Education
The Significance of Student Wellbeing for Professional Success
“It takes a village to raise a child” – How to move wellbeing from being someone’s job to everyone’s job.
– January 15, 2021 Hannah Ball
The significance of Student Wellbeing
In today’s tech savvy day and age it has become increasingly important for School leaders, Educators & Parents of young children to understand the importance of children’s and their own “Mental Wellbeing”. Mindfulness – It is the ability to stay present in the moment. We can say an individual or a child is mindful when they have a credible set of skills and approach towards life to be able to adapt with changing situations with ease. This ability supports and promotes good mental health.
A recent research at the University of Oxford has explored the link between learning mindfulness at school and the wellbeing of students. Learning mindfulness early in life can help children flourish and bloom to their true potential. Young children are innately mindful. This natural ability needs to be nurtured so they do not lose touch as they grow up. There are some misconceptions about mindfulness. Some may see it as being ‘fluffy’ or ‘weird’. Some may also feel that it’s a new term that is trending. It has in fact been a very important part of science and ancient wisdom of thousands of years. It is connected with being aware and attentive. A skill which is so important for any learning process.
Low levels of wellbeing and its mental health problems become the base for difficulties such as low self esteem & emotional trauma from past experiences.
In fact students who are happy and healthy develop the following
– Concentration, motivation and high energy levels.
– Academic success.
– Coping skills for adapting to difficult situations.
– They are more empathetic and can build long term relationships with others.
This need to focus on student wellbeing has inspired the new Oxford International Curriculum (OIC) which offers a new approach to teaching and learning with an emphasis on wellbeing and global skills development taught both as stand-alone subjects and integrated with the core subjects too.
In order to maximise chances of success schools need to;
– Take on wellbeing as a whole school approach:
– Actively engage the wider community
– Focus on professional development for teachers
– Ensure that sufficient time and resources are available
Future Employers strongly value soft skills and emotional resilience, adaptability, and lateral thinking. This need is making it even more important that schools focus on developing these skills in order to support their students’ academic, personal and future professional success.
This article is authored by– Samara Jagwanee, Director, Damara International School
NOTE- On the occasion of World Mental Health Day 2023 observed on October 10th, ScooNews has dedicated this week to #ScooNewsforMentalHealth- a campaign amplifying the voices of the education fraternity on the Inclusion of mental health in our curriculum. Stay tuned for the whole week, as we will be coming up with stories and articles on mental health in education.