shooters” and simulated gunfire, and many variations in between. However, the broad and lasting impact of these drills on the well-being of school communities is poorly understood. To that end, this article applies machine learning and interrupted time series analysis to 54 million social media posts, both pre- and post-drills in 114 schools spanning 33 states. Drill dates and locations were identified via a survey, then posts were captured by geo-location, school social media following, and/or school social media group membership. Results indicate that anxiety, stress, and depression increased by 39–42% following the drills, but this was accompanied by increases in civic engagement (10–106%). This research, paired with the lack of strong evidence that drills save lives, suggests that proactive school safety strategies may be both more effective, and less detrimental to mental health, than drills.

scholarly journals School Interventions for Bullying–Cyberbullying Prevention in Adolescents: Insights from the UPRIGHT and CREEP Projects

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (21) ◽  
pp. 11697
Author(s):  
Silvia Gabrielli ◽  
Silvia Rizzi ◽  
Sara Carbone ◽  
Enrico Maria Piras
Keyword(s):  
Protective Factor ◽  
Early Adolescents ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Cyber Bullying ◽  
School Intervention ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
School Communities ◽  
Whole School ◽  
Mental Well Being

Background: Several challenges and emotional demands characterize adolescence, affecting the mental well-being of youths. Among these, bullying and cyberbullying are recognized nowadays as a major social problem, affecting more than one-third of adolescents, with extensive negative consequences for the victims involved, such as lower self-esteem, increased loneliness, depression, and anxiety. School programs and interventions that foster resilience, coping, and well-being are particularly important during adolescence as protective and preventive factors against the consequences of (cyber)bullying. The paper presents two recent co-designed interventions for (cyber)bullying prevention deployed in Europe, targeting early adolescents and their school communities. Methods: The UPRIGHT project developed an evidence-based, whole-school intervention to train resilience as a protective factor to promote mental well-being in adolescents, in a cross-national perspective. The CREEP project designed and implemented digital interventions to support schools in (i) early detection of cyberbullying events on social media and (ii) coaching adolescents (victims, bullies, bystanders) on how to cope with (cyber)bullying behaviors. Results: The main challenges and insights collected during the design and implementation of both interventions are discussed to inform future research and practice. Conclusion: The feasibility and acceptance of prevention programs are key to the reducing risk of (cyber)bullying and improving the psychological well-being of early adolescents.

scholarly journals Agility: an essential element of leadership for an evolving educational landscape

FACETS ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 1610-1620
Author(s):  
Pino Buffone
Keyword(s):  
Educational Leaders ◽  
Essential Element ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Strategic Objectives ◽  
School Communities ◽  
Effective Change ◽  
Bona Fide ◽  
Balanced Measure ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Over Time

Defined as the ability to think and move quickly and easily, the importance of agility as an essential element in the move forward for leaders of schools and systems postpandemic, as a result of the impact of COVID-19 on children, is examined. The smartness of a leader’s continuous interactions with the multi-faceted features of their environment, the very nature of the ever-evolving educational landscape of today, is of tremendous value for the leadership of tomorrow. Through the prioritization of strategic objectives in balanced measure, connectivity through relationships and partnership building, proactivity for effective change management, ingenuity in the optimization of resources over time, and the cultivation of systemness throughout the organization—as aspects of agility—educational leaders have the bona fide chance of a lifetime to transform school systems in the pursuit of achievement, equity, and well-being for the benefit of all students, staff, and school communities. Additional considerations, including barriers to agility, are also addressed as are recommendations for leaders of schools and systems as they navigate the shifts in organizational terrain caused by the disruption.

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